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Under the Volcano

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Under the Volcano (1984)

76%
80%
33%
N/A
N/A
N/A
76 %
Reviews Counted: 17 Fresh: 13  Rotten:4 Average Rating: 6.6/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Synopsis: John Huston's screen adaptation of Malcolm Lowery's powerful meditation on self-destruction and personal despair. The hero is Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic ex-British consul living in Mexico on the eve of World War II. Tormented by his wife's infidelity, Firmin celebrates the Day of the... John Huston's screen adaptation of Malcolm Lowery's powerful meditation on self-destruction and personal despair. The hero is Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic ex-British consul living in Mexico on the eve of World War II. Tormented by his wife's infidelity, Firmin celebrates the Day of the Dead by drinking himself to death despite his wife and her lover's efforts to save him. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews, Katy Jurado

Director: John Huston

DVD Info

Release:

Nov 10, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • 2-Disc Set
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Mono - English

Additional Release Materials:

  • Audio Commentary - Michael Fitzgerald, Wieland Schulz-Keil, Moritz Berman - Producers
  • Featurettes - 1. "Notes from UNDER THE VOLCANO"
  • 2. "Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry"
  • Interviews - 1. Jacqueline Bisset - Star
  • 2. Guy Gallo - Screenplay
  • 3. John Huston - Director (1984, Audio)
  • Trailers - Theatrical Trailer

Reviews

 
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1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image
N/A

Not for the purists, maybe, but the last half-hour, as Firmin plunges ever deeper into his self-created hell, leaves one shell-shocked.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

A supremely difficult book becomes an easy film, and struggles hard to find a reason to exist.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
03/08/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image
B-

Succeeds in capturing the novel's sense of doom and gets a tour de force performance from Albert Finney.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/08/07
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
B-

John Huston's version of Malcolm Lowry's dense, poetic unfilmable book is ambitious but only semi-effective in conveying this cult novel's tone; it's ultimately saved by the towering performance of Albert Finney as the alcoholic self-destructive consul

Full Review | comment Comment
10/29/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

The result is very much worth the wait, bringing to life the mysticism of Mexico with a superb script by Guy Gallo, exquisite photography, and the unparalleled performance by Finney.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

Although this voyage into self-destruction won't be to the taste of many, there will be few unmoved by Finney's towering performance as the tragic Britisher.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/07
Variety Staff
Variety
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Ratings Image
2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/18/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/23/05
Moriarty
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
4/4

The movie belongs to Finney, but mention must be made of Jacqueline Bisset as his wife and Anthony Andrews as his half-brother.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
01/23/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image
N/A

Captures and conveys the hot music of what some literary critics have called the greatest religious novel of the twentieth century

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Ratings Image
4/5

Daring as it is to have brought Under the Volcano to the screen in this faithful but incomplete form, Mr. Huston has done so without making compromises in the process.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
11/13/02
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image
N/A

As the tortured consul, Albert Finney has moments of technical brilliance, but Huston's direction gives him no inner life.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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