Dante's Peak - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Without warning day becomes night. Air turns to fire and solid ground gives way to white-hot molten terror. Brace yourself for action-packed earth-shaking thrills and whatever you do dont look back. Contains: feature commentary with director roger donaldson theatrical trailer and script and much more. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/23/2005 Starring: Pierce Brosnan Linda Hamilton Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Roger Donaldson

Amazon.com
The first of 1997's volcano disaster movies (the second being Volcano) was arguably the better of the two, but both of them made for passable entertainment with some spectacular special effects to serve as icing on the stale cake. After all, Dante's Peak doesn't pretend to be anything more than an updated variation on a whole catalog of disaster movie cliches. Despite all that, it's reasonably enjoyable. It's an added bonus that the script is just smart enough to allow Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton to play their roles with straight faces, never condescending to the audience of the formulaic story. He's a volcano expert from the U.S. Geological Survey, and she's the mayor of a cozy Washington State town perched beneath a volcano that's about to blow. Telltale signs are everywhere, so evacuation must be carried out immediately. Of course, not everybody's eager to leave, and even some of Brosnan's colleagues think his alarm is premature. This sets the stage for massive ash clouds, rivers of raging mud and molten rock, flattened forests, and death-defying escapes by Brosnan, Hamilton, and some (but not all) of her family, friends, and townsfolk. So what if it's all pretty flaky... and can a four-wheel-drive vehicle travel over fire and molten lava without bursting its tires? Don't ask too many questions, and you'll find Dante's Peak to be (if you'll pardon the pun) a total blast. The Collector's Edition DVD includes a documentary about volcanoes, Getting Close to the Show, in addition to behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive coverage of the creation of special effects, and audio commentary with director Roger Donaldson. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews: Read 161 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Fantastic special effects, but... August 10, 2005
26 out of 37 found this review helpful

Okay, first the special effects. They're outstanding. From the very first eruption, through dams breaking, floods destroying bridges, and a stupdendous pyroclastic flow, it's some of the best effects I've ever seen in a disaster movie.

Unfortunately, there's a story that comes with it; even more unfortunately, some lamebrain decided to included DIALOGUE. God help us.

Whoever wrote the screenplay must have a pretty low opinion of the intelligence of the human species -- and especially of women. First, there's Marion, Brosnan's first love. Marion loves volcanoes, and is so much of an expert that when she sees that the volcano she's sitting on is about to blow, she wants to stay ("we can't leave now; look at these readings!") Uh , Marion, have you considered that the readings are saying that it's time to, oh, I don't know... RUN??!! No matter, she doesn't last long.

Then there's Grandma. Boy, if there was ever a senior who deserved to be put away, it's this nut. Don't ever trust someone in their seventies who says "hot nookie" in front of the grandkids. She also refuses to come off of her volcano when it's ready to explode. Maybe it's something in the water.

My favorite line, however, comes from our heroine. She's sitting out on her front porch one warm summer evening, her soon-to-be beau Brosnan by her side, her two sweet children asleep in her beds. Brosnan has told her the explosion could come any time now.She stares up at the volcano and murmurs "I hope you're wrong about our volcano, Harry -- but if you're right, I'm glad you're here." Awwww. That's nice. Of course, any decent mother would have gotten her kids on the first bus out of town... something she apparently never thought of. She also thanked Brosnan for saving her son's life by making him some eggplant parmigian. It must be one hell of an eggplant parmigian.

Throw in the greedy businessman, the chicken boss, a helicopter pilot who apparently was out the day they taught you not to fly in ash, and you have the townspeople of Dante's Peak. Happily, you get to see a fantastic volcanic explosion AND the reassurance that these nitwits won't pass on their dna. That alone is worth three stars.

4 out of 5 stars

Enjoy the fireworks July 16, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

The 'old-fashioned' disaster movie scenario enjoyed a brief resurgence in the latter half of the 90s. After the success of Twister and ID4, films like Hard Rain, Titanic, Armageddon and Deep Impact followed in its wake. Like the two competing asteroid movies, Dante's Peak was in competition with the imaginatively named Volcano as THE Lava flow of 1997. Which one is better? Well, comparing the two is like comparing an atomic blast to a popping pimple.

