The Clan of the Cave Bear (film)
Encyclopedia
The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1986 film based on the book of the same name
by Jean M. Auel
and was directed by Michael Chapman
.
as Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon
woman who was separated from her family during an earthquake and found by a group of Neanderthals. Dialogue is conducted mostly through a form of sign language which is translated for the audience with subtitles.
, a precursor to the many Hollywood films that would film in Canada soon after. The score was composed by Alan Silvestri
. The movie is also one of Bart the Bear
's earliest roles.
15 million to produce and brought in only US $1.9 million domestically, it is considered a box office flop
. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1987 for Best Makeup (Michael Westmore and Michèle Burke).
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Clan of the Cave Bear is an historical novel by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times set before the extinction of the Neanderthal race after 600,000 years as a species, and at least 10-15,000 years after Homo sapiens remains are documented and dated in Europe as a viable second human species...
by Jean M. Auel
Jean M. Auel
Jean Marie Auel is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals...
and was directed by Michael Chapman
Michael Chapman (cinematographer)
Michael Chapman, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer whose prominence owes most to his innovative work of the 1970s and 1980s....
.
Plot
The film stars Daryl HannahDaryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
as Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
woman who was separated from her family during an earthquake and found by a group of Neanderthals. Dialogue is conducted mostly through a form of sign language which is translated for the audience with subtitles.
Cast
- Daryl HannahDaryl HannahDaryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
as Ayla - Pamela ReedPamela ReedPamela Reed is an American actress. She is known for playing Ruth Powers in various episodes of TV's The Simpsons, as Arnold Schwarzenegger's hypoglycemic partner in the 1990 movie Kindergarten Cop and as the matriarch Gail Green in Jericho...
as Iza - James RemarJames RemarJames Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...
as Creb - Thomas G. WaitesThomas G. WaitesThomas G. Waites is an American actor and acting instructor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Waites runs an acting studio in New York City which is named for him. He has been a member of the Actor's Studio since 1984....
as Broud - John Doolittle as Brun
- Curtis ArmstrongCurtis ArmstrongCurtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
as Goov - Martin Doyle as Grod
- Adel C. Hammoud as Vorn
- Tony MontanaroTony MontanaroTony Montanaro was one of the great mime artists of the 20th century. Born in Paulsboro, New Jersey on September 10, 1927, Montanaro earned a theater degree from Columbia University and began performing stock theater with actors such as Jason Robards and Jackie Cooper...
as Zoug - Mike MuscatMike MuscatMike Muscat is an American actor. He has played minor roles in various television shows, including Totally Outrageous Behavior and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.-External links:...
as Dorv - John Wardlow as Droog
- Keith Wardlow as Crug
- Karen AustinKaren AustinKaren Austin is an American actress. Austin has made many TV and film appearances since the 1980s.-Filmography:* 1983 - The Taming of the Shrew - Katherina* 1984 - "Celebrity mini-series - Ceil Shannon...
as Aba - Barbara Duncan as Uka
- Gloria Lee as Oga
- Janne Mortil as Ovra
- Lycia NaffLycia NaffLycia Naff is an American dancer, actress, journalist and motorcycle enthusiast. She is best known as an actress for a 2 episode-role as Ensign Sonya Gomez on Star Trek: The Next Generation and for her brief appearance as an alien who opens her blouse to reveal three breasts in the hit science...
as Uba - Linda Quibell as Aga
- Bernadette Sabath as Ebra
- Penny SmithPenny SmithPenelope Jane Smith is an English television presenter and newsreader. She has worked on the breakfast TV show GMTV, for Sky News and for Classic FM.-Early life:...
as Ika - Joey CramerJoey CramerJoey Cramer was a child actor in the United States and Canada during the mid 1980s, most notable for his role in Flight of the Navigator. He appeared in the television movie Stone Fox with Buddy Ebsen and Gordon Tootoosis in 1987. Today, Cramer lives in his hometown of Sechelt, and he is...
as young Broud - Rory L. Crowley as Durc
- Nicole EggertNicole EggertNicole Elizabeth Eggert is an American actress. Notable roles include Jamie Powell in the television series Charles in Charge and Summer Quinn in the TV Series Baywatch. She was most recently a contestant on the VH1 reality show Celebrity Fit Club.-Early life:Eggert was born in Glendale,...
as middle Ayla - Emma Floria as young Ayla
- Pierre Lamielle as Brac
- Mary Reid as Ayla's mother
- Samantha Ostry as young Uba
- Shane Punt as young Vorn
- Christiane Boyce and Catherine Flather as baby Durc
- Natino Bellatoni as Gorn
- Rick Valiquette as Voord
- Alan Waltman as Norg
- Paul CarafotesPaul CarafotesPaul Carafotes is an American actor, possibly best known for playing Harold Dyer in the television drama Knots Landing from 1988 to 1990....
as Brug - Bart the BearBart the BearBart the Bear was an Alaskan Kodiak Bear that appeared in several Hollywood films. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly and Day of the Animals. Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah, trained Bart...
as the cave bearCave BearThe cave bear was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago....
Production
It was filmed in the Canadian RockiesCanadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
, a precursor to the many Hollywood films that would film in Canada soon after. The score was composed by Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri
Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
. The movie is also one of Bart the Bear
Bart the Bear
Bart the Bear was an Alaskan Kodiak Bear that appeared in several Hollywood films. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly and Day of the Animals. Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah, trained Bart...
's earliest roles.
Box office and reception
Because the film cost US $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15 million to produce and brought in only US $1.9 million domestically, it is considered a box office flop
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1987 for Best Makeup (Michael Westmore and Michèle Burke).