“Planet of the Apes” (1968)
French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel "La Planète des Singes" is a satirical social allegory about a journalist and a professor who stumble upon an intelligent ape culture while traveling to the star Betelgeuse. Though the book's central idea is fascinating, the speculative surrealism occasionally overshadows the narrative. The groundbreaking film adaptation, however, manages to retain Boulle's unique concept while adding a furious momentum to the story. The movie's shattering climactic twist, conceived by co-writer Rod Serling, doesn't appear in the novel.