Supervolcano (2005)

A volcano in Yellowstone Park suddenly erupts.

Director:

Tony Mitchell

Writer:

Edward Canfor-Dumas

Stars:

Michael Riley, Gary Lewis, Shaun Johnston

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Riley	...	Rick Lieberman
Gary Lewis	...	Jock Galvin
Shaun Johnston	...	Matt
Adrian Holmes	...	Dave
Jennifer Copping	...	Nancy
Rebecca Jenkins	...	Wendy Reiss
Tom McBeath	...	Michael Eldridge
Robert Wisden	...	Kenneth Wylie
Susan Duerden	...	Fiona Lieberman
Emy Aneke	...	Johnson
Jane McLean	...	Maggie Chin
Garwin Sanford	...	Bob Mann (as Garwin Sandford)
Sam Charles	...	William Lieberman
Kevin McNulty	...	Joe Foster
Shelagh Mitchell	...	Mother

Storyline

Yellowstone is a park, but it's also the deadliest volcano on Earth. Beneath it, a sleeping 'dragon' is stirring. When an earthquake opens a crack for magma to seep through, other warning signs of an eruption start popping up, but they are ignored or dismissed as 'minor'. But when they learn an eruption will happen, panic breaks out through people of the USA and the world. This is a tale told from former Yellowstone scientists, who recall the final days before Yellowstone erupted, and everything changed forever.

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Plot Keywords:

profanity | disaster movie | disaster film | volcano | yellowstone national park | 

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Taglines:

Beneath the beauty of Yellowstone Park, in the heart of America, a super eruption is stirring.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 2020.

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Goofs

Many of the shots of things happening in the USA were actually from the Phillipines, Indonesia, Sumatra, etc. In particular, during the "ash is falling" news report, one shot shows the "Manila's Market Place" cinema, named on its own marquee.

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Quotes

Richard 'Rick' Lieberman: This model is telling us that even a moderate eruption near Norris could destabilize the rest of the chamber and trigger a...
Nancy: VEI eight. Supereruption!
Jock Galvin: Great!... And if frogs had wings, then they wouldn't bump their little green asses hopping around, eh?
[...]
Jock Galvin: Jesus, you're letting yourselves be spooked by a video game! Oooh!

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Connections

Featured in Charlie Brooker's Wipe: Episode #1.3 (2006)

User Reviews

Devastation on a grand scale

SUPERVOLCANO

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

(2 episodes)

The 'true' story of an impending super-eruption beneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming which will bury 80% of the United States under clouds of choking dust and plunge the entire world into a devastating volcanic winter for years to come.

Based on meticulous research conducted over an eight-month period, this frightening drama commercializes a scenario first outlined in a documentary screened by the BBC in 2002, which drew the world's attention to a timebomb beneath Yellowstone Park. Characterizations are minimal (Michael Riley and Scottish actor Gary Lewis play concerned scientists forced to confront the reality of an impending disaster, only to meet opposition by government personnel eager to prevent mass panic), but scriptwriter Edward Canfor-Dumas describes the timeline of events with startling clarity, mixing narrative and science in an effort to 'sell' the material to the broadest possible audience.

Conceived and executed in the manner of a Hollywood movie, this TV special develops a fair head of steam - counting down to calamity via a series of tell-tale 'warning signs', including earthquakes and violent geyser eruptions - before The Big One explodes in a welter of CGI effects. Such material illustrates the size and horror of the Yellowstone disaster with shocking realism, but the aftermath (in which planet-wide snowfall causes massive disruption to daily life, food shortages and death on an industrial scale) is described with unseemly haste, and the end product feels strangely unfinished. Still, as a means of alerting the world to this imminent catastrophe (which could occur at any moment during the next 100,000 years), SUPERVOLCANO is pretty hard to beat. Sobering stuff, originally broadcast in two parts, directed by Tony Mitchell.

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK Italy Germany Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Supervolcano

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Discovery Channel, ProSieben Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1