BB

(out of 5)

Following the masterpiece of Quest For Fire, a film adaptation of Jean Auel’s famous novel series seemed a perfect idea; sadly, the end result is a lot closer to Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. than the Jean-Jacques Annaud classic. Daryl Hannah plays a human girl who is separated from her people and raised by Cro-Magnons, living in their cave until she realizes that she is more advanced than they are and no longer needs to keep getting raped by her tribe’s alpha male. As far as the audience is concerned, her genetic superiority lies in her bleach-blonde hair and leggy stance, that is until she learns to make a slingshot weapon that spurs her on to greatness. The quality of the production, especially in the makeup, matches Quest For Fire for the most part, but John Sayles’s flat (commissioned) screenplay is fluffy nonsense. A shame, especially considering how respected and revered Auel’s books have been for so many years.

Warner Bros., Producers Sales Organization, The Guber-Peters Company, The Jozak Company, Decade, Jonesfilm

USA, 1986

Directed by Michael Chapman

Screenplay by John Sayles, based on the novel by Jean M. Auel

Cinematography by Jan de Bont

Produced by Gerald I. Isenberg

Music by Alan Silvestri

Production Design by Anthony Masters

Costume Design by Kelly Kimball

Film Editing by Wendy Greene Bricmont

Academy Award Nomination
Best Makeup (Michael G. Westmoe, Michele Burke)