Quest for Fire

UPC: 024543068464

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Adventure

Awards: Best Picture – French Academy of Cinema Best Director – French Academy of Cinema Best Foreign Film – null Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Genie Awards Best Actress – Genie Awards Best Actor - Foreign – Genie Awards Best Costume Design – Genie Awards Best Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound Editing – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Sound – Genie Awards Best Foreign Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccAudio commentaries by Jean-Jacques Annaud, Michael Gruskoff, Ron Perlman and Rae Dawn Chong
15 video galleries with director's commentary
Theatrical trailer
Featurette

Quest for Fire

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/04/2003

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Main Titles
2. The Ulam Tribe
3. Invaders
4. The Hunted
5. No More Fire
6. The Quest
7. Up a Tree
8. Cannibals
9. A Fight for Fire
10. Ika
11. A Celebration of Fire
12. The Mammoths
13. An Interest in Ika
14. Left Behind
15. The Hut
16. Quicksand
17. The Ivaka Tribe
18. Ivaka Hospitality
19. The Secret of Fire
20. The New Ivaka
21. Going Home
22. Ika's Way
23. On the Run
24. The Bear
25. Modern Warfare
26. Naoh's Miracle
27. Home and Family
28. End Titles

Tom Wiener

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, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Joy Boushel  Actor 
Robert Lavoie  Actor 
Matt Birman  Actor 
Karen Hazzard  Actor 
Bibi Caspari  Actor 
Jean-Michel Kindt  Actor 
Ellen Chenoweth  Actor 
George Buza  Actor 
Michelle Leduc  Actor 
Peter Elliott  Actor 
Jean-Jacques Annaud  Director 
Gérard Brach  Screenwriter 
Denis Heroux  Producer 
John Kemeny  Producer 
Philippe Sarde  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Gruskoff  Producer 
Everett McGill  Actor 
Rae Dawn Chong  Actor 
Ron Perlman  Actor 
Nameer El-Kadi  Actor 
Gary Schwartz  Actor 
Kurt Schiegl  Actor 
Franck-Olivier Bonnet  Actor 
Brian Gill  Actor 
Terry Fitt  Actor 

Country: Canada,France