Customer Reviews

The Quest [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The plot in brief: young Cody, played by Henry Thomas of E.T. fame, is a brilliant and inventive youngster living with a family friend in Australia after he is orphaned. After he discovers the body of a man who appears to have died of utter terror at an old, abandoned, flooded quarry, he begins to investigate rumours the waters hide a Loch Ness-like monster the locals call the Donkigen. With the help of his friends and a mysterious Aborigine named Charlie Pride, he ends up solving the mystery -- albeit at the risk of his own life.

By American standards, this film is very slowly paced and very innocent, which will no doubt lead to many bad reviews in this venue. If one is willing simply to sit back and let the film happen, as one must with many non-American films, one gains more appreciation for it. The opening sequence is a text-book example on how to create tension, at least, as is the underwater sequence when Cody goes exploring, and the whole is nicely filmed. What I especially liked is the balance between the rational and the magic; Quest constantly appears to be on the edge of the supernatural, only to pull back to a realistic point of view -- and yet you never quite lose the feeling that the magic is there, *almost* visible out of the corner of your eye.

Although I have grown fond of this film, I must say in all honesty it is not a great one. Still, it is amiable; the tension, although it never quite sets your heart to racing, is nonetheless very real; and for those with patience, the film does have its rewards. A child spoiled by dazzling special effects and jaded by too many graphic horror movies would probably be very bored by it; but there will be children, and adults as well, who would enjoy it.

Henry Thomas (Elliot in E.T.) stars in this film about an orphan, Cody, being raised in Australia by a friend of his parents. Cody is a very resourceful, imaginative, and creative lad who is constantly building things and doing daredevil stunts. One day while on a picinic, he and some friends discover a mysterious pond and the body of an old man that appears to have died from fright. Tales of Aborigine black magic and sea monsters lead Cody on a quest to find the truth.

This film is not your typical movie. It moves rather slow and often lacks energy from many of the non-American actors and the effects are quite cheesy. However, Thomas and the other young actors in the cast are completely believable and add some emotional depth to the story. The scenery is breathtaking (it is Australia after all) and there are some rather interesting scenes (the opening shot is a classic in how to build suspense). Overall, a film that most American audiences will find rather boring, but has it's moments if your looking.

I was very young when I first saw the Film , but after all those years & now being 21 , I still think that this Film is excellent , and even more than that , there's something special about it. I think that everybody should enjoy THE QUEST, one thing is sure the story is great , because so interesting & so different from the "common" Films , I never saw such a story before , and I'll never see it again . Of course it hadn't got the budget of an hollywood blockbuster , but maybe the best Film is not always the most popular one. Here is an Australian Film , really well made , from a brilliant scriptwriter , and with a wonderfull soundtrack from the well-known Australian composer Brian May . I think that this is pure talent , Thanks a lot to the entire team , I'll go on watching it

get ready to enjoy the film , it's set in the down under which makes it beautifully filmed picture along with story. thomas plays a boy who gets into trouble by inventing things that some people find not great,but what an adventure this film is it's cool. thomas plays a great role as usual.

PG For Mild Language and Scary Action Scenes

highly recommended! it's a childhood favorite.

I've seen this movie sometime in the late 1980's. Henry Thomas was a good child actor back then. He was magnificent in Misunderstood and Cloak and Dagger. I hope this movie becomes available on DVD. I like his smile.

Im 23 years old and i first saw this film back in the 80's when i was a kid. The Film is also known as "the go kids' or 'frog dreaming'. I think it's a classic and i dont know how this remained to be such a cult film and didnt break into the mainstream. It stars 'ET's' Henry Thomas and I found it very much like classic The 'Goonies', so if you like that sort of 80's adventure flick then buy this it wont let down. Overall a great film for kids and adults alike.

I first saw this movie when it came out on VHS. Henry Thomas does a fine job in this one playing a young man growing up in Australia rich with aboriginal legends. The story is believable, in a sense, as he searches for "Donkegin". This tape should be put on DVD.

I looked up and down for this movie. I finally find out the title and it is only available on VHS. What a shame. But I still have a VCR so it worked out. The movie was just a good as I remember when I was a kid. They need to put this on DVD.

I used to watch this movie several times a month as a kid. I had it recorded from t.v. Still have very fond memories of watching this one with my parents and sister, and now would really like to find it brought to dvd so my little brother can enjoy it too.

I showed this film to my kids more than 20 yrs ago. I recently purchased it and let them watch it again, they still liked it, so much so that they even showed it to their kids who also enjoyed it very much. Great adventure movie.