One Minute Makes All the Difference
I recently re-watched the original Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is the film that was quasi-remade as Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It's the fourth in the original series and perhaps tied with the second film in terms of quality, if you see it as it was originally shown in theaters. Since 2008, however, an alternate version, which it turns out was the original version before the studio started *ahem* monkeying around with it following poor test screenings. It's only about a minute longer, but what a difference that minute makes.
In this originally unreleased version, there was a lot more violence. The humans were more villainous (one shooting his faithful ape servant in the head just to prove a point), and the actual ape rebellion was far more violent. Additionally some incongruities, which were added in reshoots including another ape (other than Caesar) talks, and Caesar delivers a complete about-face at the end calling for compassion after previously calling for all-out ape vs. man rebellion, were removed.
In its original form, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is perhaps the darkest of all the Apes films, and that's saying something. And for the first time since the original it strongly integrates social commentary throughout, this time about race relations (remember this film was made only a few years after the U.S. Civil Rights Movement), making it very timely indeed.