Quest for Fire (1981)

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Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Starring Rae Dawn Chong, Nameer El-Kadi, Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Gary Schwartz.

Quest for Fire takes place some 80,000 years in the past. A primitive homo sapiens tribe huddles around a natural fire source for comfort and survival. When that source is extinguished, tribesmen Naoh (Everett McGill), Amoukar (Ron Perlman), and Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi) are sent out on a "quest for fire." After several days of wandering through the prehistoric landscape (the film was shot in Canada, Scotland, Iceland, and Kenya), the three come across a cannibal tribe that knows how to produce fire; they save a young girl, Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), from the clutches of the cannibals, with the hope that she'll reveal the secret. Based on a novel by J. H. Rosny Sr., Quest for Fire convincingly creates the world of the past and believably molds its characters within the context of their surroundings and their limited knowledge of the world. The credibility factor is aided by technical consultants Desmond Morris and Anthony Burgess, who respectively developed a set of gestures and a simplistic language for the Ulams and Ivakas. An Oscar went to John Hay and Penny Rose's costume design. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Quest for Fire (1983, France/Ca ...
by CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog

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"Quest for Fire is not the greatest movie ever made, but it might very well be the bravest. You have to have some real guts to even attempt to make a serious, dramatic film about cavemen. You're effort might be judged successful if it just were not laughable, but Quest for Fire is indeed a very good movie, and really impressive cinematic achievement. Set 80,000 years ago, apparently in Africa, the movie follows three primitive men (they are fully homo sapien) as they attempt to find fire after a fight with some Neanderthals caused all of theirs to be extinguished. According to the documentary, fire took on a religious significance for early man- was not only a source of heat, but an aura that would keep animal predators away. Without fire, a tribe is helpless. Life at this point is barley human- reproduction is accomplished through rape, language is pretty much noun-only, life expectancy is not surprisingly short. The three who set out to find fire (played by Ron P ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

Since nearly every movie set in prehistoric times before Quest for Fire was either a special effects-driven action film (One Million B.C.), a dopey comedy (Caveman, released the same year as Quest), or a small segment in a larger story (2001: A Space Odyssey), this movie can claim the high ground pretty much to itself. Eschewing subtitles and narration; employing heavy hitters Anthony Burgess and Desmond Morris to come up with special languages, body language, and gestures; casting virtual unknowns; and throwing in R-rated violence and sex, Quest for Fire still manages to be pretty entertaining and very easy to follow. Not that we're talking about a sophisticated story line: the Ulam tribe loses their fire source, sends three of its men out to find some more, and they come back not only with a flame but with a companion who can help them create more just by rubbing two sticks together. The script, adapted from a novel by J. H. Rosny Sr., depicts a world of tribes that basically mistrust one another, only some are more aggressive about that mistrust than others. There are a number of arresting images, none more touching than watching one of the Ulam desperately blowing on the tribe's last ember, only to have it die out. Watching this film on widescreen DVD allows you to luxuriate in the scenic locations, although shooting in Scotland, Iceland, Canada, and then Kenya makes for some slightly disconcerting terrain and vegetation changes by the filmmakers. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Tags: caveman , fire , water , ugh , gaw
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