Rating: 
Summary: In A Nutshell
Review: If it's even possible to distill a book as long as "Clan of the Cave Bear" into movie form, this film attempts it well. While there are some discrepancies between movie and book, the major plot remains largely intact.The VHS version of this movie didn't offer subtitles, but the DVD does, which is nice. (A plus for those of you who have not read the book first!) Fans of the "Earth's Children" series might find fault with the liberties taken in diverging from the book, but this film offers a nice "fix" in short form while we're waiting for Ms. Auel to finish the next book!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Poor
Review: If you hadn't read the book, the movie would mean almost nothing. If you have read the book, you will understand the very poor and sketchy story. It was a great book but watching the movie was a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Stone Age Others
Review: If you're fascinated by the mysterious disappearance of the Neanderthals, but want more than just a jawbone and burin documentary, this is the film for you. A Bertolucci or Bunuel it is not, but if you liked Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Bear, you'll find Clan of the Cave Bear just as fascinating in its attempt to bridge the gulf between us and the "other".
Daryl Hannah becomes Ayla, the token Cro-Magnon, and even though she looks great in a rabbit fur miniskirt, you'll think twice when the squat and frizzy haired Neanderthal women look at her sadly and sigh, "Ayla is so ugly; she will never get a mate." Yet her innocent boyish-girlishness makes her the perfect breaker of taboos as she successfully becomes the "Woman Who Hunts". In the end she defeats bad boy Broud and restores fairness to the clan.
Pamela Reed and James Remar are unforgettable as Iza and Creb, the brother/sister shaman/medicine woman. And Nicole Eggert is endearing as the teenage Ayla. I will never forget when, at a dull moment by the fire, Creb teaches her how to count to 5 (the rest of the clan can only get to 3). Ayla instantly learns her lesson then becomes HIS teacher and shows him a way to count to 20! "Don't talk about this to the clan," he warns.
Ferny redwood forests, snowy mountains, and the majestic music of Alan Silvestri surround this fine ensemble of actors who seem so natural speaking in signs and thinking with their eyes. Maybe it's a little sentimental, maybe a little Hollywood, but Clan of the Cave Bear satisfies our desire to see that love and compassion are inherently human and that people as diverse as Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon were, maybe, just maybe, able to get along and for a brief period share love, thought, and genes.
Rating: 
Summary: Too short
Review: It was a good try. They needed to make it longer to get more of the books details. Not a bad try. I wasn't disapointed but may have been confused if I hadent read the book first.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Just watched this movie for the second time. The last time I saw it was five years ago in college. I thought it was even better the second time. Let me start by confessing I have not read the books, so I can not present such a critical review as others, but maybe that is for the better. If you want to see a good enjoyable movie then this stands on its own quite well. In an age of countless blue screens and special computer effects lets take a minute to remember when a great movie like this could be made with "real" people, minimal action, and (god forbid) subtitles!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good for a book adaptation...
Review: Ok...I have read the book and I admit, the movie doesn't really do the book justice. BUT if you just watch the movie without comparing it to the book (with an open mind) then it's actually pretty good. Daryl Hannah (though a little old for the part) does a great job as Ayla. The other actors are fabulous as well. I mean, for a movie like this, the actors have to really act with their faces and bodies, not with there voices and I thought all of the actors did a great job. I think that, if this movie had been made now, it would have been a lot better and a lot different. But, considering it was made in 1985, it's really, really good. Just watch it with an open mind, ladies and gentlemen. You might be surprised.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the book, but...
