Planet of the Apes is a TV show.
Charlton Heston . He also starred in Touch of Evil ( 1958 ) with Orson Welles , Ben-Hur ( 1959 ) , for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor , El Cid ( 1961 ) , and Planet of the Apes ( 1968 ) . Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner . Directors J. Lee Thompson and Blake Edwards were approached , but the film 's producer Arthur P. Jacobs , upon the recommendation of Charlton Heston , chose Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film . The film was released on February 8 , 1968 , in the United States and was a commercial success , earning a lifetime domestic gross of $ 32.6 million . Also in 2001 , Planet of the Apes was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .