Dante's Peak

Starring:Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan, Jamie RenÃ©e Smith, Jeremy Foley, Elizabeth Hoffman, Grant Heslov, Kirk Trutner, Arabella Field, Tzi Ma, Brian Reddy, Lee Garlington, Bill Bolender, Carole Androsky, Peter Jason, Jeffrey L. Ward, Tim Haldeman, Walker Brandt, Hansford Rowe, Susie Spear
Director: Roger Donaldson
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

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

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Volcano Movie........2007-06-14

An interesting story with its moments. The build up to the eruption was great! All the little momments like the too hot hot springs! Though once the lava starts to roll, the script gets a bit unrealistic. I guess it builds suspense. All in all, a good volcano flick.

Volcanic delight.......2007-05-08

I've always been fascinated by volcanos, and have always like Pierce Brosnan doing his thing on screen also. Linda Hamilton is pretty good, though a little lost at times. The others, I hate to say, were just filler. They were never allowed to really fly, or even be more than scenery. Effects are solid, but overdone in some spots. The lead up to the actual blast is the best half. It's an ok film.

Brosnan's Peak.......2007-05-04

This is the most absorbing film I've ever seen! You have a whole town trying to evacuate and all of them are thinking about Number 1. This is also one of Brosnan's best films - and you don't think about Bond when you're watching it. Tremendous.

Dante's Peak.......2007-01-12

This is a wonderful movie. Unfortunately it came out at a bad time and never got the recognition it should have. It had adventure, suspense, and a lot of action, along with an offbeat love story. It's a great movie for all.

Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling.......2007-01-11

"Dante's Peak" is one of the disaster movies that really brings the genre to a super peak, with a realistic and thrilling earth-shaking (in this case literally) catastrophe, high octane action, glorious cinematography capturing great natural beauty, and high-quality characters and relationships. It is, of course, about a volcano, one of the most powerful forces in nature, and it successfully captures the grandeur and terror of such an event. I've always found volcanoes fascinating - they're terrifically destructive, and of course tragic for the havoc they wreak, both when they're near human habitation and when they're in the 'isolated' wilderness where the other creatures are the sole recipients of their explosive force. And yet they're undeniably beautiful, like a sunset or a howling snowstorm, and they're in fact an essential part of the inner workings of the earth. Also, although there is often a lot of death associated with volcanoes as acre after acre gets burnt up or covered with ash, they're also, paradoxically, major bringers of life. Even extremely barren, infertile lands with usually burst forth with new life within a few years of a volcano, because they bring forth such rich new nutrients in their lava.

"Dante's Peak" is smart by not having the disaster hit five minutes after the opening credits have finished rolling; there have been some movies of this nature over the years that have made just that mistake. This one though is perfectly paced throughout. There is plently of tight build-up and a couple of tragic harbingers of the bigger calamity to come. The action in the latter parts of the movie is explosive and exhilirating, among the best. It's interesting that "Dante's Peak" has managed to position itself as one of the greatest action movies without any real bad guys. There are some unlikable characters - short-sighted, arrogant, condescending - but that's all. They're jerks, but they're not characters who are going to go out and kill somebody. So in this tremendous action movie there's no one shooting at each other, no swordplay, no high-impact kick battles. Don't get me wrong - I love the kind of movies represented by "Lethal Weapon", "Timebomb", "True Lies", "Out Of Time", all that; and I generally even more love the more fantastical, really grand movies like "Superman Returns", "Star Wars", "Lord Of The Rings", "Spider-Man", all that stuff. But it's neat that a movie missing so many of the great staples of action fare has also brought itself up into the cream of the crop.

The visuals of "Dante's Peak" are awesome. The volcanic effects are extremely realistic, and just the natural splendor is great. As mentioned, the cinematography is incredible, although there is admittedly one wonderful shot that was promising to be truly spectacular but gets hampered a bit by the camera being in the wrong angle to capture it all. A very minor quibble. It would also be an extremely minor quibble if one was to spend too much time focusing on the improbably high number of razor-thin escapes by some of the characters. Movie makers Are allowed some artistic licences even in realistic scenarios after all, and besides, in a case where two outcomes are possible but one quite a bit more likely, you don't have to go with the most likely one Every time. You shouldn't also go with the most unlikely every time either or it loses its believability and tension, and "Dante's Peak" doesn't do that. It stays on just the right tip of the balancing scale.

