La Guerre du Feu (film)

Quest For Fire
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jean-Jacques Annaud
Produced by	Jacques Dorfmann John Kemeny Véra Belmont Denis Héroux Michael Gruskoff
Screenplay by	Gérard Brach
Based on	The Quest for Fire by J.-H. Rosny
Starring	Everett McGill Rae Dawn Chong Ron Perlman Nameer El-Kadi
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Cinematography	Claude Agostini
Edited by	Yves Langlois
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	December 16, 1981 (1981-12-16)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Canada France
Language	Invented language
Budget	$12 million
Box office	€40,602,910 ($55,260,558)

Quest for Fire (French: La Guerre du feu) is a 1981 French-Canadian adventure film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, written by Gérard Brach and starring Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi and Rae Dawn Chong. It is a film adaptation of the 1911 homonymous Belgian novel by J.-H. Rosny. The story is set in Paleolithic Europe (80,000 years ago), with its plot surrounding the struggle for control of fire by early humans. It won the Academy Award for Makeup.

The Ulam are a tribe of primitive homo sapiens who possess fire in the form of a carefully guarded small flame which they use to start larger bonfires. Driven out of their home after a bloody battle with the ape-like Wagabu (Homo erectus), the Ulam are horrified when their fire is accidentally extinguished in a marsh. Because the tribe does not know how to create fire themselves, the tribal elder decides to send three men, Naoh (Everett McGill), Amoukar (Ron Perlman) and Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi), on a quest to find fire.

The trio encounter several dangers on their trek, including an encounter with the Kzamm, a tribe of cannibals (Homo neandertalensis). The Kzamm have fire, and Naoh, Amoukar and Gaw determine to steal it. Gaw and Amoukar lure most of the Kzamm away from their encampment. Naoh kills the remaining warriors, but not before being bitten on the genitals by one, which causes him agony. The three Ulam take the Kzamm fire and prepare to head home.