Summary
Under the Volcano is a 1984 drama film directed by John Huston and starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, and Anthony Andrews, based on Malcolm Lowry's semi-autobiographical 1947 novel. The film follows the last 24 hours in the life of Geoffrey Firmin (Finney), an alcoholic British former consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac on the Day of the Dead in 1938.
| Under the Volcano | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Huston |
| Screenplay by | Guy Gallo |
| Based on | Under the Volcano 1947 novel by Malcolm Lowry |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gabriel Figueroa |
| Edited by | Roberto Silvi |
| Music by | Alex North |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages | English Spanish |
| Box office | $2,556,800[2] |
The film premiered at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Under the Volcano received Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Finney's performance and Best Original Score for Alex North’s score, along with Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Finney) and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Bisset). The film is an international co-production between Mexico and the United States.
Plot edit
On the Day of the Dead in 1938, Firmin, an alcoholic former British consul to Mexico, despondent from the yearlong absence of his wife Yvonne, wanders the streets of Quauhnahuac in a stupor, observing the festivities and crashing a Red Cross charity ball.
Cast edit
- Albert Finney as Geoffrey Firmin
- Jacqueline Bisset as Yvonne Firmin
- Anthony Andrews as Hugh Firmin
- Ignacio López Tarso as Dr. Vigil
- Katy Jurado as Señora Gregoria
- James Villiers as Brit
- Dawson Bray as Quincey
- Carlos Riquelme as Bustamante
- José René Ruiz as the Dwarf
- Emilio Fernández as Diosdado Brell
- Jim McCarthy as Gringo in Brothel
- Hugo Stiglitz as Sinarquista
- Günter Meisner as Herr Krausberg
- Araceli Ladewuen Castelun as Maria
- Eleazar Garcia Jr., Salvador Sánchez, and Sergio Calderón as the Chiefs
Production edit
Development edit
In the late 1950s, Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry adapted his novel into a screenplay and attempted to interest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to produce it[3] after being hired to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night.[4] The studio passed and Lowry died in 1957. Actor Zachary Scott optioned the novel in 1962, but after he died his widow sold the rights to brothers Robert and Raymond Hakim.
Guy Gallo, a novice playwright[5] who had written two academic papers on Malcolm Lowry at Yale University, began to write a screenplay.[6]
Casting edit
Albert Finney was cast in the lead role of Geoffrey Firmin, Jacqueline Bisset as his wife Yvonne, and Anthony Andrews as his half-brother Hugh. Firmin's friend Dr. Vigil was played by Ignacio López Tarso, an actor lesser known to English-speaking audiences but highly recognized by Mexican ones as one of the top stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, winning the Ariel Award for Best Actor in 1973 for the Roberto Gavaldón film Rosa Blanca. The supporting cast includes several prominent Mexican filmmaking personalities, including director and occasional actor Emilio Fernández, cult film actor Hugo Stiglitz, and actress Katy Jurado.
Filming edit
Principal photography began on August 8, 1983, in the village of Yautepec de Zaragoza, a short car ride from Cuernavaca.[7]
Reception edit
The film was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or.[8]
Upon general release, it received generally positive reviews from critics. Reviewing in The New York Times, Janet Maslin especially praised Finney's performance.[9]
Awards and nominations edit
The film was enthusiastically received, and was nominated for several awards.
Academy Awards edit
- Nominated - Best Actor (Albert Finney)
- Nominated - Best Original Score (Alex North)
Golden Globe Awards edit
- Nominated - Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Albert Finney)
- Nominated - Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Jacqueline Bisset)
Cannes Film Festival edit
- Nominated - Palme d'Or (John Huston)
Other awards edit
| Year | Association | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Actor | Albert Finney | Won |
| 1984 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| 1984 | National Board of Review | Top Ten Films of the Year | — | Won |
| 1985 | London Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Albert Finney | Won |
Related works edit
Huston's drama has sometimes been shown in tandem with an earlier documentary film: Volcano: An Inquiry Into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976) is a National Film Board of Canada feature-length documentary produced by Donald Brittain and Robert A. Duncan and directed by Brittain and John Kramer. It opens with the inquest into Lowry's "death by misadventure," and then moves back in time to trace the writer's life. Selections from Lowry's novel are read by Richard Burton amid images shot in Mexico, the United States, Canada and England.
There are two documentaries about the making of the Huston film: Gary Conklin's 56-minute Notes from Under the Volcano and the 82-minute Observations Under the Volcano, directed by Christian Blackwood.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Under the Volcano (1984)". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Under the Volcano at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Strobel, Nancy; Tiessen, Paul (2011). The Letters of Malcolm Lowry and Gerald Noxon, 1940-1952. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-4479-6.
- ^ Phillips, Gene D. (1986). Fiction, Film, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Chicago, Illinois: Loyola University Press. ISBN 978-0-8294-0500-2.
- ^ Gold, Herbert (December 11, 1983). "HUSTON FILMS A CULT CLASSIC". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean (August 23, 1983). "HUSTON FILMING 'UNDER THE VOLCANO' BESIDE MIST-SHROUDED POPOCATEPETL". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Under the Volcano". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (13 June 1984). "Film: Huston's 'Under the Volcano'". The New York Times.
External links edit
- Under the Volcano at IMDb
- Under the Volcano at the TCM Movie Database
- Under the Volcano at AllMovie
- Under the Volcano at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Under the Volcano at Rotten Tomatoes
- Under the Volcano: Before the Stillness an essay by Christian Viviani at the Criterion Collection
