Volcano on PAL Laserdisc

Volcano

Distributed by

Encore Entertainment

• Cat.no: EE 1154

• Cert: 12
  
• Running time: 100 minutes
  
• Sides: 2 (CLV)
  
• Year: 1997
  
• Pressing: 1998
  
• Chapters: 20 (11/8+1)
  
• Sound: Dolby Surround
  
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
  
• Price: £24.99
  
• Extras : Original Theatrical Trailer




---





Director:



Mick Jackson (The Bodyguard, Clean Slate, L.A. Story)






Producer:



Neal H. Moritz and Andrew Z. Davis





Screenplay:



Jerome Armstrong and Billy Ray





Music:



Alan Silvestri





Cast:





Mike Roark: Tommy Lee Jones (Batman Forever, Blown Away, The Client, Cobb, The Fugitive, Heaven And Earth, House Of Cards, JFK, Men In Black, Under Siege, Wings Of The Apache)

Dr. Amy Barnes: Anne Heche (Donnie Brasco, Kingfish, Pie In The Sky, Psycho (1998), Six Days Seven Nights, Walking And Talking)

Kelly Roark: Gaby Hoffmann (Man Without A Face, Now And Then, Uncle Buck)

Lt. Ed Fox: Keith David (Clockers, Dead Presidents, Marked For Death, They Live)








---

Volcano is one of two films released in 1997 which centred around
erupting volcanoes which set out to cause havoc and bring a city to a
standstill. One was a rather dull affair with dodgy set-pieces and one major
explosion which, apart from a few minutes of something interesting, went out,
not with a bang but a whimper and was called Dante’s Peak. Whereas,
the film on the laserdisc being reviewed here, has just enough build-up to
set the story and from approximately twenty minutes in the action takes hold
and the pace never lets up for a minute.

Beneath the famed La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, a vent in the Earth’s crust
has unleashed a raging volcano, raining a storm of deadly fire bombs and
an endless tide of white-hot lava upon the stunned city. An unprepared city
faces its worst terror as the fiery lava-flow insidiously creeps across
traffic-choked streets and wreaks havoc below ground in the labyrinthine
tunnels that snake beneath the city.

The Office Of Emergency Management (O.E.M.) is a permanent division of the city
of Los Angeles and in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, its
director has the power to control and command all the resources of the city.
The man in the (literally) hot seat is Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) who
is as confused as anyone as to how such an improbable event can happen in his
fair city and immediately summons the help of resident know-it-all Dr. Amy
Barnes (Anne Heche) who explains the processes of a volcano as the film
goes by.

I’m glad of one thing about this film – the two lead characters do not embark
on a whirlwind romance as a result of their chance meeting, which is the norm
for most Hollywood fare, such as the other recent Anne Heche film, Six Days
Seven Nights, despite the fact that Ms. Heche is one of Hollywood’s most
famous lesbians and currently the beau of US comedienne Ellen DeGeneres.

However, I do have a couple of reservations when it comes a certain cliche used
here: that of a character either selfishly giving up their own life to save
someone else (chapter 12: where the foreman of the underground rail network has
a chance to save himself, but instead rescues a train driver and lets himself
sink into the lava feet first in one of the most gruesome scenes I’ve witnessed
in a 12-certificate film) or just giving up the will to live (chapter 17: where
the army guy is trapped at the bottom of the towering hospital about to be
demolished in a desperate bid to stem the tide of lava. If he put his mind to
it he could at least try to get out, but like the death of Tiffany in Eastenders
anyone in the surrounding area just stands about leaving the fated character to
get on with the inevitably-avoidable).

---

A brilliant transfer brings the red-hot lava, fireballs and other assorted
CGI effects to life, out of the cinema and into your front room. A pin-sharp
1.85:1 picture replicates the original cinema ratio.

I could describe the sound as ‘explosive’ and that might seem like a pun, but
the audio on a PAL Laserdisc couldn’t be any better, making this a demo disc
to show to your friends. For an example of the best you can check out most of
the chapters such as “A Rude Awakening” (ch.7), “Fireballs Over Wiltshire
Boulevard” (ch.8), “La Brea Eruption” (ch.9), “Danger On The Red Line” (ch.12)
and “Demolition Danger” (ch.17). Even the opening credits stamp their mark
as the outside scenes of happy shoppers are intercut with underground activities
getting ready to burst out and say hello.

There are 19 chapters spread throughout the film. A fair number, but a few more
wouldn’t have gone amiss. A final one is saved for the original theatrical
trailer.

---

Overall, the fact that such an event would be incredibly unlikely in the given
location may cause the words “artistic licence” to shout out loud, but this is
surprisingly a very engaging and gripping film from start to finish, despite
its implausibilities.

It’s a shame this will be one of Encore’s last laserdiscs to be produced,
but with a top-notch transfer on display this fiery delight deserves a place
in any laserdisc owner’s collection.

FILM	 		: ****½

PICTURE QUALITY		: *****

SOUND QUALITY		: *****

EXTRAS			: *

——————————-

OVERALL			: ****

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.