At Work on Under the Volcano
August 10, 2012
Film Info
- United States
- 1984
- 112 minutes
- Color
- 1.78:1
- English
- Spine #410
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.
Cast
| Geoffrey Firmin | Albert Finney |
| Yvonne Firmin | Jacqueline Bisset |
| Hugh Firmin | Anthony Andrews |
| Dr. Vigil | Ignacio Lopez Tarzo |
| Senora Gregoria | Katy Jurado |
| Brit | James Villiers |
| Quincey | Dawson Bray |
| Bustamante | Carlos Riquelme |
| Dwarf | Rene Ruiz (Tun Tun) |
Credits
| Director | John Huston |
| Producer | Moritz Borman and 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 |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- 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
- PLUS: A new essay by film critic Christian Viviani
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