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"A Night at the Opera" is one of those old Hollywood movies that has to have everything, for better or worse. The opening scene with Groucho Marx is hilarious, and full of one-liners. And a few other scenes with him can generate some laughs. But "A Night" is not just a comedy. It's also a musical. That means we have to sit through several long, boring musical scenes, as well as Harpo Marx on the harp, naturally, as well as Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones singing several forgettable songs. The rest is just a basic situation comedy, nothing special. So keep the remote handy and fast forward through the boring parts, and there are lots of boring parts.

This is a typical 1945-era Hollywood war movie. That means John Wayne in the lead, an unnecessary romance story built into the plot, actors who are not age-appropriate for their roles, laughably bad military tactics, and American tanks substituting for Japanese tanks.

The movie begins with the rescue raid on the Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp. The raid was a true event, but don't look here for historical accuracy. "The Great Raid" was much more accurate than this film, even though "The Great Raid" had it's own errors and boring parts.

Maybe this film is worth watching once for Wayne fans, but I can't say much else positive about it.

First off, I should say that if you have never seen this movie at all, it is worth watching once.

But that's it. I saw it when it premiered way back when. I was younger, and very impressed. Tonight I tried to watch it again and, quite simply, I couldn't. Even by 1968 standards, the special effects are abysmal. Remember, 2001 A Space Odyssey came out the same year, and has gained a reputation of scientific realism. The science in Planet of the Apes is pitiful in comparison. Additionally, the film shows a total lack of biological evolution. There is no way that humans and apes could evolve into the forms shown in the movie in just a few thousand years. At the same time, where did the apes who live in caves get the technology to produce paper, rifles, ammunition, and fire hoses?

Watching Planet of the Apes once is interesting. But today, it is no better than some 1930s Buck Rogers serials, and less entertaining.