John Huston - Under The Volcano

Under the Volcano follows the final day in the life of a self-destructive British Consul Geoffrey Firmin (Albert Finney, in an Oscar-nominated tour de force) on the eve of World War II.

Withering from alchoholism, Firmin stumbles through a small mexican village, amid the day of the dead fiesta, attempting to reconnect with his estranged wife (Jacqueline Bisset). Against the background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta, we are taken through one day in a life of alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in 1939. His self-destructive behaviour, perhaps a metaphor for a menaced civilization, is a source of perplexity and sadness to his nomadic, idealistic half-brother, Hugh, and his ex-wife, Yvonne.

John Huston’s ambitious tackling of Malcolm Lory’s towering novel was compared with his greatest works such as the Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle and Key Largo. This film also gave the incomparable Finney on of his most legendary roles.

Nominated for 2 Oscars in 1985 for Best Actor and Score.
Nominated 1985 Golden Globe for Best Actor and Actress.
Won 1985 London Critics Circle Film Awards for Actor of the Year.
Won 1984 LA Film Critics Association for Best Actor

Staggering performance by Finney Time Out

An Everest of cinema NY Times

Huston’s Masterpiece Auto Variety

Intense Channel4



SPECIFICATIONS

PAL DVD All Regions
Running Time 112 minutes
Colour 1.78:1 / Mono
Newly restored from high definition digital transfer supervised by film editor Robert Silvi
Enhanced for 16:9 displays
Licensed from Janus Films, Ithaca Enterprises Inc.