Fire Sciences Movie Reviews

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Family movie reviews for "Fire Sciences" sorted by average review score:
Quest for Fire
Released in DVD by Twentieth Century Fox Home Video (04 March, 2003)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring: Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong
Quest for Fire is so detailed in its depiction of prehistoric man that it might have been made by time-traveling filmmakers. Instead it's a bold and timeless experiment by visionary director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), inviting scientific debate while presenting a fascinating, imaginary glimpse of humankind some 80,000 years ago. Using diverse locations in Kenya, Scotland, and Canada, Annaud tells the purely visual story of five tribes (some more advanced than others) who depend on fire for survival. They "steal" fire from nature, but the actual creation of fire remains elusive, lending profound mystery and majesty to the film's climactic, real-time display of fire-making ingenuity. Employing primitive language created by novelist Anthony Burgess and body language choreographed by anthropologist Desmond Morris, a unique ensemble of actors push the envelope of their profession, succeeding where they easily could've failed. They're carnal, violent, funny, curious, and intelligent; through them, and through the eons, we can recognize ourselves. --Jeff Shannon
Average review score:

Gritty and Realistic
Excellent movie showing you how fragile life was in prehistoric times! A small group of cavemen are on a quest to discover fire (obtain it form another clan/tribe). Along the way they must fight wildlife, cannibals, warring tribes and others!

Very realistic and with a few moments of good humor! Much more authentic then many caveman movies where everyone is dressed in clean furs and well fed! A must see!

Life with the cave men.
"Quest for Fire" is set 80,000 years ago, at the dawn of man. A tribe's fire is extinguished, so they send three of their bravest warriors to find another source of fire and bring it back. Along the way they have many adventures with cannibal tribes, lions, mammoths, bears, and must brave the elements. Along the way they find a female, which it takes little time to get attached to her. There is no dialog or even subtitles. Only grunts that almost sound like words ("OME! or "NO"). most of plot points depends on broad body language, much like mimes. The violence is not graceful; it is savage and brutal, with clubs, stones, rapes and animal maulings. This is possably what life was like in the stone age before man figured out how to make fire. This is not for children, but it is interesting for adults.

This is why they make DVD's
I would give this movie three and a half stars maybe four stars because it is excellent, although the historicity in it is pretty fragile now it was up to date twenty years ago. I give the DVD five because this is truly a DVD par excellance. The commentaries alone are worth buying this DVD.

The movie itself is not at all politically correct, which I appreciate, too often we wish to impose modern morals and social behaviour on the ancient world, as one sees in Clan of the Cave Bear. Not here, this film tackles clanwars, cannibalism, rape, sexuality, and even alcoholism. The one thing that did surprise me was that apparently the main characters, the Ulum tribe, were not supposed to be neanderthals, even though (based on modern understanding of neanderthals) their social behaviour was very much like the neanderthals' and was totally unlike archaic homo sapiens. However, this movie functions very well in familliarizing modern man with the totally alien world of our ancient ancestors.

Now for the DVD special features. The special features are what really set this DVD apart. Through the director commentary, and also a commentary with the exec. producer and a couple actors one really gets a sense of what a harrowing project this film was to make for all involved. From shooting in the remotest wilderness, to training animals, to working under the harshest conditions imageinable from neckdeep in frozen water in Canada to barefoot on 140 degree rocks in the middle of Africa, this movie must have been as hard to act through as life must have been for our ancient ancestors. Ron Perlman, in part of his commentary mentions that he still feels the frostbite he got while shooting this movie every time it gets cold. The special features really are brilliant and they will give you a much deeper appreciation of the movie you are watching.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Released in DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment (12 June, 2001)
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Val Guest
Starring: Janet Munro and Edward Judd
Despite its melodramatic title, which carried on a '50s doomsday naming convention, this taut 1961 English science fiction thriller offers an object lesson in the power of story over special effects. When both the Soviets and the West detonate nuclear tests simultaneously, the seismic double whammy jolts the earth off its axis and onto a new orbit sending it fatally closer to the sun--a fate that writer-director-producer Val Guest views from the street-level perspective of its principal characters, rather than an off-world vantage point. The street in question, however, is London's Fleet Street, the venerable hub of its newspaper and tabloid publishers, and the hard-nosed reporters growing realization that their number is up carries its own stark punch. Edward Judd is Peter Stenning, a rugged, appropriately grim reporter, Leo McKern is tough but compassionate editor Bill Maguire, and Janet Munro is Stenning's love interest, in an elfin, sexy turn that's a striking contrast to her best-known turn in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People. With an effects arsenal that consists largely of a spray bottle to apply beads of "sweat," Guest and his small but crack cast are surprisingly effective, and the cold war plot hook still works, thanks to its uncomfortable proximity to more contemporary environmental terrors. --Sam Sutherland
Average review score:

Early Sci-Fi At Its Best
Unlike many examples of early sci-fi cinema, TDTECF combines a thought-provoking storyline with superb acting to create a very credible thriller about the countdown to Earth's destruction as a result of a decaying orbit brought on by nuclear testing.

Edward Judd is excellent in the role of Peter Stenning, a cynical newspaper columnist who has fallen from the top of his profession into a whiskey bottle but rises to sobriety once again admist the crisis. Janet Munro is adorable as Jeanie Crane, the weather ministry worker who leaks the story of the ages to Judd and ends up falling in love with him in the process. Leo McKern, widely known for his later role as Rumpole of the Bailey, is simply superb as Bill McGuire, the paper's science expert and Stenning's best friend. His sharp wit and tongue make his character a joy to watch.

Added into that mix is an amazingly authentic recreation of a newspaper work environment. I don't know the actor who plays Mr. Jefferson, the newpaper's editor, but he should have gotten an Oscar for his portrayal. I heard somewhere that he was a former newspaper editor--and it shows in his performance.

The special effects are minimal and unsophisticated, but the tension in the story builds as the lethality of the crisis becomes apparent to everyone and mankind makes a frantic, last-second attempt to prevent its ultimate undoing.

As far as the DVD goes, it is a very nice package. It includes commentary from Val Guest, the director; a nice set of production stills; and radio advertising spots for the movie. The audio sync does appear to be a hair off in some spots, but it wasn't all that noticeable. The picture quality is crisp and the audio is clear. I especially like the colorized (sort of) opening and closing sequences. Overall, a very nice packaging of a wonderful movie. One of the top sci-fi films of all time in my opinion.

intelligent sci-fi
Director Val Guest delivers one of the finest science fiction films ever made.With its real locations,literate script, documentary feel and a complete lack of the usual blaring music typical of the period this is a stand out movie of the genre.
You can almost feel the temperature rising as the film progresses.A great demonstration of what may happen if mankind continues to stupidly detonate nuclear warheads.

A great movie about the end of us all
I have to confess the only reason that I bought "The Day the Eath Caught Fire" was due to its premsis of the end of the world. I LOVED IT! I thought that the acting and storyline was great. The Director is a excellent job. The movie kept the viewer guessing right end about the fate of the earth. A Great Job!

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