Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Under the Volcano’?
Under the Volcano

Under the Volcano (1984)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 1,651

My Rating

Movie Info

A strange, hallucinatory adaptation of the Malcolm Lowry novel of the same name, John Huston's bleak drama is set during the Mexican "Day of the Dead" ceremony in 1939. Albert Finney stars as Geoffrey Firmin, the booze-besotted former British consul to Cuernevarca, who has cut himself off from his loved ones, the better to drink himself to death while surrounded by all manner of skull-and-skeleton decorations. At the urging of his wife Yvonne (Jacqueline Bisset), his half-brother Hugh (Anthony

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Drama

Oct 23, 2007

Criterion Collection

Cast

Critic Reviews for Under the Volcano

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (4) | DVD (8)

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.

October 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film itself is remarkable because Finney is remarkable. He is the volcano of the title.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | Comment
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

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

November 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

should be a powerfully emotional film, and while it frequently is, it is a remote, distanced kind of emotion

October 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | Comment
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

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

October 29, 2007 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

The Criterion DVD edition of Huston's 1984 film contains many features, including interview with star Bisset, docu on the making of film, and best of all, the 1976 Oscar-nominated feature Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry.

October 28, 2007 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

October 23, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment
Time Out Source: Time Out

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

July 23, 2003 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

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

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment
Film4 Source: Film4
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Under the Volcano

View All

"That's the way to contend with the grim reaper, offering him a drink and a dance..."Finney, what a performance.

May 16, 2009
pier007
Pierluigi Puccini

Super Reviewer

Director John Huston's fascinating character study of a self-destructive alcoholic former British diplomat named Geoffery Firmin, played by Albert Finney in a devastating tour-de-force performance that deservedly earn him an Oscar nomination. The story unfolds in a small Mexican village during the Day of the Dead

October 19, 2010
Dannyrovira
Danny Rovira

Super Reviewer

Under the Volcano Quotes

View All

No quotes approved yet for Under the Volcano. Logged in users can submit quotes.

DVD

Top Rentals

29% The Vow
94% Mission: Impossible Ghost Protoc...
87% The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
28% Underworld Awakening
85% Chronicle
More…

New On DVD This Week

65% The Woman in Black
25% This Means War
94% The Secret World of Arrietty
36% Red Tails
88% Certified Copy (Copie Conforme)
More…

Latest News for Under the Volcano

October 23, 2007:
RT on DVD: Hostel II Oozes Onto Shelves, and Criterion Serves Up Breathless!
It's a bit of a slow week for home video releases, led by Eli Roth's torture-for-hire gore fest...

View All

What's Hot On RT

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

Red Tails, This Means War

24 Frames
24 Frames

Pictures: Wes Anderson films

Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man

Video: Your friendly four minute preview

Anchorman 2
Anchorman 2

Trailer: The legend continues!

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 21,971 taken
created 16 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 53,263 taken
created 19 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 32,368 taken
created 19 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 32,957 taken
created 18 months ago

Movie News

View All

Featured on RT

Comments

Top Headlines

Fresh Links

Johnny Depp's Wacky Looks
Johnny Depp's Wacky Looks External Link
 BuzzSugar explores the strange characters Johnny Depp has played over the years.
From Model to Actress
From Model to Actress External Link
 Moviefone profiles the famous Sports Illustrated swimsuit models who have tried their hand at acting.
Summer Movie Predictions
Summer Movie Predictions External Link
 HitFix goes over who will rule the multiplex this Summer.
Superhero Movies on Netflix
Superhero Movies on Netflix External Link
 Need to get into a heroic mood for The Avengers? Here are 10 superhero flicks you can find on Instant Watching!
Wicked Smart Actors
Wicked Smart Actors External Link
 In observance of Spring Break, TIME looks back at a class of actors who showed real star power in the classroom.
Follow RT on Twitter!
Follow RT on Twitter! External Link
 Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!

Foreign Titles

  • Au-dessous du volcan (FR)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile
Copyright © Flixster, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service | Ad Choices
In partnership with TMZ.com