Review of Quest for Fire (1981) by Betty C — 17 Jan 2009

Incredibly Funny in parts, I don't know if this film qualifies as highbrow or lowbrow, and don't really care. It's supposed to be a serious dramatization of the origins of humanity, and yet, some of the goofier violence and comedy (and the prehistoric beasts--check out those wooly mammoths and the sabre-tooth tigers) is brilliantly goofy, all the more so because the film itself is so deadpan.

I don't know what to make of it, honestly. Anthony Burgess painstakingly designed the cavemen language, which comes off on screen as a series of 'ook' and 'awwks'. A young Everett McGill (Big Ed from Twin Peaks) and a young Ron Perlman make it a must-see for fans of the offbeat.

Forget 10,000 B.C and watch this instead.