Reviews
Under the Volcano (1984)
A failed attempt to translate Malcolm Lowry's highly acclaimed novel to the screen.
When Malcolm Lowry's multi-layered novel hit the post war literary scene it was hailed as an instant classic. The stream-of-consciousness and hallucinatory profile of a former British consul drinking himself to death in 1938 Cuernavaca served as a metaphor for the world's imminent fall into the precipice of World War II.
Immediately Hollywood responded and a 35-year pursuit of the elusive project began. Orson Welles showed interest. Followed by John Ford and MGM producer Frank Taylor. The list goes on to include director Jose Quintero, actor Zachary Scott and directors Luis Bunel, Joseph Losey, Tony Richardson, Joseph Strick and Anthony Harvey.
Why all the interest? Despite the complex literary references employed through the novel, "Under The Volcano" remains one of the most cinematic literary devices ever published. Influenced by the fluid and subjective camera work in F.W. Murnau's silent classic "Sunrise," Lowry succeeds in brilliantly portraying the psychological awareness, panic and deliberate downfall of Geoffrey Firmin amid the spectacular garden-of-eden setting of Mexico with the shinning array of the snow capped peaks of Popocatepetl looming beyond. Symbolism, drama, the d.t.s of alcoholism, mysticism and the ever present hope of salvation are further layers that shaped the novel during it's eight year gestation.
Huston's film adaptation discards all the cinematic brilliance for the sake of simplifying the story. In other words, the film eviscerates what makes the novel great and we are left with an adequate performance by Finney and laughable work by Bisset and Andrews. An all round dismal and forgettable film.