Legendary movie episodes that appeared only due to a lack of budget

When the budget of the film is not enough to hire good actors, shoot in any locations and use high-quality special effects, it seems that the film is doomed to failure. However, the examples described in this article prove that sometimes a lack of money can benefit the creators of films.

At least in these cases, the lack of funding gave birth to legendary movie episodes, which repeatedly caused the audience to delight, tears, joy and horror.

"Terminator", 1984

The director of The Terminator, James Cameron, did not have permission to shoot the film, so the crew had to work at night and hide from the police. To save money, the authors of the legendary painting created a fog effect using smoke bombs against insects. This is how the visual style in dark tones appeared, which is still used in many films of this genre.

"Clerks", 1994

Director Kevin Smith managed to get permission only for night shooting, so all the "daytime" scenes in the movie "Clerks" were shot with closed window shutters. So the creators tried to hide the fact that it's actually night outside the window.

To explain it somehow, they decided to keep the storefronts closed throughout the film, like "it was meant to be." Thanks to this, the legendary sign "I assure you, we are open!" appeared.

"The Walking Dead", 2010

The creators of the TV series "The Walking Dead" had no need to shoot the entire second season on Hershel's farm. Thus, they decided to save money, since the entire budget was spent even before the pilot series was released. As a result, both critics and viewers liked this season very much.

"Planet of the Apes", 1968

The original scenery of the first "Planet of the Apes" contained a large number of modern elements. According to the script, the characters of the film had to go shopping, drive cars, use phones, but in the end the creators did not want to spend money on all this and hired another screenwriter.It was he who took care of the new scenery, which is known to all viewers — the barren desert and the Statue of Liberty buried in the sand.

"The Incredible Hulk", 1977

The budget of the TV series "Hulk" was negligible, so the creators could not even afford real filming of planes and trucks. Instead, they used cuts from other films to which the network had rights. Naturally, intelligent viewers immediately noticed familiar shots in the series, but this did not prevent it from becoming a real hit after the release of the first season.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail", 1975

In the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" real horses were supposed to be filmed, but it turned out that the creators could not afford it. Therefore, they used the old comedy technique, and instead of animals, foot riders appeared in the tape. As a result, this scene became the most memorable and for a long time caused laughter from the audience.

"Doomsday Night", 2013

The producers of the film "Doomsday Night" decided to save quite a bit, so they shot the entire film in one room and persuaded the lead actor Ethan Hawke to work without a fee. Instead, the actor was promised a generous percentage of the profits.

As a result, the tape quickly found responses in the hearts of the audience and marked the beginning of a new popular horror franchise.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", 1974

The author, director and part-time producer of the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Tobe Hooper also decided to take on the role of composer. In order not to spend money on an outsider, Hooper himself recorded the soundtrack to the cult horror film with the help of a cameraman, a cardboard tube, a double bass and broken musical instruments. As a result, Hooper and Bell turned out to have one of the most "creep" soundtracks, which still has no equal.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", 1990

The actors of the series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" refused to wear bulky costumes in which they would have to be exhausted from the heat. In order not to pay extra to capricious celebrities, the producers hired less demanding and low-paid Chinese stuntmen. Now "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", as well as their costumes, are considered classics. I wonder what would have happened if the creators of the series had changed costumes on the set instead of saving on actors?

"Rocky", 1976

According to the original idea, the famous scene of Rocky Balboa and Adrian's first date should have looked different. In addition to them, about 300 extras were planned to be involved in the ice arena, but as a result there was not enough money for them, and the actors skated all alone. It was this intimate atmosphere that made the ice rink scene one of the most memorable and brought a touch of romance to the boxing film.

"Psycho", 1960

Few people know, but Alfred Hitchcock originally filmed "Psycho" as an episode for the TV show "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". And all because the studio categorically refused to finance his new film.

Despite this, "Psycho" became famous all over the world and is still considered a classic of the genre, which influenced almost all modern horror films.

"Back to the Future", 1985

Of course, everyone remembers the scene from the cult comedy "Back to the Future", where Marty returns home thanks to a lightning strike in the tower clock. So, if the creators of the film had a bigger budget, we would not have seen this famous scene, because initially it was planned to shoot the homecoming at a training ground in Nevada.There, according to the screenwriter's idea, nuclear weapons are being tested and in order to launch the "time machine", Marty had to drive through the explosion.

"Batman", 1966

In the Batman series, the main characters fought all the villains at the same time. In order not to spend money on shooting scenes of a real fight, the creators of the series came up with a clever way. During the fights, the villains allegedly became invisible, so Batman, Robin and Batgirl simply "pounded" the air.

"Stupid", 1995

Initially, it was planned that the heroines of the comedy "Stupid" would be filmed in designer clothes, but since there was not enough money for it, the authors had to improvise. To save money, the costume designer bought all the necessary things at the nearest shopping center. This put an end to the fashion for "grunge" and gave impetus to the popularization of simple school clothes.

"Doctor Who", 1996

According to the scenario, the TARDIS time machine had to change its appearance many times, depending on the circumstances. But the creators of the series realized that it would "cost them a pretty penny," so they decided: let the scheme of changing the appearance always be "broken" and the TARDIS will remain in the image of a police box throughout the series.As a result, they managed to create one of the most memorable images in science fiction, and it might not have been at all!

"Breaking Bad", 2008

Who would have thought that such a famous TV series as Breaking Bad also suffered from budget shortages. It was because of this that the producers abandoned the idea of shooting the pilot scene on Riverside in California and instead moved filming to Albuquerque. As a result, the audience really liked the specific design and turned Breaking Bad into a modern western.

"Citizen Kane", 1941

According to the authors' idea, the film "Citizen Kane" should have had many scenes demonstrating the luxury and wealth of the characters. As a result, there was not enough money for this, and then director Orson Welles resorted to several cunning methods that are still used in cinema.One of them is shooting rooms from the floor to make them visually wider, as well as using props to create images of characters.

"Godzilla", 1954

Initially, Godzilla was supposed to be a giant octopus, but there was neither time nor money to create such a character. So the special effects artist just dressed the guy up in a reptile costume. So the world saw a terrible monster, and subsequently - several more films about Godzilla.

"Stay Alive", 2004

The creators of the series "Stay Alive" put the characters in cages due to lack of money for filming in other locations. Kate, Jack and Sawyer spent more than half of the third season "under lock and key". Fortunately, the audience did not find out about the real reasons for this move and appreciated the season finale, calling it the best for the entire series.

That's how the banal lack of money brought a zest to movies and TV shows, making them legends.