Dante's Peak

UPC: 025192072949

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence]

Summary: Old Smokey develops a bad temper in this volcanic disaster spectacle. Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) is a volcano expert whose interest became more than academic after he lost the woman he loved in a volcanic emergency. When he is sent to investigate unusual seismic activity in the quiet Pacific Northwest community of Dante's Peak, he discovers people boiled to death in the local hot spring and plant and animal life dying or displaying unusual illnesses near the city's supposedly dormant volcano. Harry becomes convinced that a major volcanic catastrophe is in the cards. Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton), the town's mayor, is a single mother who also runs the local cafe, and now that Dante's Peak has been named one of the most desirable small towns in America, tourists have been flocking to the diner and other local businesses. While concerned with the safety of her community, Rachel takes a cynical view of Harry's warnings about the volcano; she has no desire to alarm either the town's residents or the wealthy visitors lining the city's pockets. Nevertheless, Harry tries to convince Rachel of the potential danger, as they begin to develop feelings for each other that are not strictly professional. The summer of 1997 was a big season for killer volcanoes at the movies, as Dante's Peak and Volcano opened within a few months of each other. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Adventure

Features: Getting Close to the Show: The making of Dante's Peak
Feature commentary with director Roger Donaldson and production designer Dennis Washington
D-Box motion enabled

Dante's Peak

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 07/26/2011

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DHMA null, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 109 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: Spanish,French

Derek Armstrong

Formulaic disaster movies have endured as a genre because every so often, one of them perfectly captures the sense of normal life supplanted by utter chaos. Dante's Peak is a textbook case of this -- formulaic to a fault, yet exceptionally thrilling. Its de rigueur opening vignette establishes the gravity of a volcanic eruption quite nicely, as Pierce Brosnan's daring seismologist escapes from a native village at ground zero just a tad too late. If the fist-sized chunk of smoldering rock that punches through the roof of his pickup is enough to bring convulsive death to his girlfriend, just imagine the capabilities of the torrent of smoke and magma behind it. The tense opening lurks in the viewer's consciousness as Brosnan shows up in the Pacific Northwest and starts looking around ominously. Director Roger Donaldson has stacked the deck smartly, so when local government starts weighing Brosnan's calculations against lost tourist revenue, it's believably nerve-wracking and frustrating. Once the lava starts flowing, the film gives up some of its authenticity in favor of thrilling escapes and implausible science. But like the opening, and the best parts of every good disaster movie, it's the failed escapes that make for gripping theater. Dante's Peak is far superior to its unexciting rival from the same summer, Volcano, which forgoes the explosive pyrotechnics captured here in favor of (yawn) the effort to barricade a pesky lava flow slowly advancing on Los Angeles. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Kirk Trutner  Actor 
Brian Reddy  Actor 
Jeremy Foley  Actor 
James Fox  Actor 
Arabella Field  Actor 
Leslie Bohem  Screenwriter 
Roger Donaldson  Director 
Ilona Herzberg  Executive Producer 
James Newton Howard  Composer (Music Score) 
Gale Anne Hurd  Producer 
John Frizzell  Composer (Music Score) 
Joseph M. Singer  Producer 
Pierce Brosnan  Actor 
Linda Hamilton  Actor 
Charles Hallahan  Actor 
Grant Heslov  Actor 
Elizabeth Hoffman  Actor 
Jamie Renee Smith  Actor 

Country: USA