Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) is a science-fiction film you can watch online on iFILM. Just before their future Earth is destroyed, the intelligent chimpanzees Zira and Cornelius salvage a crashed spacecraft and slip backward through time, landing in 1970s Los Angeles.

At first the talking apes are a sensation. People dress them up, parade them on television, and marvel at how articulate they are. But once scientists learn that Zira is pregnant — and that in her era apes will one day rule over a fallen humanity — the delight curdles into dread. The government decides the unborn child cannot be allowed to live. Overnight, Zira and Cornelius go from celebrity guests to hunted animals, with only one goal left: get baby Milo to safety.

Directed by Don Taylor and again led by Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter, the third entry flips the whole franchise on its head. In place of a ruined future, it serves up sharp satire of politics and media, plus an ending that lands harder than you expect. It's the strongest of the original sequels. Stream Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) online on iFILM.