The Clan of the Cave Bear ( The Clan of the Cave Bear ) is an American film directed by Michael Chapman , released in 1986 and based on the novel The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel . Daryl Hannah plays the lead role. In Auel’s novel, the characters spoke in sign language (transcribed in English in the book). In the movie, they use their own language and the dialogue is translated into subtitles.
The film is considered a commercial failure, having cost fifteen million US dollars to bring back only 1.9 million in the country. The cinematographic adaptation of J. Auel’s other novels, originally planned, was abandoned following this failure.