Review: Okay, I've got to say that this movie is not nearly as good as the book, but that is, as we all know, a common phenomenon. The book by Jean M. Auel, on which this movie is based, is several hundred pages long and contains detailed accounts of everything from plant life to the intricacies of the interpersonal relationships of this fictitious group of Neanderthals. You cannot boil all this down to a movie that isn't even two hours long, and expect the same kind of story. However, I found this movie both moving, and surprisingly convincing, as far as the make-up is concerned. Sure, you can't take a modern person and remove their chins and flatten their foreheads, but considering that radical surgery wasn't an option, the make-up people did a very nice job. All in all, this is not one of those movies which will be a classic for generations to come, but I will definitely credit it (and the book) with adding to my own life-long interest in prehistoric humans in general, and the Neanderthals in particular. It is important to keep in mind that this is very much a work of fiction, but considering how little is known about this period in human prehistory, a little poetic license is warranted.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not at all like the book
Review: The book was excellent, and, in fact, the best book I have ever read in my opinion. I understand the need people felt to make a movie of this excellent book. However, the book had so much enternal things, so much information to absorb about the neanderthals (clan) that no movie could be made and nearly match the excellence of the book. If you read the book, it is fun to watch, but if you haven't, I don't see how you would be able to understand what was going on. It was confusing, and diffecult to understand. I do believe, however, it should not be judged too harshly because it was a very diffecult task to put such a story to life. I recommend it for people who have only read the book first.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic book that translates ill to the screen
Review: The captivating story of Ayla and the Clan is translated from book to film. In many respects, I thought this translation was successful, but I felt that much of it was not. As can be expected with all book-to-film projects, many of the finer details and even plot points have been left out in order to make a film that people can watch in one sitting. This film does a decent job of jamming an heavy volume into a normal length screen film. The film has to tackle the difficulty of conveying a story of people who only speak with signs, not with voices resulting in subtitles that tell the story throughout the movie. Although this is a literal adaptation, it is simply impossible to convey characters' state of mind through body language alone (which is easily done through the third person POV in the book). The result is a story on film that has become so simplified that there is no depth left. We cannot successfully "see" the culture, the differences of the society that Ayla becomes part of but remains an outcast. More creativity in the screen writing could have led to a more successful film. The film did much to represent an accurate setting - the cave man era, I thought, was well done. There was also a clear difference between Ayla herself and the rest of the people, and I must hail Daryl Hannah for a supreme effort to play an awkward, gangly child/young woman who is considered head strong and strange among the Clan. In general, the acting, such as it was (largely restricted to grunts and hand waving) was a true challenge for the actors and all-in-all pretty good. Some of the more emotional scenes are gruelling to watch, as they were gruelling to read in the book. The characters were more black and white than in the book, but this is also to be expected in adaptations since nuance is easily lost. The characters are easily identifiable and the audience can keep track of them. All in all, I was disappointed with the effort. It is not an easy story to translate to film. I knew this before I watched the movie. Nevertheless, this film will remain to me one of those that will never live up to the book which is undoubtedly deserves a 5-star rating. And in spite of its plus points, I can only give the film a 2-star rating. It's not dismal, but not great either.
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Rating: 
Summary: One of the finest adaptations of a book to film
Review: The film captures the essence of the book of the same title by Jean Auel. I liked the book very much, which is what prompted me to buy the movie. In agreement with another reviewer, if you are going to watch it to nit-pick about plot inconsistencies, the film is not for you. But all of the book's characterization and polemical elements are there in flying colors in the movie. What was most startling for me was the performance given by Daryl Hannah. I am not a frequent movie viewer, so her name immediately brought to mind "Splash" - which this definitely is NOT. Her portrayal of Ayla was one of the finest acting performances I have seen... especially given (or because of) the language / sign language handicap. Auel spent a lot of time in the book describing the modes of non-verbal communication of the Clan, and it is clear that Hannah was up to the challenge of communicating the character of Ayla through action, gesture, expression, and posture. Her subtly was amazing and is appreciated more upon a second or third viewing. The movie's feel is a little minimalist because of the lack of dialog, especially as compared with the lush descriptive passages of the book. However, the scenery and acting in this big-screen version more than compensate for the lack of the book's strong narrative. I would also mention that the "over eighteen" rating of this movie seemed a little inappropriate to me. For those familiar with the book, the rape scene is done in the spirit of supporting the story and characterization - emotionally / spiritually anguishing but not overtly violent or sexual.
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