Rating: 
Summary: Excellent & Interesting Movie
Review: I saw this film in 1982 and remember it making quite an impression on me back then. I recently viewed the DVD and was equally impressed again. One of the great things about this film is that the director is able to tell a story without the use of dialogue. The acting alone tells the story, and that is quite a task. The story it tells is interesting and filled with human drama. One of the virtues of this film is that our ancestors are shown to be real humans; they have feelings like us, they react like us, they desire a better life, like us. By the end of the film you realize that humanity and all its aspirations and failings, has not really changed much; the archetypes remain the same, as Carl Jung would say. The DVD is excellent, good clear picture, good commentary, and lots of material on how the film was made. A good movie and good DVD, who could aks for anything more?
Rating: 
Summary: You'll go ape over this DVD!
Review: You might think I'm bananas, but the lack of dialogue and etiquitte really appeal to my simean nature. If you want to nurture your inner primal child, buy it while supplies last!
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Summary: The Magic and Mystery of Fire
Review: "Quest for Fire" is a fascinating story of the development of man through the possession of fire. As the movie says in its prologue, "The tribe that possessed fire, possessed life". Fire was everything; warmth, cooking, protection from predators; and in this film, early man will do anything, even kill, to protect it. "Quest" brings us five tribes in varying degrees of civilization; some only a step or two removed from brute animals, some more advanced; but in all but one tribe, the fire must be guarded jealously and never allowed to be extinguished, because if it went out, another tribe had to be raided and their fire stolen. In this film, a tribe is attacked by a primitive group and half their number slaughtered; the remnants flee into a marshy area and the fire is dropped into the drink. Three young men are dispatched to bring back some more. Traveling through unknown territory and fighting off sabre-tooth lions and other dangers, they rescue a young woman who is about to be cooked and eaten by a tribe of cannibals, stealing their fire on route. But this girl belongs to a tribe more advanced than any of the men can conceive of; not only do they make their own shelter (one of the men gapes in fascination at a rude concoction of twigs and hides which serves as a house), but they also know how to make their own fire. "Quest" posits that the development of civilization took a quantum leap when people learned how to build fire for themselves and weren't limited to raiding their neighbors. Anthony Burgess and Desmond Morris created an intriguing verbal language and gestures that let the viewer know exactly what the characters are communicating without a word being spoken or shown in English; subtitles aren't needed in film; the characters do a wonderful job of talking through gestures and verbalizations. And together with progressing through learning how to build fire, the two young people (the man and the girl he has rescued) come together to build a family. Civilization progressed not only through fire, but also when men stopped bopping women upside the head and dragging them back to their caves, and began to treat them as partners in building a life together. The primary actors, Everett McGill as Naoh, Ron Perlman as the hulking Amoukar, Nameer El-Kadi as the comedian Gaw (his identical twin is tragically killed in the beginning of the film), and Rae Dawn Chong as Ika, are all excellent; but for this reviewer, the most fascinating character was Lolamal Kapsisi as the Firemaker; watching him create friction between two pieces of dry wood and seeing the first spark ignite that turns into an incandescent fire, one has the sense that this was how life started.
Rating: 
Summary: Hot!
Review: Rae Dawn Chong is hot in this, despite being covered in ashes, & having no words to say (except 'caveman' language).
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie....Not so good DVD
Review: Was so excited that this movie is finally coming out on DVD. First time for me to watch it in its' full form.(was not allowed to view it during the time of its release cause I was only 11 yrs. old)
The movie is great except for the DVD... Generally, video quality is pleasing...but there are scenes which are grainy specially landscape views...grainy to the point of distraction..
In short, the DVD release did not do justice for the film. I gave it 3 stars cause its just a so and so DVD release. Was not pleased with the video quality. They could have made it better. For fans of the movie...get a copy..but...don't expect too much on the video quality...
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Summary: to keep the home fire burning
Review: If you have ever wondered how important keeping a fire going used to be, then this is the movie to watch. Riveting in its simplicity & astonishingly immediate, QUEST FOR FIRE touches an old, old place in our psyche. Intensely satisfying, well-researched for the time it was filmed & a must for anyone with an appetite for our ancient story.
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT, BRILLANT, BRILLIANT
Review: Quest for Fire is an understated masterpiece of film. This movie should have made $100 million at the box office, because it was an independent movie, it never got it's legs or the audience, it so richly deserves. Quest for Fire is simply one of the best movies of all time, with no languages spoken in the movie, it really makes you pay attention, and keeps you thinking. Hillarious from start to end, this movie is thought provoking and simply enduring to one's sensibilties. This was also Rae Dawn Chong's first film release.
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Summary: A trio of Cro-Magnons go off in search of fire...
