Volcano: An Inquiry Into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976)

A documentary on the life of the alcoholic writer Malcolm Lowry, interspersed with readings of Lowry's work by Richard Burton. Lowry was born and educated in England. He moved to Mexico in ... See full summary »

Directors:

Donald Brittain, John Kramer

Writer:

Donald Brittain

Stars:

Marjorie Bonner, Donald Brittain, John Buchan

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Marjorie Bonner	...	Herself
Donald Brittain	...	Narrator (voice)
John Buchan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Burton	...	Malcolm Lowry (voice)
Arthur Calder-Marshall	...	Himself
Albert Russel Erskine	...	Himself

Storyline

A documentary on the life of the alcoholic writer Malcolm Lowry, interspersed with readings of Lowry's work by Richard Burton. Lowry was born and educated in England. He moved to Mexico in 1936, where he lived near the volcano Popocatepetl, on an allowance from his father. There, between drunken bouts, he started writing his one important novel, "Under the Volcano" that takes place on the Mexican day of the dead. He takes eight years to finish it, writing most of it while living in a shack in British Colombia, Canada.

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Plot Keywords:

volcano | mexico | canada | alcoholic | biography filmmaking | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le volcan: une réflexion sur la vie et la mort de Malcolm Lowry

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Donald Brittain: Filmmaker (1995)

User Reviews

Penetrating, but negativity a bit overdone

The strength of this documentary is the appearance of many who knew Malcolm Lowry personally, including his widow, Margery Lowry (Bonner). It traces the emotional and physical geography of Malcolm Lowry's turbulent life, including his most productive time, the 14 years he and Margery spent living in a beach shack in Dollarton (now part of Vancouver) BC, Canada.

Margery Bonner is the unnamed spouse in Malcolm Lowry's The Forest Path to the Spring, which is a fictionalized account of their years at Dollarton ("Eridanus"). This novella, thought to be Lowry's "most optimistic work" (by George Bowering), describes that period in idyllic terms, with many positive references to his spouse, by the unnamed narrator. It was published posthumously along with a parallel work, The Bravest Boat, from The October Ferry to Gabriola.

Volcano, though, is an unremitting tragedy that begins at the bottom of a life, and goes downhill from there. Richard Burton's lugubrious reading from Lowry's prose is powerful, but dreary. One is tempted to ask, Is that all there is? No, it isn't. The Forest Path to the Spring stands in counterpoint to Volcano. The novella certainly portrays the author's inner demons, but offers as well a lightness, a powerful hymn to the spirit of a place, and a description of a life at least partly redeemed.