Dante's Peak |  | Director: Roger Donaldson
Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan, Jamie Renée Smith, Jeremy Foley
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.99
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Rating:  177 reviews
Sales Rank: 2524
Format: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 61020149
ISBN: 0783225547
UPC: 025192014925
EAN: 9780783225548
ASIN: 0783225547
Theatrical Release Date: February 7, 1997
Release Date: February 10, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Without warning day becomes night. Air turns to fire and solid ground gives way to white-hot molten terror. Brace yourself for action-packed earth shaking thrills and whatever you do do not look back. Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton star in an epic adventure from Director Roger Donaldson that will blow you away! Erupting with spectacular special effects heart-pounding suspense romance and remarkable characters.Starring: Pierce Brosnan Linda Hamilton and Charles HallahanDirector: Roger DonaldsonCopyright: 1997 Universal Pictures Produced by Gale Anne Hurd Joseph M. Sing; written by Leslie Bohem; running time of 109 minutes; Closed Captioned.System Requirements:English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish and French Languages: Dolby Surround Spanish Subtitles Dual Layer Anamorphic Widescreen 2:35:1 Audio Commentary with Director Original Documentary "Getting Close to the Show" Behind-the-Scenes footage special effects coverage plus other exciting material Dolby Surround tracks contain up to 4 channels of encoded audio/Playback from 2-channel DVD outputs is compatible with stereo an Dolby Pro Logic reproductionFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025192014925 Manufacturer No: 61020149
Amazon.com
The first of 1997's volcano disaster movies (the second being Volcano) was arguably the better of the two, but both of them made for passable entertainment with some spectacular special effects to serve as icing on the stale cake. After all, Dante's Peak doesn't pretend to be anything more than an updated variation on a whole catalog of disaster movie clichés. Despite all that, it's reasonably enjoyable. It's an added bonus that the script is just smart enough to allow Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton to play their roles with straight faces, never condescending to the audience of the formulaic story. He's a volcano expert from the U.S. Geological Survey, and she's the mayor of a cozy Washington State town perched beneath a volcano that's about to blow. Telltale signs are everywhere, so evacuation must be carried out immediately. Of course, not everybody's eager to leave, and even some of Brosnan's colleagues think his alarm is premature. This sets the stage for massive ash clouds, rivers of raging mud and molten rock, flattened forests, and death-defying escapes by Brosnan, Hamilton, and some (but not all) of her family, friends, and townsfolk. So what if it's all pretty flaky... and can a four-wheel-drive vehicle travel over fire and molten lava without bursting its tires? Don't ask too many questions, and you'll find Dante's Peak to be (if you'll pardon the pun) a total blast. The Collector's Edition DVD includes a documentary about volcanoes, Getting Close to the Show, in addition to behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive coverage of the creation of special effects, and audio commentary with director Roger Donaldson. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 177
 HD Only Sucks February 1, 2010
Johnny Reb (E. Hartf.,Ct)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I made the mistake of ordering this DVD. I have tried to even give the movie away,but nobody has an HD DVD play that will play it.
 Movie review January 30, 2010
Diane L. Gamble
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was purchased as a gift for a december birthdahy. It is a very good movie and even better in HD. You have to have an HD dvd player to watch it and the person I gave it to was able to watch it and has really enjoyed it.
Dante's Peak January 18, 2010
Arnita D. Brown (USA)
A vulcanologist arrives at a countryside named Dante's Peak after his boss instructs him to investigate the possibility of a dormant volcano (Dante's Peak) getting active again in that region. As story progresses, we see that Dalton is getting increasingly convinced that the volcano might blow up but his boss is reluctant to declare an emergency in the city yet because of possibility that if the volcano finally does never erupt, the real estate prices will plummet anyway and the city might loose a huge financial investment deal. Unfortunately, the common residents of the area know nothing about it until very late. Finally, when Dante's Peak does erupt, the city panics, some does not survive the catastrophe, including Dalton's boss and for Dalton and the mayor of the city who falls in love with Dalton and her children, it becomes a race against the pyroclastic cloud to save their own lives. There is plenty of good action and it really keeps you on the edge of your seats. Pierce & Linda gave outstanding performances and the photography was great through out the entire movie. Very entertaining.
One of the better disaster flicks of the 90's January 17, 2010
Ocean_villa
Generally, the 90's was home to a variety of disaster flicks. There were tornadoes (Twister), floods & the chance of being buried alive (Daylight), asteroids coming to wipe out Earth (Deep Impact & Armageddon), sinking ships (Titanic), it goes on and on. Basically if you can name it, the natural disaster was probably made into a movie. So it's no surprise that there would be two movies about volcanoes that surfaced in theatres within a few months of each other. (Dante's Peak and Volcano) While Volcano is probably one of the worst disaster movies ever made, Dante's Peak goes in the opposite direction entirely. It's become a cult classic for disaster film fans, despite being panned by critics. For a long time it was a family favourite, in the action film category, while I was growing up in the 90's.
