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IMDbPro

Joe Versus the Volcano

  • 1990
  • PG
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
41K
YOUR RATING
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
Romantic ComedyComedyRomance

When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.

  • Director
    • John Patrick Shanley
  • Writer
    • John Patrick Shanley
  • Stars
    • Tom Hanks
    • Meg Ryan
    • Lloyd Bridges
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    41K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Patrick Shanley
    • Writer
      • John Patrick Shanley
    • Stars
      • Tom Hanks
      • Meg Ryan
      • Lloyd Bridges
    • 264User reviews
    • 55Critic reviews
    • 45Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Joe Versus the Volcano
    Trailer 1:54
    Joe Versus the Volcano

    Photos56

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    Top cast38

    Edit
    Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks
    • Joe
    Meg Ryan
    Meg Ryan
    • DeDe…
    Lloyd Bridges
    Lloyd Bridges
    • Graynamore
    Robert Stack
    Robert Stack
    • Dr. Ellison
    Abe Vigoda
    Abe Vigoda
    • Chief of the Waponis
    Dan Hedaya
    Dan Hedaya
    • Mr. Waturi
    Barry McGovern
    • Luggage Salesman
    Amanda Plummer
    Amanda Plummer
    • Dagmar
    Ossie Davis
    Ossie Davis
    • Marshall
    Jayne Haynes
    • Nurse
    David Burton
    • Mike
    Jon Conrad Pochron
    • Tony
    • (as Jon Pochran)
    Jim Hudson
    Jim Hudson
    • Fred - Guard
    Antoni Gatti
    • Italian Tailor
    Darrell Zwerling
    Darrell Zwerling
    • Underwear Salesman
    Jim Ryan
    • Bellman
    Karl Rumburg
    • Ralph
    Brian Esteban
    • Emo - Waponi Lookout
    • Director
      • John Patrick Shanley
    • Writer
      • John Patrick Shanley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews264

    5.940.9K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    85860backup

    One of my all time favorites

    I am one of the few who saw this on the big screen TWICE when it opened. This is the movie I would take to the desert island, which miraculously has electricity a big screen and a DVD player. This is one of those rare films where every single character, no matter how minor, has a major impact on the hero and the plot. This film is also rare because the Lion's share of the funny and insightful dialogue belongs to the minor characters and not the protagonists. You have to love a movie where a luggage salesman is a major plot milestone. Ossie Davis is excellent as the wise Limo driver, Lloyd Bridges is hilarious, Tom Hanks is of course everyman, and Meg Ryan, in one of her funniest roles, is actually "every woman". "You know, the first time I saw you I thought that I had seen you before." A witty hero is commonplace and witty cast is truly memorable.

    The movie is probably too allegorical for most tastes, but this is a great tale about a character afraid of life, afraid of that next step, who finds his courage and puts his foot forward again.

    All in all this is one of the best kinds of movies, Funny and Hopeful.
    UACW

    Agree with previous comments

    This is about near-death experiences. They teach you something - about the immediacy of life. About forgetting the rat race and enjoying. It all becomes clear when you've been "on the edge". When things appear in stark contrasts. When there is only black and white - light and dark. To see the sun shining though a window. To gaze upon a loved one and just watch them breathe. I have seen this movie over 1,000 times and it still feeds my soul.
    Mr. E-2

    An Under-appreciated Delight

    For many people, the fact that I love this movie will throw the integrity of everything else I write about into doubt. "Joe" has unfairly become an industry joke, shorthand for the depths to which Tom Hanks sank before redeeming himself with Academy Awards. This fate is horribly undeserved. "Joe" is an imaginative and gloriously life-affirming movie, a hysterically funny fantasy nearly on a par with the best of Terry Gilliam with a "carpe diem" moral that comes across with a lot more honesty and a lot less preachiness than some other movies I could mention. Every Tom Hanks performance is virtually flawless and this one ranks near the top. Meg Ryan's performances are warm and hilarious. Usually it's men who play more than one role in a movie and then it's more often for ego's sake than art's. Ryan pulls off her multiple characters with remarkable grace. More amazingly, it makes perfect sense for her to play three characters. For the sake of argument, I am willing to concede that there are those who just aren't going to enjoy this movie's unique mixture of whimsy and genuine emotion. But for me, it's a classic, easily one of my favorite movies of the decade.
    avisolo

