IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5.6K
YOUR RATING
A day in the life of a self-destructive British consul in Mexico on the eve of World War II.A day in the life of a self-destructive British consul in Mexico on the eve of World War II.A day in the life of a self-destructive British consul in Mexico on the eve of World War II.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5.6K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Malcolm Lowry(novel)
- Guy Gallo(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Malcolm Lowry(novel)
- Guy Gallo(screenplay)
- Stars
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 3 wins & 7 nominations total
Videos1
Ignacio López Tarso
- Dr. Vigilas Dr. Vigil
- (as Ignacio Lopez Tarzo)
José René Ruiz
- Dwarfas Dwarf
- (as Rene Ruiz 'Tun-Tun')
Eleazar Garcia Jr.
- Chief of Gardensas Chief of Gardens
- (as Eliazar García Jr.)
Salvador Sánchez
- Chief of Stockyardsas Chief of Stockyards
- (as Salvador Sanchez)
Sergio Calderón
- Chief of Municipalityas Chief of Municipality
- (as Sergio Calderon)
Emilio Fernández
- Diosdadoas Diosdado
- (as Emilio Fernandez)
Roberto Sosa
- Few Fleasas Few Fleas
- (as Roberto Martinez Sosa)
- Director
- Writers
- Malcolm Lowry(novel)
- Guy Gallo(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn lead actor Albert Finney in this "Under the Volcano" film, director John Huston said: "I think it's the finest performance I have ever witnessed, let alone directed".
- GoofsThe story takes place in 1939, but the car driven by James Villiers that almost hits Albert Finney as he is lying in the road is an MG-TF, which was manufactured between 1953 and 1956.
- Quotes
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?
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Conan the Destroyer/Top Secret!/Under the Volcano (1984)
Top review
An Indulgent, Often Incoherent, but Interesting Adaptation
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)
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)
helpful•1214
- Nick_Dets
- Aug 15, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Unter dem Vulkan
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,556,800
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $31,000
- Jun 17, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $2,556,800
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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