The plot is our typical disaster film material: A volcano expert Harry Dalton (Brosnan) from the US Geological Survey is sent to Dante's Peak to investigate whether the dormant volcano is becoming active again. Of course, he suspects it is and recommends that the town be put on alert. His boss Paul Dreyfus (Charles Hallahan) disagrees. Not wanting to create an unnecessary panic, he ignores Harry's request until more evidence can be found. All the while, the mountain's activity begins to increase, which makes Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) suspect that Harry is right.
So what separates this film from other terrible ones? First, the movie actually takes its time. It builds. Despite a narrow escape from a previous eruption Harry was researching, there's a lack of action in the first half of the movie. When he gets to Dante's Peak we know an eruption is inevitable, the film does a great job at increasing the tension. Bit by bit this is accomplished through different mediums: such as the magmatic quakes on the mountain top, dying animals, and a hot spring turned deadly. There's also the clever use of dialogue, such as Harry's saying "if you put a frog in boiling hot water, it would jump out, but put it in cold water, and heat it up gradually, it would slowly boil to death." It's used to forshadow that the mountain is a ticking time-bomb; but the others don't realize it yet.
The slower start also does something else: it focuses strongly on the characters affected. You get a feel for small-town life and that these are all ordinary people involved. Most disaster movies skip this aspect and move straight into special effects territory. But they're missing this crucial element because DP actually allows you to care about what's happening everyone involved. It also helps thet the entire cast is believable. I can't really pick out a bad actor/actress out of any of them.
Special effects: when the volcano does start spewing out ash, lava, and even a pyroclastic cloud/flow for the finale - the CGI and small scale models that were used (ie. the dam breaking) are all impressive. I'm saying this and the movie is over a decade old. The writers did their research on what all of this would look like, which gives the film a more realistic feeling than most. They also show the volcano erupting in stages. Not everything happens at once, which heightens the terror. Scenes of the city being destroyed by quakes in the beginning, contrast with the massive mudslides that occur later on in other areas. That brings me to another point, much more than just lava is shown coming from the volcano itself - increases in water acidity pose other threats as well.
Cinematography adds to this: capturing all the events with a sense of claustrophobic tension. There are a couple of notable scenes I should mention: characters trying to drive amidst the ash storm - the camera focuses on the windshield and almost zero visibility. It adds to how chaotic and frightening the events are. Another moment is one that many of us (ie. my family) used to point out. That would be the reflection of Linda Hamilton's face in the car window when the eruption is beginning. It's a very unique shot as this reflection is framed against the volcano, which perfectly captures her horror. As such it draws the audience into feeling her fear. It's probably one of the best shots in the film.
The negative: the only thing that lowers this film's ratings are a few unreal scenes. Even though Dante's Peak doesn't pack as many ridiculous scenes in like most disaster films, you still have to suspend your disbelief at a few parts. The first of these would be when our main characters are in close proximity to the lava and manage to run away from it without any problems. Generally, the heat would make them faint long before the lava got to them. Secondly, when they're driving over a (mostly dried) lava stream, the truck gets stuck in a uncooled part of lava. Pretty much, the tires would have melted or exploded and sunk the truck - making the characters toast. Finally, there's no out-driving a pyroclastic cloud/flow. It's impossible as these things move way faster than any vehicle. The effects of it are amazing, especially when the film shows how it flattens the town; but it moves way too slow. So, some unrealism there. Just be prepared to suspend your disbelief in these instances and you should be fine.
The bottom line is: the film is a fun movie to watch, with high rewatchability. If you go in expecting to be entertained, the movie will deliver that. It's very enjoyable and remained constantly on my action movie watch-list for many years.
An Eruption of great disaster fun! December 9, 2009
Brett Stroup (Sunbury, PA USA)
I got this movie as a gift for the holidays about a year ago and as soon as I began to watch it I loved it. From the moment the movie starts to the time it ends, this film is packed with edge of your seat entertainment. The scene where the volcano first begins to erupt is overall my favorite part of the movie, although toward the end with the pyroclastic cloud ramming through the town of Dante's Peak is also a exciting time. The acting is great, the special effects are great, pretty much everything about the movie is great. Overall I give this film 5 stars based on acting, special effects, directing, and sound.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 177
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