    Finding the Courage to Live Fully

    -looks to be an esoteric message released into popular culture a la Gurdjieff. Joe is full of hints and symbols pointing to it's inner message of the wisdom of truly living. e.g:"Dear God, whose name I do not know, thank you for my life. I forgot how big . . . thank you for my life" "My father says almost the whole world's asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake. And they live in a state of constant, total amazement" -Brought to mind Shakespeare's 'Tempest' (the 3 Megs=Caliban, Ariel & Miranda!) -Clearly related to Kurosawa's 'Ikiru' which might be remade by Spielberg & Hanks
    9moonspinner55

    Quirky is not a dirty word...

    ...yet this eccentric comedy never quite found its niche with the public, and I don't know why. It's beautifully produced and written, wonderfully acted and endlessly weird (how many films can you say that about?). When sad-sack Tom Hanks decides to give up his life for a few days of luxury, we understand because his existence may be a lot like ours: glum office job with lime walls, dirty floors, unpleasant co-workers, bad coffee and fluorescent lights on the fritz. When he's out to sea, floating on his luggage, he sees shapes in the sky at night that light up his face; he may be in a precarious position, stranded on the ocean, but he's the happiest and most alive he's ever been. What a wonderful moment in a movie chock-full of smart, sneaky laugh lines and throwaway bits of business that stay with one, growing beloved in the memory. Screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, also making his directorial debut, has a fine sense of pacing and a keen eye for the absurd beauty in our midst. Only in the final reel does the construction of the plot stumble, however this is due to film studio interference. ***1/2 from ****

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Not only did Meg Ryan play all three female leads, but also did the voice of the flight attendant welcoming the flight to Los Angeles.
    • Goofs
      When DeDe walks into Joe's apartment at the end of their date, she places her handbag on the floor a few steps across from the door. When she comes back in to get the bag because she forgot it after she leaves, she reaches for the bag just inside the door.
    • Quotes

      Patricia: My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.

    • Alternate versions
      The movie was re-shot to change the ending, which was unpopular with test audiences. In the original ending, after Joe and Patricia are expelled by the volcano, they are rescued by the Tweedle Dum (the sister of the yacht that was sunk, the Tweedle Dee.) On board are the rescued crew of the Dee, as well as Graynamore and "Dr. Ellison", who turns out to be Graynamore's tax accountant (and hatchet man) by the name of Kenneth Hindmick. Graynamore reveals he had Hindmick pose as a doctor to make Joe think he had a fatal disease. Hindmick pulls a gun on Joe to protect Graynamore from Joe's anger, and to allow Graynamore to keep the yacht. Joe, having stared into the mouth of a volcano, calmly swipes the gun from Hindmick, then announces to Graynamore that he and Patricia had gotten married by the Chief. They both banish Graynamore and Hindmick to the boat's dinghy in the middle of the ocean. Graynamore tells Hindmick that he likes Joe, and admits being banished in a small dinghy in the middle of the ocean is his price for being too greedy, and tells Hindmick to help him row home. Back at the Tweedle Dum, Joe and Patricia see the four steamer trunks popping to the surface, with the Chief riding the last one, brandishing his Tobi, happily telling them he didn't lose his soul after all. Joe replies he didn't lose his either. The only remnant from the original ending is that in the end credits, you see an artist's rendition of the Tweedle Dum sailing off into the distance.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Hunt for Red October/House Party/Courage Mountain/Rosalie Goes Shopping/Too Beautiful for You (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Sixteen Tons
      Written by Merle Travis

      Produced by Val Garay

      Executive Producer Artie Ripp

      Performed by Eric Burdon

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 9, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros.
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Joe contra el volcán
    • Filming locations
      • Hawaii, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Amblin Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $25,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $39,404,261
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,252,232
      • Mar 11, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $39,404,261
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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