Caveman (film)
| Caveman | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Carl Gottlieb |
| Produced by |
David Foster Lawrence Turman |
| Written by |
Rudy De Luca Carl Gottlieb |
| Starring |
Ringo Starr Dennis Quaid Shelley Long Barbara Bach |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Alan Hume |
| Editing by | Gene Fowler, Jr. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release dates | April 17, 1981 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $15,965,924 |
Caveman is a 1981 American slapstick comedy film written and directed by Carl Gottlieb and starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach.
Plot
Atouk (Starr) is a bullied and scrawny caveman living in "One Zillion BC – October 9th"[1] He lusts after the beautiful but shallow Lana (Bach), who is the mate of Tonda (Matuszak), their tribe's physically imposing bullying leader. After being banished along with his friend Lar (Quaid), Atouk falls in with a band of assorted misfits, among them the comely Tala (Long) and the elderly blind man Gog (Gilford). The group has ongoing encounters with hungry dinosaurs, and rescues Lar from a "nearby ice age", where they encounter an abominable snowman. In the course of these adventures they discover sedative drugs, fire, cooking, music, and learn how to walk fully upright. Atouk uses these advancements to lead an attack on Tonda, overthrowing him and becoming the tribe's new leader. He discards Lana and takes Tala as his mate, and they live happily ever after.
Cast
- Ringo Starr as Atouk
- Dennis Quaid as Lar
- Shelley Long as Tala
- Jack Gilford as Gog
- Barbara Bach as Lana
- Evan C. Kim as Nook
- Carl Lumbly as Bork
- John Matuszak as Tonda
- Avery Schreiber as Ock
- Richard Moll as Abominable Snowman
Production
Filming was mostly done in a protected ecological research area named "sierra de organos" in the town of Sombrerete in the state of Zacatecas, México. The river and fishing lake scene was shot in the Mexican state of Durango, and some scenes were filmed at the Churbusco Studios in México City. The film features stop-motion animated dinosaurs constructed by Jim Danforth,[2] including a Tyrannosaurus Rex which in one scene becomes intoxicated by a Cannabis-type drug, animated by Randall W. Cook.[3] Danforth was a major participant in the special effects sequences, but left the film "about two-thirds of the way" (his words) through the work because the Directors Guild of America prohibited his contracted on-screen credit, co-direction with Carl Gottlieb. Consequently, Danforth's name does not appear on the film.[4]
The film's dialog is almost entirely in "caveman" language, such as:
- "alunda" – love
- "bobo" – friend
- "haraka" – fire
- "macha" – monster
- "nya" – no/not
- "ool" – food
- "pooka" – broken
- "ugh" – like
- "zug zug" – sex
- "kuda" – come
- "caca" – shit
- "ya-nu-ta" – it's gone
At some showings audiences were issued a translation pamphlet for 30 "caveman words."[5] The only English dialog present is used for comedic effect, when it is spoken by a caveman played by Evan Kim who speaks modern English but is understood by none of the other characters. Being a Korean caveman, by speaking English, he appears to be more advanced than the rest. At her audition, Long said she did not speak any English, but responded to everything with grunts.[5]
Barbara Bach and Ringo Starr first met on the set of Caveman, and they married just over a year later.[6]
References
- ↑ Apparently in memory of John Lennon who was killed 5 months before the film's release, was Ringo Starr's friend and bandmate with the Beatles, and whose birthday was October 9.
- ↑ Pettigrew, Neil, The Stop-Motion Filmography, McFarland & Company, Inc., 1999, p. 111. 0786431075
- ↑ Pettigrew, p. 114.
- ↑ Pettigrew, p. 109.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Caveman (1981) - Trivia - IMDb
- ↑ Barbara Bach Fansite
External links
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Caveman (film) |