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★★★★☆ A multi-award winning 101 minutes of dialogue-less travelogue about three Neanderthal tribesmen sent on a mission to find and steal fire from another clan, Jean-Jacques Annaud's Quest for Fire (1981) is nothing if not ambitious. Everett McGill (best known as Big Ed Hurley from Twin Peaks), Ron Perlman and Nameer El-Kadi star as the three hirsute proto-humans who encounter strange and violent scenes on their journey. Cinematographer Claude Agostini's work is reminiscent (perhaps because of the ape-like appearance of the cast) of The Planet of the Apes, taking in a variety of sweeping vistas.

The level of technical craft on display is astonishing. Justly awarded for the brilliant make-up and prosthetic work by Sarah Monzani and Michèle Burke and natural looking production design by a whole parade of talented art directors and designers, Quest for Fire has an earthy, almost tactile look to it. A memorable face-off with a pair...

The Mayans, the wise race of ancients who created hot cocoa, set December 21st, 2012 as the end date of their Calendar, which the intelligent and logical amongst us know signifies the day the world will end, presumably at 12:21:12am, Mountain Time. From now until zero date, we will explore the 50 films you need to watch before the entire world perishes. We don’t have much time, so be content, be prepared, be entertained. The Film: Quest For Fire (1981) The Plot: 80,000 years ago in the time of the neanderthal one of the most precious commodities was fire. It served to cook food, keep warm, and ownership of fire by a tribe of human ancestors was a sign of power – because at that time it was not understood as to how it could be manufactured. When one such tribe gets brutally attacked by another group they lose their flame in the aftermath. Three...