Review: Already people are fretting about this movie Mel Gibson is making about the last days of Christ in which everybody will be speaking Latin and/or Arameic without subtitles. Well, if you are a-feared of such a prospect you can warm up on 1981 Canadian/French production from Jean-Jacques Annaud. "Quest for Fire" ("Le Guerre du feu") should be a good test for you because in this story, set among the Cro-Magnons of eighty thousand years ago, you know neither the characters nor the plot. The genesis for this story is quite primal. A tribe of Cro-Magnons is attacked by its neighbors and has its fire stolen. This requires a small band to go forth and seek fire, which is necessary to ensure the tribe's survival. The trio consists of the brains of the outfit, Naoh (Everett McGill), the hulking brute, Amoukar (Ron Perlman), and the wiry comic relief, Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi). Along the way they hook up with Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), a young woman who is rescued from slavery because she actually knows how to MAKE fire, as opposed to waiting for lightning to hit something and start only a very small little fire. The authenticity of the "language" in this film comes from the work of authors Anthony Burgess("A Clockwork Orange") who created the spoken languages and Desmond Morris ("The Naked Ape") who worked on the body language and gestures. I have certainly met a few people who were bothered by the lack of sub-titles, but never anyone who did not understand what was going on or what was being communicated. Without your eyes darting to the bottom of the screen throughout the movie you can pay attention to the nuanced performances and each viewing allows you to further amplify the dialogue you are conjuring up in your mind. For realism, "Quests of Fire" has everything from "One Million B.C." to "Clan of the Cave Bear" beat big time. Ultimately, this story is not just a quest for fire, but a quest for love at a time when we think men simply knocked a woman over the head with a club and dragged her home to his cave, and if the film had not suggested the birth of true civilization came with the discovery of the missionary position, this film would enjoy a much better reputation. Annaud was probably trying to make a point about the importance of romance as a contributing factor to human evolution, but that idealization goes up in smoke when Ika shows Naoh a better way of doing it (it was almost enough to cost this film a star, but overall the ambition and execution on this one is too good to be that petty over one small screw up). For now the biggest complaint is that "Quest for Fire" is not yet available in wide-screen, because Claude Agostini's cinematography loses a lot in the scan-and-pan version of this decidedly "foreign" film.
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Summary: The best prehistoric movie ever.
Review: This film is a clasic. It draws together great talent from the director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), to the consultants, such as anthropologist Desmond Morris and others, to make a film that goes to the heart of the human condition. This is what life was like at the dawn of man. You feel a kinship with the characters, an innate understanding of their situation because your ancestors were there! Quest is also a good story on every level. It is powerful, evocative and moving; once seen you feel the need to see it again every so often, almost like searching your "roots". It is a jewel and belongs in your collection. Not to have this movie on DVD is a crime against humanity!
Rating:
Summary: Still fascinating
Review: Recent archaeological and anthropological discoveries have rendered many parts of this film innacurate and out-of-date. Despite that, it remains an engaging and involving look at early man. As the title implies, the story revolves around a primitive tribes' (the Ulams) hunt for life-giving fire. Tribesman Naoh and two others embark on a long and dangerous trek through a world rife with peril. They encounter Ika of the Ivakas (Rae Dawn Chong, in an excellent performance), who teaches them remarkable new ways to hunt (a primitive bow and arrow type weapon, comparable to the spear-throwers in Jean Auel's "Earth's Children" books), to make love, to laugh (one of the most delightful moments of the film) and most importantly, how to create fire. As we discover more and more about early humans, we see that they were not grunting savages, but rather, dynamic and advanced beings. This film offers a little of both. The possibility that interaction between tribes led to the spread of new technology and ideas has been vigorously debated; some support the idea that harsh climates and predators would have forced such advancements to remain localized. Personally, I agree with the filmmakers here. Also, it is likely that by 80,000 years ago our communication skills had already evolved beyond the simple grunts, hand signs, and body postures employed by the people in the film, though how far beyond is open for debate. Some authors on the subject have suggested that such a communication system was in use at an even earlier point in man's history; so, the linguistics represented in "Quest for Fire" are a remarkable simulation of what communication may have been like millenia before. Kudos to Anthony Burgess ("A Clockwork Orange") and Desmond Morris ("The Naked Ape") for an interesting--if debatable--realization of early language. Even with its possible (and proven) inaccuracies, "Quest for Fire" remains a dynamic and breathtaking film. It's not for the faint of heart; there are moments of bloody violence, cannibalism, and some graphic depictions of sexuality. Not surprising, given the world of early man. Jean Jacques-Annaud's direction makes good use of the beautiful locations used for the film, and some of the scenes are exhilarating. The film can pack an emotional punch, especially in the powerful and touching closing shot. As an anthropology lesson, it leaves something to be desired. But as a film and as a speculative piece on the origins of humanity, it works.
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