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Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Meet baby Milo who has Washington terrified.

Release:1971
Runtime:1h 38m
Country:United States
Director:Don Taylor
Language:English

Genre

ActionScience Fiction
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Keywords

SpacecraftdystopiaChimpanzeePacifismtime-travelPoliticianSequelCage
iRank68

Escape from the Planet of the Apes rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb6.3/10· 44K votes
Rotten Tomatoes75%
Metacritic69%
TMDb6.376/10· 1K votes

With 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 6.3/10 on IMDb and 69/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About Escape from the Planet of the Apes

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a spacecraft. Intrigued by their intelligence, humans use them for research - until the apes attempt to escape.

Cast of Escape from the Planet of the Apes

  • Roddy McDowall

    Roddy McDowall

    as Cornelius

  • Kim Hunter

    Kim Hunter

    as Dr. Zira

  • Bradford Dillman

    Bradford Dillman

    as Dr. Lewis Dixon

  • Natalie Trundy

    Natalie Trundy

    as Dr. Stephanie 'Stevie' Branton

  • Eric Braeden

    Eric Braeden

    as Dr. Otto Hasslein

  • William Windom

    William Windom

    as The President

  • Sal Mineo

    Sal Mineo

    as Dr. Milo

  • Albert Salmi

    Albert Salmi

    as E-1

  • Jason Evers

    Jason Evers

    as E-2

  • John Randolph

    John Randolph

    as Committee Chairman

  • Harry Lauter

    Harry Lauter

    as General Winthrop

  • M. Emmet Walsh

    M. Emmet Walsh

    as Aide

Escape from the Planet of the Apes facts

Budget
$2.5M
Box office
$12.3M
Collection
Planet of the Apes (Original) Collection

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026MethodologyData sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

  • •Sci-fi premise explores dystopian themes through chimpanzee protagonist
  • •Action sequences deliver engaging escape narrative and chase tension
  • •Political commentary grounds science fiction in social commentary relevance

What the audience disliked

  • •Dated visual effects limit immersion in dystopian world-building
  • •Pacifism message occasionally contradicts action-heavy narrative framework
Saga: Planet of the Apes (Original) Collection

Trailer

Where to watch Escape from the Planet of the Apes(US)

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Availability may change. Data by JustWatch.

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