Quest (1984) User Reviews

Don't waste your time

[jamesjustice-92 · 6/10 · 24 June 2020]

And I mean it. This 30-minute sci-fi flick tells us not to waste any of our precious time on the things that aren't and won't matter before we're gone for good so I won't say I've wasted half an hour of my time watching this short feature. The premise is intriguing and gives more questions than it offers answers to and by the end of it you're left feeling a bit disappointed; the movie doesn't give us any background story and most of the rules that its universe is working by - instead it throws us headfirst into the action, into the quest using some fine visuals, dark and ticking atmosphere, although at times too dark, and futuristic score, at least by 1980s standards. Overall this is an exciting movie but way too short and way too shallow for its thoughtful premise.

Visually stunning SF short

[curlew-2 · 18 December 2000]

Fascinating short film adapted from a Ray Bradbury story about a world where humans live out their lifespans in eight days, and the attempts to change this. A warrior is literally trained from infancy to reach a specific destination before he grows old and dies eight days later. The ending gets a tad bogged down in pseudo-philosophical mush but, as expected from Saul Bass, the visuals are absolutely stunning.

A Standout Imaginative Film

[bittlecurtis · 10/10 · 4 February 2002]

Quest is imaginative and surreal. The fantastic premise of the film is laid out efficiently, effectively, and stylishly. This is an outlandishly fantastic film thoughtfully made with consistent atmosphere of awe such that few fantastic feature films can boast. This is a must-see movie for lovers of the beautiful unreal.

A Blue-Green Dream...the hero's journey/Excellent!

[rmorris-5 · 10/10 · 19 December 2003]

A child is born, as mist shrouds a cliff dwelling enclave...a tribe of sad but noble people pray that this might be the one, the deliverer... "We all are born, and live, and die in eight days"...maybe your days are ten or twelve years long is all. Nonetheless just blow a few of them off, turn away from the light and see where it gets you...shorter of breath and one day closer to death. The journey here depicted, starting in solemn tones of drab and earth, funneling through Escher and Magritte-inspired mazes of harrowing scale and intensity, is the journey I am on right now, and yes, my wandering movie loving friend it is your little trip as well. You thought you were just doing a tad of light surfing and then the biggest wave raced you toward an early grave. All graves are early. Life is damn short. We only live eight days, remember? Twenty thousand? Hah! That shadow creeping on the wall there, ace, that ticking sound, that night you drank a wee dram too much and the pounding, the clock, the wheel, the big flippin' ball comin' down the chute...well, I digress. Or do I? 8. Thats it. Then its over. Turn it on its side, its a google, it goes on forever! Laugh! Cry. Don't matter, mortal kid. Take it or leave it, number's up its up, all over but the shoutin'...Sinking in sand, fight yer demon self, earthquake, tidal wave, far away across the field the tolling of the iron bell...how bored are you? Not much I trust. See QUEST. Ray knew and tried to tell you.Wished an' hoped he was yer Ray of Light. Which day will be the finest? Maybe today is the best yer gonna see. Have heart, and Carpe Diem, little trout. Catch you on the other side of the gate. I'd love to be involved in making such a lovely film as this one. Only a few days left...I definitely have to start on it this week. One of my favorite films of all TIME.

Robin

This could have been so much better really

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 25 June 2017]

"Quest" is an American English-language movie from 1984 that is based on a story by Ray Bradbury and was directed by Saul Bass (15 years after his Oscar win) and his wife Elaine. Bass is also known for working on several really famous films in smaller positions, but he was also the man in charge occasionally, just like for this award-winning half-hour Sci-Fi film we have here. The cast includes some names that you perhaps came across on other occasions like "Die unendliche Geschichte".', but there are no really big names in here. It is about a human colony living on a distant planet where their lives are cut really short (if you watched Intersteller, you understand the concept) and one boy's desperate struggles to find a way back to the spaceship that brought them there. I think the premise is really interesting I must say, but the execution itself left me relatively unimpressed. it may have a bit to do with SciFi generally not being my favorite genre, but occasionally there are even films from this genre that I like quite a bit. So yeah, this is not one of them and I give it a thumbs-down overall. But still I would love to see Bradbury's story here given a shot again in a new approach in the 21st century.

Very, very bad.

[Zoomorph · 2/10 · 22 September 2015]

This movie has exactly one interesting idea, which is repeated in every second line of dialog just to make sure that nobody will miss it: a group of humans have lifespans of only 8 days.

Beyond that, it's utter rubbish. The viewer is supposed to shut off his brain and watch the main character fight some random monsters, run through some buildings that are collapsing for no apparent reason, and so on. We don't know why any of this is happening, but we're supposed to be happy when the main character finally pushes a button so that humans can live "normal" lifespans again.

There's zero backstory. The story line is the most inane imaginable (it seriously amounts to pushing a button to magically fix everything). The acting is bad. The dialogue is bad. The costumes are bad. The visuals are the least bad thing about it, but they're certainly nothing special.

I can't believe that anyone likes this. If you like intelligent sci- fi, stay far away.