Excellent stuff; for more disaster-oriented greats I also recommend "Deep Impact" and "Titanic".

Average customer rating:

Formula disaster movie

Dante's Peak [HD DVD]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Arabella Field , Charles Hallahan , Linda Hamilton , and Grant Heslov
Director: Roger Donaldson
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

General | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

Horror | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Bourne Identity [HD DVD]
Daylight [HD DVD]
The Frighteners: Peter Jackson's Director's Cut [HD DVD]
The Untouchables (Special Collector's Edition) [HD DVD]
Shaun of the Dead [HD DVD]

ASIN: B000Q66QAG
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Description

Without warning, day becomes night, air turns to fire, and solid ground melts beneath white-hot lava. From director Roger Donaldson comes an adrenaline-pumping adventure starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. Welcome to the town of Dante's Peak, where a long-dormant volcano is about to erupt with devastating force. Who will survive when the inferno unleashes its fury? the answer will leave you breathless, and the special effects will blow you away!

Customer Reviews:

Formula disaster movie.......2007-06-04

This movie is a good disaster movie with all the elements of a disaster movie. There are all the stereotype disaster characters form the "I'll ride it out" to the "You are scaring my customers".

Naturedly the person that knows what will happen (Pierce Brosnan) has no credibility with the authorities. Then the disaster happens and he must save the beautiful (Linda Hamilton) and family. At first indifferent soon to become enamored.

I do not want to go too much into detail as you will lose the shock value. I can tell you it involves a volcano and a budding love story.

Average customer rating:

Dante's Peak/Daylight
Starring: Dantes Peak , and Daylight
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Volcano
Manitou
Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition)
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000N4RAS8
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Description

Without warning, day becomes night; air turns to fire, and solid ground melts beneath white-hot lava. From Director Roger Donaldson comes an adrenaline-pumping adventure starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. Welcome to the town of Dante's Peak, where a long-dormant volcano is about to erupt with devastating force. Who will survive when the inferno unleashes its fury? The answer will leave you breathless, and the special effects will blow you away!

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Volcano Movie........2007-06-14

Volcanic delight.......2007-05-08

Brosnan's Peak.......2007-05-04

Dante's Peak.......2007-01-12

Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling.......2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

A Decent Volcano Movie.
Volcanic delight
Brosnan's Peak
Dante's Peak
Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling

Dante's Peak [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Linda Hamilton , Charles Hallahan , Jamie Renée Smith , and Jeremy Foley
Director: Roger Donaldson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Volcano
Twister
Deep Impact (Special Collector's Edition)
Outbreak
Armageddon

ASIN: B00004D301

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Volcano Movie........2007-06-14

Volcanic delight.......2007-05-08

Brosnan's Peak.......2007-05-04

Dante's Peak.......2007-01-12

Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling.......2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

A Decent Volcano Movie.
Volcanic delight
Brosnan's Peak
Dante's Peak
Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling

Dante's Peak [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Linda Hamilton , Charles Hallahan , Jamie Renée Smith , and Jeremy Foley
Director: Roger Donaldson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Volcano
Twister
Deep Impact (Special Collector's Edition)
Outbreak
Armageddon

ASIN: B00004RYL7

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Volcano Movie........2007-06-14

Volcanic delight.......2007-05-08

Brosnan's Peak.......2007-05-04

Dante's Peak.......2007-01-12

Catastrophe-Action Done Right; A Whopping Great Thrill Ride With Feeling.......2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

Dante's Peak (1997)
Formula disaster movie
not to bad

Dante's Peak
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Linda Hamilton , Charles Hallahan , Jamie Renée Smith , and Jeremy Foley
Director: Roger Donaldson
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Disaster Films | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: 0783224338
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Customer Reviews:

Dante's Peak (1997).......2006-01-01

Director: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan, Jamie Renee Smith, Jeremy Foley, Elizabeth Hoffman, Grant Heslov, Kirk Trutner, Arabella Field, Brian Reddy, Paul Dreyfuss.
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril, language and some gore.

