The Quest for Fire Adventure (1982) (TV)

Writer:

Rick Sublett

Release Date:

1982 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Plot:

Orson Welles explains the creation process of a unique motion picture, a first of its kind, with contributions from the diverse range of worldwide talents who made it possible.

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean-Jacques Annaud	...	Himself - Director
Anthony Burgess	...	Himself
Michael Gruskoff	...	Himself - Executive Producer
Desmond Morris	...	Himself
Christian Benard	...	Himself (uncredited)
Franck-Olivier Bonnet	...	Himself (uncredited)
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Herself (uncredited)
Hassannali Damji	...	Himself (uncredited)
Peter Elliott	...	Himself (uncredited)
Terry Fitt	...	Himself (uncredited)
Nicholas Kadi	...	Himself (uncredited)
Lolamal Kapisisi	...	Himself (uncredited)
John Kemeny	...	Himself (uncredited)
Robert Lavoie	...	Himself (uncredited)
Everett McGill	...	Himself (uncredited)
Sarah Monzani	...	Herself (uncredited)
Ron Perlman	...	Himself (uncredited)
Kurt Schiegl	...	Himself (uncredited)
Gary Schwartz	...	Himself (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rick Sublett

Produced by
Chuck Ashman	....	producer
Gayle Hollenbaugh	....	associate producer

Sound Department
Allen Patapoff	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Michel Parbot	....	camera operator: Sygma (as Michael Parbot)

Editorial Department
Jerry Davis	....	editor: video tape
Don Kline	....	post-production director
Penny Paplanus	....	post-production assistant
Arden Rynew	....	editor: video tape

Other crew
Iris Zurawin	....	creative supervisor

Production Companies

• AB Productions (as A.B. Productions)

Distributors

• Lume Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Compact Video Services  post-production facilities (as Compact Video Services, Inc.)
• Starfax  location photography: United States (as Starfax Inc.)
• Sygma  location photography: Scotland/Kenya/Canada/England

Also Known As:

Runtime:

23 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company:

AB Productions

Trivia:

In an attempt to provide as much realism as possible, the actors spoke no modern (or ancient) languages in this movie. Instead, the director created a proto-language for this movie based on assumptions and some of the more universal ways of speaking. Despite the lack of "real" dialog, or even subtitles, an excellent understanding is achieved.

Movie Connections:

Features Quest for Fire (1981)

An interesting and informative making of documentary

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This rather brief (only 23 minutes), but still pretty engrossing and illuminating documentary offers a neat depiction of the difficult production of the ambitious motion picture "Quest for Fire." Director Jean-Jacques Annaud comes across as a very passionate and dedicated fellow; he spent three years alone crafting the script and scouting locations all over the word for this movie. Moreover, the scantly clad or even nude cast members subjected themselves to extremely harsh conditions as they toiled away for sixteen hour days in severe heat or unsparing cold. Noted linguist Anthony Burgess devised a special primitive language while renowned anthropologist Desmond Morris came up with realistic body gestures. Moreover, the whole enterprise was shot completely on location for authenticity. Orson Welles is a real hoot to watch as our incredibly solemn narrator: Speaking with utter sincerity in his trademark deep, plummy, and commanding voice, Welles is so dead serious that he's paradoxically enough often quite unintentionally funny as well. Loaded with choice clips and fascinating behind-the-scenes footage, this documentary is well worth seeing for fans of the film.