The Ape Woman was first screened in Bologna, Italy, on 29 January 1964[1][2] and, after being shown in competition at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival,[7] released in French cinemas on 24 June 1964.

[10] The longer French version adds an alternate ending, where Maria gives birth to a healthy child and loses her body hair, forcing Antonio to work at the docks to support his family.

[9] Jean de Baroncelli's review written for Le Monde during the Cannes Film Festival explicitly describes Maria's and the child's deaths and their posthumous presentation by Antonio, which corresponds with Ferreri's version.

[10] In their 1964 articles for L'Espresso and Paese Sera, Alberto Moravia and Aldo Scagnetti criticised the decision to end the film with Maria's and her child's deaths and omit the presentation of their bodies for the Italian theatrical release.

[10] While Moravia argued that the story had lost its "logical conclusion", Scagnetti lamented that Ferreri's original ending had given "meaning to his apologue, or at least […] greater substance to its cruel bitterness".