Joe Versus the Volcano |  | Director: John Patrick Shanley
Actors: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $3.81
as of 2/9/2010 20:15 EST details
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New (42) Used (22) from $3.28
Seller: Gold Trader USA
Rating:  178 reviews
Sales Rank: 6430
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Japanese (Subtitled), Georgian (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.6
MPN: D16060D
ISBN: 0790761637
UPC: 085391606024
EAN: 9780790761633
ASIN: B00005Y71F
Theatrical Release Date: March 9, 1990
Release Date: April 2, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Joe Versus the Volcano is a true early-1990s cult film. This fantasy-comedy was the first pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, yet it polarizes viewers like a Blue Velvet or Happiness. As the only directorial effort from John Patrick Shanley (the Oscar-winning writer of Moonstruck), it is something special, and it's hard to resist the film's feather-light heart tugging. Joe Banks is having the life sucked out of him at a dead-end job. Miserable in his gray surroundings with stark fluorescent lighting, Joe dreams of being brave again. A visit to the doctor reveals that he has a "brain cloud." It's fatal, but he'll be fine for a few more months. An eccentric millionaire, Samuel Harvey Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges), hears of Joe's predicament and comes to him with a proposal: The people of the Pacific island of Waponi Woo need a human sacrifice to appease their gods. Why not live like a king for a few weeks, then throw yourself into a volcano? (Graynamore needs a sacrificial victim to offer in exchange for permission to mine the island for a rare mineral.) Joe accepts Graynamore's lavish proposal and on his journey meets three romantic possibilities (all played by Ryan). Joe embraces life; so does the movie. It's packed with smile-inducing supporting performances by Bridges, Ossie Davis, Robert Stack, and Dan Hedaya; playful songs ("Sixteen Tons," "Ol' Man River," Presley's version of "Blue Moon"); and amusing scenes (such as Joe buying luggage). Add the daring, imaginative production design of Bo Welch (Edward Scissorhands), Hanks and Ryan's chemistry, and Georges Delerue's romantic music and you have a film to fall for. --Doug Thomas
Product Description
A stressed-out white-collar worker, who is convinced he has a terminal condition, is offered a taste of the good life. All he must do in return is leap into a volcano.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 8-FEB-2005
Media Type: DVD
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 178
 Joe, the volcano, and everything January 8, 2010
Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA)
"Joe Versus the Volcano" is an interesting little film, light and silly on one level, yet infused with complex themes and more than a little darkness, too. Though much of the movie is set in a gritty, urban landscape, the story has a fable-like, "once upon a time..." quality throughout. But again, the darkness and complexity often gives that fable-like quality more of a Brothers Grimm flavor.
I finally watched this movie after having it sit on my shelves for several years, thinking it would probably be "just okay", so there was no rush in getting to it. But I was wrong. This combination love story and meditation on life turned out to be a thoughtful little bugger, with some memorable imagery and occurrences. I will say that the ending sequences could have benefitted from a bigger special effects budget, though nothing ever approached outright shoddy work.
Meg Ryan was very good in her three diverse roles, making me wonder why she only played cute and perky roles during most of her subsequent career, with a late career detour primarily comprised of unsavory, darkly sexual characters. This movie showed she could create interesting characters existing between those two poles. Tom Hanks was also good, displaying some early acting chops as he effectively communicated the vast range of reactions and emotions required of his character.
My standard DVD (a 2001 remastering, I believe) looked and sounded perfectly fine, and a few modest special features were included. Perhaps a better DVD of this film has been released since I bought this particular edition, but if not, this one is still quite serviceable.
By the way, the director of "Joe Versus the Volcano", John Patrick Shanley, also directed 1987's "Moonstruck" and 2008's "Doubt", all the while maintaining- even now- a prolific life in the theatre as a playwright/director. Not a bad little career.
 Early Tom Hanks Meg Ryan Comedy of Epic Proportions! December 23, 2009
Gina C. Moss (Greensboro, NC USA)
This hilarious, yet insightful film was written and directed by John Patrick Shanely, best know for Moonstruck and most recently, Doubt. I refuse to give away the smallest part of the absurd plot. However, I will tell you that if you like early Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, or even if you just enjoy movies that poke fun at the absurdity of life's rituals, you will LOVE this movie. It is smart, inventive and completely original. Make the pop-corn and gather the family. This movie was amazingly rated PG, but will hold the interest of small children, teenagers and adults. Enjoy!
Satisfied October 6, 2009
Janet Helen Fish
This came in a timely manor and I'm assuming it works. I haven't watched it yet.
Make no mistake: this is a solid comedy! October 6, 2009
Eric S. Kim (Southern California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Does it have toilet humor? No. Does it have fart jokes? No. Does it have lots of sexual innuendo? Not really. So what makes me think that this is a solid comedy? Because it's much better than most lame comedies that are out right now! This is a brilliant 1990 film that features Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (the same duo that you find in Sleepless in Seattle). Sure, it moves very slow, but that's how this sort of comedy works. What you get are people who are tired with their dead-end job, a week on a raft that's made of luggage, and . . . Abe Vigoda as a chief of a pacific island?! WHAT THE . . . okay, I'll not get into that. I'll just say that this is something that's really out of the ordinary. Sure, there are some things that are really silly, but once you get past that, you'll see the satire, the references to classic literature, and the fascinating philosophies that go with the entire film. It's something to look forward to whether you're a fan of Hanks, Ryan, or comedies that don't rely too much on very lame humor.
Odd but Good August 2, 2009
Robyn M. Witt (Huntington Beach, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Originally, I thought Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had only done Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. When I found out they'd done another movie together, I had to see it. It wasn't what I was expecting, at all. But it was definitely original. I enjoyed the sharp contrast of Meg's various characters, and the strong drive of Joe (a downtrodden man in an exceedingly dull and gray world) to find something more in his life. The imagery in this movie is striking and weird, but I was inexplicably drawn to it. As the story progresses, their stories begin to intertwine, and ultimately come together in a quirky, nontraditional love-story-esque way. See this movie for its oddities, and for the fact that it's a must see in terms of pop culture (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan!) Don't go looking for too much plot or character development, and you'll enjoy it thoroughly.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 178
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