Dante's Peak [Blu-ray]

Director: Roger Donaldson Roger Donaldson

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/26/2011
UPC:	0025192072949
Original Release:	1997
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:49:00
Sales rank:	16,071

Special 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

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Pierce Brosnan	Harry Dalton
Linda Hamilton	Rachel Wando
Charles Hallahan	Paul Dreyfus
Grant Heslov	Greg
Elizabeth Hoffman	Ruth
Jeremy Foley	Graham Wando
Kirk Trutner	Terry Furlong
Arabella Field	Nancy
Tzi Ma	Stan
Brian Reddy	Les Worrell
Lee Garlington	Dr. Jane Fox
Bill Bolender	Sheriff Turner
Carol Andresky	Mary Kelly
Peter Jason	Norman Gates
Jeffrey L. Ward	Jack Collins
Tim Haldeman	Elliot Blair
Walker Brandt	Marianne
Hansford Rowe	Warren Cluster
Susie Spear	Karen Narlington
David Lipper	Hot Springs Man
Heather Stephens	Hot Springs Woman
Ingo Neuhaus	National Guardsman
Patty Raya MacMillan	News Stringer
R. J. Burns	Man at Helicopter
Tammy L. Smith	Town Meeting Woman,Lauren Wando,Actor
Christopher Murray	Pilot
Justin Williams	Paramedic
Donna Deshon	Road Block Newsperson
Tom Magnuson	Road Block Newsperson
Marilyn Leubner	Babysitter
Henry B. Walthall	Actor
Carole Androsky	Actor
Susie Spear Purcell	Karen Narlington
Mike Butters	Helicopter Pilot
Ed Stone	Technician
Donna Ostrom	Road Block Newspersons
James Fox	Stan
John Frizzell	Composer
James Newton Howard	Composer

Technical Credits

Leslie Bohem

Roger Donaldson	Director
Leslie Bohem	Screenwriter
Roy Arbogast	Special Effects
Allison Cowitt	Casting
Mike Fenton	Casting
Ilona Herzberg	Executive Producer,Producer
Gale Anne Hurd	Producer
Patrick McClung	Special Effects,Special Effects
R.A. Rondell	Stunts
Joseph M. Singer	Producer,Producer
Perry Barndt	Stunts
Robert Chapin	Special Effects
Robert Aliotta	Special Effects
Richard L. Anderson	Sound Effects
Staci Hunter	Producer
Marliese Schneider	Producer
Mimi Abers	Special Effects
James Ashwill	Sound Effects
Nancy Barker	Sound Effects
Ron Bartlett	Sound Effects
Rick Canelli	Sound Effects
Geoff Murphy	Producer
George Simpson	Sound Editor
David MacMillan	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

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.

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