In 1997 two disaster films, "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" galloped toward the Hollywood finish line in the hopes of becoming the first Volcanus Eruptus to explode into movie theaters. "Dante's Peak" won that race by a nose with it's release date coming in February, and Volcano's coming in April. In the end it doesn't matter which film won the race as both are nothing more than a couple of tired old nags that belong in the glue factory. In the 1970's, Hollywood gave us a satchel full of disaster films such as this, as most of those were usually filled with an underwhelming all star cast placed smack dab in the middle of some impending doom whether it was jetliners with holes poked in them, skyscrapers lit up like a blow torch, overturned ocean liners, or earthquakes rocking the California coast. In the 1990's, we were still getting the disaster films, but the all-star has been casts seem to have been done away with. Instead we get a few well known cast members sleep walking through an exercise in how to survive nature's peril. In "Dante's Peak" they throw Pierce Brosnan who is moonlighting from his "007" job along with "Terminator" cast off Linda Hamilton at us to gawk at. Brosnan should have just taken the time off and Hamilton should have looked for another gig.

Resident volcano expert Harry Dalton (Brosnan) comes to the town of Dante's Peak to find out whether or not the local volcano is still dormant or is ready to pop it's cork. Harry, you see, was in love with another volcano expert he worked with who just loved to get up close and personal with them. Unfortunately for Harry, she gets bopped in the head during one such explosion and that's the end of her. Linda Hamilton is the mayor of Dante's Peak. Unlike her character of Sarah Connor in the "Terminator" films, who took action when things weren't looking too good, as mayor and widow Rachel Wando she does nothing much more than run around the mountainside looking worried and fretting about her kids and her mother-in-law who lives on the mountain. The mother-in-law, Ruth, is played by Elizabeth Hoffman, and is supposed to be just like that guy who stuck around Mount St. Helens till the bitter end refusing to move from his home. Here it just enables the writers to throw in the idiotic plot development where the kids and Rachel have to go and rescue her just as Dante's Peak is spewing ash and lava all over the countryside. It's supposed to add suspense and excitement, but only serves to up the stupid level. For one thing, Ruth is annoying enough that we don't care whether she is rescued or not, and second, the two kids (Jamie Renée Smith and Jeremy Foley) have a high annoyance level of their own and we end up rooting for Dante's Peak instead of them.

There are truly some ridiculous scenes in this film. These are the moments we would usually just overlook and go on if we were at least being entertained somewhat by the proceedings but since we are not, they stand out like the Rock of Gibraltar. We get people in a jeep riding a lava flow, Pierce Brosnan paddling a boat with his hand in an acid filled lake and not being any worse the wear for it, we get a couple of cute dog moments, we get a ridiculous scene of our cast trying to outrun a cloud of ash in a jeep and so forth and so on. Also on hand is Charles Hallahan as Brosnan's doubting Thomas boss Paul Dreyfuss who is made to believe in the eruption only when it's too late to do anything about it. There's always one such character in these types of films, but at least Hallahan's doubts come from logical assumptions instead of the blatant idiocy usually given these characters. At least that was refreshing if nothing else is. There is nothing about "Dante's Peak" that you'll believe for one second. Everything about it is below par, and not worth one second of your time.

Formula disaster movie.......2005-02-03

not to bad.......2000-06-14

The special effects are excellent, but the movie is, like many disaster movies, very predictable, but if you feel like just sitting back and watching an entertaining film, this is one you shoudn't miss. One of this films main attractions is its stars, James Bonds Pierce Brosnan And T2's Linda Hamilton, both of who's performance is quite good. Overall enjoyable, but not something you could watch over & over again.

Average customer rating:

Formula disaster movie

Dante's Peak [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Linda Hamilton , Charles Hallahan , Jamie Renée Smith , and Jeremy Foley
Director: Roger Donaldson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VY0C

Customer Reviews:

Formula disaster movie.......2006-01-23

DVD:

DVD List

DVD

DVD

Beyond Tomorrow

Bang Bang You're Dead

The Good Son [1993]

DVD: Satanic Rites of Dracula & Deep Red (2pc)

Various Artists - Pepsi Silver Clef Concert