[.ca] The Clan of the Cave Bear (Widescreen/Full Screen) (ISBN 0790742764)

From Amazon.com:
Every statuesque, beautiful blonde woman has spent more time in the company of Neanderthals than she cares to remember. Seems it's always been that way: Clan of the Cave Bear, a 1986 feature scripted by John Sayles and based on Jean Auel's bestselling novel set in prehistoric times, stars former mermaid Daryl Hannah as an intelligent Cro-Magnon woman adopted and raised by lesser-evolved Neanderthals. Berated for her brains, sexually exploited, and generally treated as uppity chattel, Hannah's character sets out for the far country to see who else is there. Eventually, she finds more Baywatch-like gods and goddesses similar to herself, including an Aryan-looking stud with whom she discovers how good sex can feel with a warm, caring, proto-human. Sayles's writing on this project is forceful but cheeky. It's hard not to laugh at a number of scenes that shouldn't, in the strictest sense, be laughed at (the use of subtitles to decipher caveman grunts and clucks may or may not be an intentional running joke), but one gets the feeling Sayles looked upon this challenge as a pop exercise instead of (as many of the book's fans would have preferred) a religious experience. Michael Chapman, ace cinematographer of Mean Streets and The Wanderers, directed with an eye toward primitive exotica and made this a terrific-looking movie. Author Auel was reportedly unhappy with the final results on screen, but the film is well worth a fascinated look. With Pamela Reed and James Remar. --Tom Keogh

In some ways, better than the book:
Few movies are as good as the books they're based on, but this is one of them. This movie actually improves on the book in that it takes out most of the soap-operish qualities of the original, even though it does, by necessity, edit and change the story a bit. It's difficult to make a popular and appealing movie about cavemen. Most people even get bored watching National Geographic. I disagree with the Amazon review; the subtitles are anything but laughable, and the sign language used seems plausible and natural. There are not a lot of caveman movies, but this one, along with Quest For Fire, is one of the best. Anyone watching this movie or reading the book will learn a lot about the lifestyle of our ancestors. The story elements make it entertaining for all ages, and the scenery is gorgeous.

This is a better movie than the video sales represent:
Rated R: Not for sale to persons under age 18. Studio: Warner Studios Video Release Date: September 1, 1998 Cast: Daryl Hannah ... Ayla Pamela Reed ... Iza James Remar ... Creb Thomas G. Waites ... Broud John Doolittle ... Brun Curtis Armstrong ... Goov Martin Doyle ... Grod Tony Montanaro ... Zoug Mike Muscat ... Dorv John Wardlow ... Droog Keith Wardlow ... Crug Karen Austin ... Aba Barbara Duncan ... Uka Gloria Lee ... Oga Janne Mortil ... Ovra Lycia Naff ... Uba Linda Quibell ... Aga Bernadette Sabath ... Ebra Penny A. Mesa ... Ika Penny Smith ... Ika Joey Cramer ... Young Broud Rory L. Crowley ... Durc Nicole Eggert ... Middle Ayla Emma Floria ... Young Ayla Pierre Lamielle ... Brac Mary Reid ... Ayla's Mother Samantha Ostry ... Young Uba Shane Punt ... Young Vorn Christiane Boyce ... Baby Durc Catherine Flather ... Baby Durc Amy Cyr ... Young Girl #3 Colin Doyle ... Young Boy Natino Bellantoni ... Gorn Rick Valiquette ... Voord Alan Waltman ... Norg Paul Carafotes ... Brug Salome Jens ... Narrator Bart the Bear ... The bear The setting is prehistoric, and the theme revolves around the clash between Neanderthals and pre-human Cro-Magnons, who supposedly existed side-by-side for some time, the one destined for extinction and the other for our ancestry. The film has drawn so much attention among my friends and family that I thought for awhile that it was destined to be a "cult" film. Daryl Hannah plays a Cro-Magnon girl who is abandoned in infancy and raised by Neanderthals, who are jealous of her blond good looks and intelligence, which they don't understand. I would suggest that you watch this one first without the kids, as some parts are pretty explicit, but the language is clean--except that they have their own, of course: as in, "ug! uga boo uga boo boo ugga"--but it is a thought provoking film, nevertheless. Joseph (Joe) Pierre author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance and other books

daryl hannah's best performance in her career:
with the exception of her nasty turn in blade runner, daryl hannah gave her best & most underappreciated performance here in hollywood's adaptation of auel's earth children novel. while perhaps not as spiritual(or a religious experience as tom has written), the clan of the cave bear is a beautifully choreographed story with many unrealized rewards. orphaned as young girl, ayla is adopted by iza(played beautifully by pamela reed)under the clan of the cave bear. ayla grows up to understand the ways of the clan but never truly feels as if she is a part of the family for fear of angering the spirits. in a time & place where neanderthals existed prior to cro-magnons, ayla learns very quickly that knowledge is forbidden to anyone but great leaders(or leaders to be) & weaponry is completely forbidden to women. she discovers too what many women discover later in life & tries to stay alive in a male dominated land. with the exception of one gory & violent hunting scene where the clan attacks a cave bear or a brutal rape scene, this film could've easily been a family classic perhaps worthy of many viewings. i disagree with tom in that clan is certainly not a film for lovers of traditional pop culture or popcorn films in general. there is a certain degree of knowledge & common sense which one must have to appreciate or even respect such a film as this. unfortunately, this film will never go down in history as anything truly memorable but i've found the film to be compulsively watchable & i'm actually incoined to read one of the books in the earth children series now after having watched this twice on dvd. for anyone interested in pre-historic dramas or feministic films with women in caves, clan is a marvelous film for you & at a reasonable cost too. ofcourse, daryl hannah completists will most likely want to own this one as well & who could blame them. this is absolutely better than her mermaid performance in splash. long live the legend of ayla which should inspire, strengthen, & encourage us to survive in a strange land.

Honest:
I've read the entire series twice,if not more.Love Jean Auel & really hope she decides to add to this historic adventure. The movie was fair.....but how can you bring such a great series to the screen.Still enjoyed very much. Diane & Jerry

Did not care for it:
I did not think the movie did justice to the book. The movie omited and changed very important things like the birth of Durc and how she was sentenced to the final death curse. Those things were the basis for feelings in the following books. If they wanted to move to the next book, it could only be worse, because of the lack of attention given to vital parts of the movie. Granted, they cannot include every detail, and naming each plant would have taken up too much time, but I think it could have been done with a little more care for the story line. If I hadn't already read the book, I would not have been interested in reading it after the movie.