Pierce Brosnan is Harry Dalton, a Vulcanologist (or James Bond in disguise if you want) who predicts a major eruption in the quaint Pacific-Northwestern town of Dante's Peak. No one wants to listen to him since the town has just been named the 2nd most desirable place to live in America and is in the early stages of a thriving economy. It's the politics from Jaws all over again. Despite being shouted down by his superiors, Harry sticks around to keep his eye on the imposing mountain and woo Mayor Wando (Linda Hamilton), who is the only one who believes the 4000-year dormant volcano might blow its top.

If you've seen one disaster movie, you've seen 'em all in terms of character importance. Yes, it's bloody obvious who is going to die, some of these people might as well have a death clock counting down stuck on their foreheads. And the panicking idiot mobs don't deserve anything less firey. When will nameless extras learn that following the crowd isn't the best way? I guess this is the weakest part of Dante's Peak, it never really distances itself from that single, eternal cliche of disaster films.

But the film is really nothing but a showcase for special effects and it does them surprisingly well. Made before the extreme popularity of CGI, Dante's Peak has a lot of real-life destruction, in-camera effects and stunt-work. Yes, there is a fair bit of CGI and for a 10-year-old film they still hold up really well. All Volano (Zzzz...) had to offer was a very, very slight lava flow and an unintentionally hilarious scene with a melting man but with Dante's Peak we get earthquakes, boiled skinny dippers, lakes of acid, ash blizzards that create a unique atmosphere, thunder and lightning, red hot boulders raining down from the sky, mudslides, lava (of course), a massive pyroclastic cloud and lots of deep, deep bass sound effects.

It's not a life-changing film by any means, but as disaster movies go it's one of the best, has an occasionally spooky score and entertains really well despite Brosnan taking it all so seriously. I would have given it a higher rating if they killed the dog (more original) and deleted the annoying Grant Heslov's utterly pointless character.

The HD-DVD presents the film is gorgeous 1080p 2.35:1 with a brilliant Dolby Digital+ sound design. The best of the extras from the SD-DVD are ported over, but why the horrible new cover.

A definite must-have for HD-DVD fans.

5 out of 5 stars

Dante's Peak March 11, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

In 1997 there were two eagerly anticipated volcano movies released. Dante's Peak was more of a blockbuster hit, with more entertainment value, but not very accurate from a geologist's standpoint.

Had it been based on reality instead of Hollywood, they all would have died early in the movie. You can't drive through lava. Since it can get up to 2000 degrees, the vehicle would have perished immediately. I also don't know many metal objects like a small boat that can survive direct contact with acid elements and remain floating indefinitely.

With all that said it was a good entertaining movie. Pierce Brosnan is always a must see!

5 out of 5 stars

An explosive treat! April 13, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Dante's Peak seems like the ideal place to live... the serenity of the mountainous landscape and the friendly atmosphere seems to wipe out the fact that the town is nestled at the base of a dormant volcano. However, when the U.S.G.S. begins to pick up signals from the volcano that indicate a possible eruption, they send Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) to investigate. While there, he befriends town mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) and informs her of the risks. When he begins to get the city council into an uproar, his advisor shows up to cool things down and wards off any ideas of an eruption. But the symptoms begin to grow, and soon, ash and rock are flying in the sky as the mountain explodes upon the small township. It's a race for survival for Dalton and Wando, as they must search for Wando's children and get them out before the impending final showdown with the volcano. Digital Domain's special effects contribute so much to the story, making it real and placing its characters in real peril. Suspense, action, romance and a terrific cast make this disaster movie a winner. The DTS version is remarkable, and it is recommended that this be the version you buy.

2 out of 5 stars

Saving the Stupid October 3, 1999
6 out of 10 found this review helpful

Pierce Brosnan plays a volcanologist with a stupid boss. As this is a disaster movie, the boss must die to atone for his stupidity. Linda Hamilton plays a mayor/coffee shop owner with a stupid mother in law. The mother in law must die. She also has a pair of stupid children and a stupid dog, and there are times during the movie when it would be for the greater good if Brosnan let evolution take its course with them too.

Basing a movie on stupidity is stupid; it's the lazy writer's way to set up peril, an excuse for technically fine special effects, but not a means to develop characters the audience cares to see saved.

The DVD is a good transfer, and has good sound, but it has no extra features, not even the trailer.

I'd look elsewhere for places to spend my entertainment dollar.

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