Under The Volcano

Under The Volcano (1984) is yet another literary adaptation of a classic cult novel by the writer Malcolm Lowry by famed director John Huston. Huston also did adaptations of The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Red Badge of Courage, Moby Dick, Wiseblood, The Dead among others. Many would have thought that Lowry's book was unfilmable. It is the 600 page story of the final day in the life of a self-destructive alcoholic British consul (played by Albert Finney in one of the greatest depictions of alcoholism on screen) in Mexico where mescal transports him into his memories, to his internal world and the present where he confronts his brother (Anthony Andrews) and estranged wife (Jacqueline Bisset). The Criterion editions has a slew of features: audio commentaries featuring executive producer Michael Fitzgerald and producers Wieland Schultz-Keil and Mortiz Borman on the film; screenwriter Guy Gallo on selected scenes; and actor filmmaker Danny Huston, John Huston's son, on the main title sequence. It also has the theatrical trailer on the first disc. The second disc has a new video interview with actress Jacqueline Bisset, Notes from "Under the Volcano" (1984) an hour-long documentary on the film's production, directed by Gary Conklin, Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976) filmmaker Donald Britain's 99 minute, Academy Award-nominated documentary narrated by Richard Burton, about Lowry, and an audio interview with John Huston from 1984. It also includes a booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar and critic Christian Viviani.