Leave Them Alone! Most Upsetting Movie Remakes
5. Planet of the Apes
An adaptation of the sci-fi novel by Pierre Boulle, producer Arthur P. Jacobs had to pitch the idea of the film to several different studios before it was finally picked up by Fox.
With Charlton Heston attached to the project from the start, the creative team had to work hard to convince the studio that the film was going to be possible.
“Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling penned an original draft of the screenplay that was later rewritten by Michael Wilson and finally greenlit for production.
When the film was released five years after development started, critical acclaim followed. It earned John Chambers an Academy Award for his outstanding makeup achievement. Critics reveled over its futuristic theme, and its original plotline.
The storyline earned the film an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and has since secured the movie a spot on several lists of top movies, including AFI’s “100 Years…100 Thrills” and “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.” Widely recognized as one of the best sci-fi films to date, it spawned several sequels.
The original “Planet of the Apes” story was retold in a 2001 remake. Tim Burton’s rendition adopted some great visual effects, but star Mark Wahlberg’s acting definitely felt flat.
The franchise’s revival appeared to be dead on arrival until 2011 when filmmakers started from square one to tell the story about how humanity had been overthrown by primates in the hit movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”
