Anyone else like the movie Quest for Fire (1981)

[BootinUp]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082484/

I only saw for the first time recently and I think its a pretty cool flick. Drew me in anyways, its got everything you want in a great movie except for intellectual dialogue anyways.

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. The tears in his eyes when he watched Rae Dawn Chong make fire for the first time...

Just imagine what a feeling that would have been, knowing your entire world, and that of your family, your tribe, and everyone to come after you had just changed in immeasurable ways.

Definitely one of my All-Time favorites.

[Rincewind]

2. I really liked it.

I haven't seen it in several years, but when it was first on cable, I watched it 3 or 4 times. And every time, by the end of the movie, I felt that I could almost, but not quite, understand what they were saying.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Great flick, IMHO...

Haven't seen it in years, though. I do remember one critic's comment though. He said something to the effect that it was a busy week for humankind, in that several rather important features of modern humans (including the capability to start fires rather than just carry it around with them) that were probably really spread out over thousands of years were all learned in a very short cinematic time frame.

[Bucky]

8. Then the critic wasn't paying attention

The story isn't about learning to make fire. It's about cultural diffusion. Or more specifically, technology diffusion, as the tribe that the girl came from obviously already knew how to make fire. She simply passed that knowledge along to the three protagonists. Besides, movies are supposed to telescope events down. It was obviously intended as an allegory for how those changes took place, not an attempt at literally depicting exactly who did what.

The movie got plenty of the science wrong. As I recall, it showed human subspecies and conflicts that took place over 100,000 years ago -- whereas the movie said it was taking place only 10- or 12,000 years in the past.


(on edit) Oops. The movie, I see after googling, claimed to take place 80,000 years ago. It's still off, time wise, but not by as badly as I stated at first.

[pipi_k]

4. Was just thinking

about this movie the other day.

I saw it years ago.

Best thing about it was no annoying dialogue or obnoxious loud explosions every ten seconds.

[Aristus]

5. I've only seen it once, a few years after it was released.

I enjoyed the fact that the filmmakers tried to depict prehistoric life in a way that might be considered 'realistic', instead of in a cartoonish way (Raquel Welch in a fur bikini, etc) or in a stylized way for the purposes of telling a story (Clan Of The Cave Bear, for example).

I don't know how close they got to the reality of the times. We may never know. But it was a good effort and an entertaining film.

[sharp_stick]

6. I really enjoyed it

It was a long time ago but I enjoyed it.

On edit: Even with Big Ed Hurley in the lead role.

[Bucky]

9. funny, I only remember Ron Perlman in it

well, him and Rae Dawn Chong

[sharp_stick]

10. You can barely recognize Everett McGill n/t

[sarge43]

7. I like it and have it on DVD.

A very credible attempt at probable reality. Particularly liked the scene with the mastodons.

[amerikat]

11. It's available online at this link.

http://viooz.co/movies/8661-quest-for-fire-1981.html