Gorilla and Giant Ape Movies I've Reviewed on IMDb
Call me crazy, but I've loved Big Ape movies ever since I saw the original King Kong as a kid. He started a trend that's fascinated movie goers since 1933. But not all apes can match King Kong in size or stature. Have fun with this list of big monkey movies. It's presented in IMDb ranking order.
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- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved."You know what they say, human see, human do."
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City."It was beauty killed the beast."
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising."He's a cute little guy, isn't he?"
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsGary OldmanKeri RussellAndy SerkisThe fragile peace between apes and humans is threatened as mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both tribes into a war for dominance over the Earth."Ape always seek strongest branch."
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsAndy SerkisWoody HarrelsonSteve ZahnAfter the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind."Now, I fight only to protect apes."
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsNaomi WattsJack BlackAdrien BrodyA greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives."It was beauty killed the beast."
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSigourney WeaverBryan BrownJulie HarrisThe story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them."Never, ever, run from a gorilla!"
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsTerry MooreBen JohnsonRobert ArmstrongA young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune."Joe can't live in a cage, and neither can I."
- DirectorJordan Vogt-RobertsStarsTom HiddlestonSamuel L. JacksonBrie LarsonAfter the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden."What imaginary monster are you hunting this time?"
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsRebecca HallBrian Tyree HenryDan StevensTwo ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull Island's mysteries."Is that a mini Kong?"
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsAlexander SkarsgårdMillie Bobby BrownRebecca HallThe epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against each other--the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong--with humanity caught in the balance."This won't end until one of them submits!"
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsRoddy McDowallKim HunterBradford DillmanThe world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race."We came from your future."
- DirectorBrad PeytonStarsDwayne JohnsonNaomie HarrisMalin AkermanWhen three different animals become infected with a dangerous pathogen, a primatologist and a geneticist team up to stop them from destroying Chicago."Of course..., the wolf flies."
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallDon MurrayRicardo MontalbanIn a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity."If we lose this battle, that's the end of our world!"
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloClyde BeattyTwo booksellers search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals."I'm one of the finest big game hunters in the world!"
- DirectorTed PostStarsJames FranciscusKim HunterMaurice EvansThe sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telepathic humans."Glory be to the bomb, and the holy fallout."
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsKarl MaldenClaude DauphinPatricia MedinaWhen several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the killer may be. All evidence points to Dupin, but soon it becomes apparent that it is someone (or something) stronger and deadlier than a human."This is the work of a maniac!"
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMark WahlbergHelena Bonham CarterTim RothIn 2029, an Air Force astronaut crash-lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans."Never send a monkey to do a man's job."
- DirectorRon UnderwoodStarsBill PaxtonCharlize TheronRade SerbedzijaA legendary fifteen-foot tall mountain gorilla named Joe is taken to an animal sanctuary in California by zoologist Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) and Jill Young (Charlize Theron), with whom he grew up. Poacher Strasser (Rade Serbedzija) returns from the past to seek vengeance on Joe."I say legends live forever!"
- DirectorIshirô HondaTom MontgomeryStarsTadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYû FujikiA UN reporter covers the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation, while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own."I want my own monster. Send me a monster, fast!"
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsRobert ArmstrongHelen MackFrank ReicherThe showman who brought Kong to New York returns to Skull Island and finds Kong's son, a spunky 12-footer with a winning personality and his dad's awesome strength."I guess next time you leave big monkey alone, huh?"
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsHarold PearyMarion MartinRichard LeGrandGildersleeve, running for office, is aided by two ghosts and hindered by a mad scientist and an invisible woman."And remember, if you're going to get mixed up in any scandal, I want to be the cause of it."
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallClaude AkinsNatalie TrundyTen years after a worldwide series of ape revolutions and a brutal nuclear war among humans, Caesar must protect survivors of both species from an insidious human cult and a militant ape faction alike."I went looking for my past, but I found our future."
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsLaura LinneyTim CurryDylan WalshWhen an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong."The myth of the killer ape is true!"
- 1969–1973TV-PG5.2 (223)TV EpisodeDirectorGerald Perry FinnermanJack LairdStarsRod SerlingSteve ForrestDina MerrillOn the Kenyan veldt, a wild gorilla named N'Gi disrupts the marital harmony between anthropologists Ruth and Grant Wilson./In this brief vignette, vampire hunters encounter the coffin of the undead."Hey gorilla! You remember me?"
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsJohnny WeissmullerTrudy MarshallSuzanne DalbertCrooks dressed to look like gorillas are looking for lost Nazi gold, and Jungle Jim must stop them."Skipper, this isn't gorilla country!"
