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Movies / On DVD / Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano

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Under the Volcano (1984)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:12

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

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... 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]

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

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

Director: John Huston

Director: John Huston

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Release:

Oct 23, 2007

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Under the Volcano

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1 - 16 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Captures and conveys the hot music of what some literary critics have called the greatest religious novel of the twentieth century

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/23/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

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 Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/29/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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 Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/08/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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 Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/23/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/23/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

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 Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
01/23/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
11/13/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
03/08/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
 
 
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