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Under the Volcano (1984)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
13 June 1984 (USA) moreTagline:
No se puede vivir sin amar. (One cannot live without love.)Plot:
Against a background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta Day of Death, we are taken through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations moreUser Comments:
An Indulgent, Often Incoherent, but Interesting Adaptation more (22 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Albert Finney | ... | Geoffrey Firmin | |
| Jacqueline Bisset | ... | Yvonne Firmin | |
| Anthony Andrews | ... | Hugh Firmin | |
| Ignacio López Tarso | ... | Dr. Vigil (as Ignacio Lopez Tarzo) | |
| Katy Jurado | ... | Senora Gregoria | |
| James Villiers | ... | Brit | |
| Dawson Bray | ... | Quincey | |
| Carlos Riquelme | ... | Bustamante | |
| Jim McCarthy | ... | Gringo | |
| José René Ruiz | ... | Dwarf (as Rene Ruiz 'Tun-Tun') | |
| Eleazar Garcia Jr. | ... | Chief of Gardens | |
| Salvador Sánchez | ... | Chief of Stockyards (as Salvador Sanchez) | |
| Sergio Calderón | ... | Chief of Municipality (as Sergio Calderon) | |
| Araceli Ladewuen Castelun | ... | Maria | |
| Emilio Fernández | ... | Diosdado (as Emilio Fernandez) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
112 minColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Australia:M | Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | USA:RFun Stuff
Trivia:
John Huston initially wanted to cast Richard Burton as the British consul. Huston and Burton had had a great success with a previous movie about an alcoholic set in Mexico, The Night of the Iguana (1964). Much to his regret, Burton had to decline the offer, as he was appearing in a touring production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives" with Elizabeth Taylor. moreQuotes:
Geoffrey Firmin: How, unless you drink as I do, can you hope to understand the beauty of an old indian woman playing dominoes with a chicken? moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (22 total)
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John Huston's adaptation of Malcom Lowry's celebrated novel is very much like his adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood": foggy, dreamlike and at times unwatchable. Huston finds a strange, distant tone that is somewhere between ironic and completely bizarre, with intentionality that is questionable at best. Even though Huston was getting old at this point, he was still tackling challenging material in his old age, which possibly explains the odd mix of provocative, dense material with stilted, unintuitive storytelling. If his age isn't the main culprit for the film's weird failings, then it may be his stiflingly traditional film-making, which seemed a bit outmoded in 1984. Either way, the film never finds a proper stylistic center, causing "Under the Volcano" to continually sink into incoherence.
Huston's most grave misstep was his choice to pace the film with mostly static shots and slow editing rhythms. For being so conservatively made, there is an almost constant lack of clarity, as no one element in the film complements the other. Albert Finney's go-for-broke performance as British diplomat Geoffery Firmin is fearless and raw, but Huston's shot selections and mostly bland mise-en-scene distract from the brimming anger and pain the actor tries so nakedly to express. Similarly, the absorbing, mythical imagery of the story's Mexican "Day of the Dead" setting instead feels random as the foregrounded symbolism seems ham-fisted where it should have been atmospheric. Instead of casting the story's eerie spell, Huston's film-making suffocates the material, causing it to become overblown yet underdeveloped.
That is all not to say Huston is completely to blame, however. Screenwriter Guy Gallo's task of condensing such enormous, literary ideas into a stand alone two-hour film is admirable, and structurally he does great things to keep the story immediately revolving around Geoffory's character arc, but by the end it feels like too many corners were cut to make it happen. The character of Hugh, Geoffery's dashing half-brother, is extremely undeveloped to the point of feeling unnecessary, and Yvonne, Geoffery's estranged wife, is never given the psychological need that would make her sympathy toward him credible. Even worse, the conclusion comes with a clumsy thud, ending the film suddenly and untidily.
(2 out of 4)