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsThe Ritz BrothersJimmy RitzHarry RitzWhen a wealthy man is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive."Now you just sit tight Mr. Stevens, the gorilla will get you over our dead bodies."
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMaris WrixonGene O'DonnellDr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum."Somebody better get after that ape or he'll tear this town wide open."
- DirectorGeorge BlairStarsClyde BeattyStanley FarrarPhyllis CoatesHunter tracks down lions on the Congo jungle."Those drums speak the dance of war."
- DirectorCurt SiodmakStarsBarbara PaytonLon Chaney Jr.Raymond BurrThe owner of a plantation in the jungle marries a beautiful woman. Shortly afterward, he is plagued by a strange voodoo curse which transforms him into a gorilla."The jungle's my house, it belongs to me."
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsBela LugosiLouise CurrieWallace FordA crazed scientist accidentally turns himself into a half ape, half human creature, and scrambles to find a cure."Prepare yourself for a great shock Agatha."
- DirectorRichard C. KahnStarsZack WilliamsLaura BowmanAlfred GrantA newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl's father."Now listen sister, don't try any of your funny business, or someone's liable to get hurt."
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsBuster CrabbeFifi D'OrsayBarton MacLaneWhen a treasure hunter seeks a downed airplane in the jungles of Africa, he encounters one of the passenger's young daughter, now fully grown, and with a gorilla protector."Land of the white witch taboo, we no go."
- DirectorFrank R. StrayerStarsMischa AuerMartha MattoxRex LeasePeople in an old dark house on a stormy night are menaced by a killer ape."That's because of the corpse in the house, he remembers his dead master."
- DirectorJohn GuillerminCharles McCrackenStarsBrian KerwinLinda HamiltonPeter ElliottKong falls from the twin towers and he appears to be alive. However, his heart is failing, so it's replaced with an artificial one. All is well until he senses that there's a female Kong somewhere out there and escapes wreaking havoc."Hello Kong..., welcome back."
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsBela LugosiDuke MitchellSammy PetrilloTwo goofy entertainers meet a mad scientist on a jungle island."And how are you today my little anthropoid?"
- DirectorAdrian WeissStarsCharlotte AustinLance FullerJohnny RothWhen Laura and Dan get married, she's more interested in Dan's gorilla. It's revealed through hypnosis that she was Queen of the Gorillas in a previous incarnation. By: Mark Rowan"I'm afraid some of the jungle romance is leaving me."
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsRichard FraserMaris WrixonLionel RoyceHunters and scientists venture into the jungle to track down a savage albino gorilla, which they believe could be the missing link between man and ape."All right Mumbo Jumbo, bring the Fraulein with us."
- DirectorPhil TuckerStarsGeorge NaderGregory MoffettClaudia BarrettThe monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter."You look like a pooped-out pinwheel!"
- DirectorHarry L. FraserStarsRay CorriganLorraine MillerGeorge J. LewisA white gorilla is snubbed by black gorillas because he is the wrong color. Cut off from his tribe he becomes lonely and angry. After troubling hunters and natives, the white gorilla fights the king of the black gorillas while we are told by a narrator that the fate of Africa hangs in the balance. The movie was made by editing some 1947 acting into footage from a 1927 silent serial, Perils of the Jungle, starring Frank Merrill the fifth screen Tarzan."As the outcast and the black gorilla met, the jungle vibrated with their wild battle cry."
- DirectorJames A. SullivanStarsJohn AgarCarol GilleyRalph Baker Jr.A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community."You heard what the man said baby, it came from the sky!"
- DirectorRoberto MauriStarsBrad HarrisEsmeralda BarrosMarc LawrenceEve is a jungle girl brought up by apes. She is captured with a number of apes by a mad scientist, conducting mind control experiments on them. Eventually she is liberated by a young explorer."I've been hunting the sacred monkey for a year and I don't intend to lose her now."
- DirectorStuart GillardLeigh ScottStarsBruce BoxleitnerJeff DentonRhett GilesSir Arthur Conan Doyle's action-adventure classic, four plane crash survivors encounter danger in a world that time forgot."This is hell, man. You're in hell!"
- DirectorBrett KellyStarsSébastien GodinPavel LubanskiChance KellyAfter becoming injected with a formula derived from an alien spaceship, a laboratory gorilla escapes from his containment and befriends two young boys. The alien formula causes the gorilla to grow to gargantuan size and rampage throughout the city and the boys must find a way to save their simian friend before the Army takes him down."Enough is enough! I need to find that monkey!"