Quest for Fire (French: La Guerre du feu) is a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 Belgian novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940). Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and adapted by Gérard Brach, the film stars Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong. It won the Academy Award for Makeup. Michael D. Moore was the associate producer in charge of action & animal scenes.
It is set in Paleolithic Europe, 80,000 years ago, its plot surrounding the struggle for control of fire by early humans.
The film begins with a raid by the apelike Wagabu tribe on the Neanderthal Ulam tribe, who possess fire in the form of a carefully guarded small flame which they use to start larger bonfires. Obtained from a natural source, it must be fed constantly to keep it alive, for the Ulam do not know how to make their own fire. Driven out of their home after a bloody battle with the Wagabu, the surviving Ulam escape but are chased into a marsh by a pack of wolves. The Ulam fire tender escapes with the tribe's remaining fire, however after crossing a marsh, the moisture and wind douse the embers, leaving the tribe doomed to die from exposure and starvation. The Ulams refuse to resort to
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