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Under the Volcano



Under the Volcano follows the final day in the life of self-destructive British consul Geoffrey Firmin (Albert Finney, in an Oscar-nominated tour de force) on the eve of World War II. Withering from alcoholism, Firmin stumbles through a small Mexican village amidst the Day of the Dead fiesta, attempting to reconnect with his estranged wife (Jacqueline Bisset) but only further alienating himself. John Huston's ambitious tackling of Malcolm Lowry's towering "unadaptable" novel gave the incomparable Finney one of his grandest roles and was the legendary The Treasure of the Sierra Madre director's triumphant return to filmmaking in Mexico.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by film editor Roberto Silvi
• Audio commentary featuring executive producer Michael Fitzgerald and producers Wieland Schulz-Keil and Moritz Borman
• Theatrical trailers
• New video interview with Jacqueline Bisset
• New audio interview with screenwriter Guy Gallo
• 1984 audio interview with John Huston conducted by French film critic Michel Ciment
• Notes from "Under the Volcano" (1984), a 59-minute documentary by Gary Conklin shot on the set during the film's production, featuring interviews with Huston, cast, and crew
• Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976), filmmaker Donald Brittain's 99-minute, Academy Award–nominated documentary, narrated by Richard Burton, examining the connections between Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry's life and that of his novel's main character
• PLUS: A new essay by film critic Christian Viviani
• More!

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WOW! WOW! WOW! I never expected to see such an exhaustive DVD release for this film. Amazing. Huston fans, let us rejoice!

Gordon, it really is a dream come true for all of us! Wow, indeed.

I'm stunned. I can only hope The Dead is as exhaustive.

Matt wrote:-Notes from "Under the Volcano" (1984), a 59-minute documentary by Gary Conklin shot on the set during the film's production, featuring interviews with Huston, cast, and crew
-Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976), filmmaker Donald Brittain's 99-minute, Academy Award–nominated documentary, narrated by Richard Burton, examining the connections between Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry's life and that of his novel's main character

I had speculated about both of these possibilities several months ago when Criterion first mentioned this title. I guess I'm a tiny bit disappointed that they went with the slightly shorter Notes from Under the Volcano instead of the 82-minute Observations Under the Volcano, another behind-the-scenes documentary about the film. Then again, I've never seen either one, and perhaps Notes is better. I certainly can't complain about a package like this anyway.

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry was not only nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, it won just about every equivalent Canadian honor. It is also an IMAX film (one of the earliest). I think this is a first for Criterion. I'll be curious to see the quality of the IMAX film transfer, and whether or not it is 1.44.

Spectacular news! I can think of few directors who had such great artistic successes so late in their career as did John Houston. Even though I have not seen Under the Volcano in over 20 years there are still images & impressions that linger in my memory. Another great month.

David Markson, an American author who wrote a critical study of (and was friends with) Lowry, is still alive and could probably use the money (rumors of his ill health have persisted for years). Wish Criterion had involved him somehow.

Oh man, that cover art is fucking intense!

downrightindie wrote:Oh man, that cover art is fucking intense!

fucking intense cover art thread

I never heard of this film, but the extras seem pretty stacked. It would be insane of course if Criterion announced they're releasing The African Queen.

Jeff wrote:Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry was not only nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, it won just about every equivalent Canadian honor. It is also an IMAX film (one of the earliest). I think this is a first for Criterion. I'll be curious to see the quality of the IMAX film transfer, and whether or not it is 1.44.

Interesting. I would doubt that Criterion used a 15-perf 65mm Imax element for this. It would have cost a fortune. I take it that the Imax footage is of Mexico's landscapes and the interview footage is 16mm, though? Thanks for pointing this out, Jeff.

I wonder if Criterion would consider licensing Huston's, Freud (1962) from Universal?

This is incredibly exciting. I knew CC was releasing this, but I had no idea they'd put so much effort into it.

This is an interesting film--I have a feeling the more time you've spent reading Malcolm Lowry, the less you like it. I like the film, but it's definitely a Cliffs Notes version of the novel. Which isn't all that surprising--even Bunuel thought he didn't have the skills to translate Lowry's vision to the screen.

It'll be this, Breathless, and the Saura boxset for me. the Malick disc just isn't worth the upgrade.

SncDthMnky wrote:the Malick disc just isn't worth the upgrade.

yeah, that barebones one is pretty great

eez28 wrote:

SncDthMnky wrote:the Malick disc just isn't worth the upgrade.

yeah, that barebones one is pretty great

I don't like the film enough. Until Malick's face or voice shows up on a dvd, the bare bones versions will do just fine for me. there are plenty of older criterions I'd buy first.

Des Esseintes wrote:Which isn't all that surprising--even Bunuel thought he didn't have the skills to translate Lowry's vision to the screen.

I have never heard Buñuel say anything about Huston... where did you hear that? (I know that Welles said once that The Killing was a better film than Asphalt Jungle... and that he thought Kubrick was a better director... and this was at the time of The Killing!)

I think Bunuel was referring to himself there, not Huston. Is that what you meant, Des Esseintes?

Sorry, I meant Bunuel felt that he (Bunuel) didn't have the necessary skills to make a film worthy of Lowry's novel. He states this in his autobiography MY LAST SIGH, though I don't recall him mentioning Huston's film.

Considering that Bunuel died in July of 1983, eleven months before Volcano premiered, I doubt he'd have much of an opinion on the subject one way or the other.

You can never tell with Bunuel.

I imagine it would be difficult to include the book with the movie as they did with Short Cuts and Man Who Fell to Earth...Does anybody know how Criterion could negotiate this...do they communicate directly with Penguin Classics or someone else?

...that Criterion would be negotiating with Penguin seems a curious matter!

The screen caps look fine to me...but anyhthing would after the poor, muddy Universal VHS. Anyone else have any other thoughts/seen it theatrically/have more discerning eyes than I do?

Looks like a solid package all-around: much like Gary, I'm not 100% sold on the film, but the overall package is too much to resist.

EDIT- Funny, on seeing the packaging, that this isn't a Universal license, but rather one from Janus/the film's original production company. I know it has happened before, but it seems strange all the same.

It's all good on disc 2
The new twenty minute interview with Jacqueline Bisset is a delight. She admired Huston, was slightly intimidated by him, and although they had some differences; Huston paid her his supreme compliment at the end of the shoot by saying "this is a girl you could take tiger hunting".

The one hour "Notes from Under the Volcano" is similar to many other behind the scenes docs, but watching Huston at work is a real treat. Both this and the Jackie Bisset interview strongly suggest that Anthony Andrews was the odd man out on this production and was really hurt by it. Huston chose him after seeing "Brideshead Revisited", but never bothered "covering" his scenes even after Bisset asked him to.

"Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry" is generally excellent even though it loses some steam toward the end. Early on, we hear that Malcolm's father tried to show him the horrors of syphilis and I recommend ten seconds of eyes closed as we get some godawful pictures. The narration by Burton is hit and run, but we get an absolutely complete picture of the man and a refreshing lack of judgement.

Have yet to listen to the audio interview with Huston, and have yet to try the main disc and commentary (I remember the movie well), and I am already completely thrilled by this release.

Thanks a lot, Belmondo: posts like yours ease the wait immeasureably.