8 Famous Movies That Started Out In Completely Different Genres

Back to the Future is that rare movie that somehow manages to encompass elements of the so many film genres without diluting any of them: at once, it's a sci-fi film, a romance, a comedy, and an adventure flick. On paper, it never should have worked, but against the odds it gelled seamlessly and resulted in a classic.

Thank God that Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale didn't stick with their initial plans to make Back to the Future into a cynical thriller, complete with apocalyptic overtones. For real, people: the original script for Back to the Future was packed with Cold War paranoia and a gambling-obsessed version of Marty McFly who lives in a broken, battered (and nearly dystopian) vision of the United States.

This Back to the Future also had Marty and Doc, both washed-up losers, running a video bootlegging enterprise, because why not? Oh, and they were set to visit a nuclear test site to steal a bomb in order to power the time machine.

There was little of the humour that people associate with Back to the Future in this first draft of film, too; it was intended as a far darker picture, which one can't help but feel would have ultimately curbed its mainstream appeal. Basically, nothing like the final product - we should be seriously glad Zemeckis made a genre switch!

Would you have watched any of these alternate universe movies? Share your reactions below in the comments thread.