John Huston

Under the Volcano

Under the Volcano

Under the Volcano follows the final day in the life of self-destructive British consul Geoffrey Firmin (Albert Finney, in an Oscar-nominated tour de force) on the eve of World War II. Withering from alcoholism, Firmin stumbles through a small Mexican village amidst the Day of the Dead fiesta, attempting to reconnect with his estranged wife (Jacqueline Bisset) but only further alienating himself. John Huston's ambitious tackling of Malcolm Lowry's towering “unadaptable” novel gave the incomparable Finney one of his grandest roles and was the legendary The Treasure of the Sierra Madre director's triumphant return to filmmaking in Mexico.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1984
  • 112 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.78:1
  • English
  • Spine #410

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by film editor Roberto Silvi
  • Audio commentary featuring executive producer Michael Fitzgerald and producers Wieland Schulz-Keil and Moritz Borman
  • Theatrical trailers
  • New video interview with Jacqueline Bisset
  • New audio interview with screenwriter Guy Gallo
  • 1984 audio interview with John Huston conducted by French film critic Michel Ciment
  • Notes from "Under the Volcano" (1984), a 59-minute documentary by Gary Conklin shot on the set during the film's production, featuring interviews with Huston, cast, and crew
  • Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976), filmmaker Donald Brittain's 99-minute, Academy Award–nominated documentary, narrated by Richard Burton, examining the connections between Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry's life and that of his novel's main character
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Christian Viviani

    New cover by Michael Boland

Purchase Options

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by film editor Roberto Silvi
  • Audio commentary featuring executive producer Michael Fitzgerald and producers Wieland Schulz-Keil and Moritz Borman
  • Theatrical trailers
  • New video interview with Jacqueline Bisset
  • New audio interview with screenwriter Guy Gallo
  • 1984 audio interview with John Huston conducted by French film critic Michel Ciment
  • Notes from "Under the Volcano" (1984), a 59-minute documentary by Gary Conklin shot on the set during the film's production, featuring interviews with Huston, cast, and crew
  • Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976), filmmaker Donald Brittain's 99-minute, Academy Award–nominated documentary, narrated by Richard Burton, examining the connections between Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry's life and that of his novel's main character
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Christian Viviani

    New cover by Michael Boland
Under the Volcano
Cast
Albert Finney
Geoffrey Firmin
Jacqueline Bisset
Yvonne Firmin
Anthony Andrews
Hugh Firmin
Ignacio Lopez Tarzo
Dr. Vigil
Katy Jurado
Senora Gregoria
James Villiers
Brit
Dawson Bray
Quincey
Carlos Riquelme
Bustamante
Rene Ruiz (Tun Tun)
Dwarf
Credits
Director
John Huston
Producer
Moritz Borman
Producer
Wieland-Schulz Keil
Screenplay
Guy Gallo
Executive producer
Michael Fitzgerald
Music
Alex North
Editing
Roberto Silvi
Production design
Gunther Gerzso
Cinematography
Gabriel Figueroa
Production supervisor
Tom Shaw

Current

At Work on Under the Volcano
At Work on Under the Volcano
Never has a Hollywood filmmaker been less fazed by the prospect of tackling adaptations of major books than the journeyman director John Huston. By the time he dug his nails into Malcolm Lowry’s 1947 Under the Volcano (ranked the eleventh greatest …
Paul Morrissey’s Top 10