Joe Versus the Volcano

Starring:Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Dan Hedaya, Barry McGovern, Amanda Plummer, Ossie Davis, Jayne Haynes, David Burton (II), Carol Kane, Jim Hudson, Antoni Gatti, Darrell Zwerling, Jim Ryan (II), Karl Rumburg, Brian Esteban, Nathan Lane, Wally Ruiz
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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

Description

Laughs erupt when Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love and fall in lava in Joe Versus the Volcano, a colorful, stylish laughquake written and directed by Moonstruck Oscar winner John Patrick Shanley. As Joe, Hanks adds to his phenomenal string of successes that includes, Splash, Big and Turner & Hooch. And Meg Ryan follows up her starmaking When Harry Met Sally...with three roles, playing each of the women in Joe's life. When we first meet Joe, he has the white-color blues. Every day is Monday, the boss is always in a bad mood and the cumulative stresses convince Joe he has a terminal condition called a "brain cloud." So when a zany jillionaire pops up and offers him a fleeting taste of the good life, Joe leaps at the chance. All he must do in return is leap into a volcano. But funny things happen on the way from the urban isle of Manhattan to the remote tropical isle of Waponi Woo... Out of the corporate frying pan. Into the fire. Is Joes doomed to be the last of the red-hot lovers? Not if the forces of courage, love and comedy have their way.

DVD Features:
Documentary
Filmographies
Interactive Menus
Music Video:Eric Burdon, "Sixteen Tons"
Other
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

the best of Tom and Meg!.......2007-05-27

oh. how I love this film! Joe is told by his doctor (a quack I might add) that he has a rare disease that will kill him in 6 months. so he decides (via being bribed) to go toss himself into a volcano in exchange for a vacation, and loads of fun. but what he didn't expect to find along the way was Love! and Meg ryan is Ultra Cute in this film and tom hanks is Hilarious and as always very comical in his acting (I laugh every time i watch him being diagnosed with his "New Disease" and then quitting his job! what hilarity buy this film you will not regret it! great for family friends and anyone else! its also cool seeing meg ryan as a redhead blonde and brunette! this movie is a classic like Big!

My favorite movie.......2007-04-07

This movie has become my favorite movie of all time. I have given it a rating of E, which is the highest that I will give to a movie or book. To receive this rating, there has to be substance, meaning, consistency of story and plot, depth, and it must be unforgettable.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants not just entertainment, but a challenge to find the messages this movie is saying to each viewer. There is a connectivity throughout the movie that makes it well worth viewing several times to pick out. I will not go into details, for that would make it too easy and spoil the fun to be had in searching. They are there, words, moments of insight, pictures, and ideas. They are there, find them, and enjoy.

I think the choice of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan was the best choice for this movie. Both do very creditable acting. There is also a lot of frisson between these two characters which adds immeasurably to this movie.

One of the things that you will find in this movie is what simple love is and how important it is. By simple love I mean the power of the touch of hands, the giving of oneself to keep another safe and well, the look within the eyes that says "I care for you". These are all simple things, but powerful too. Hence, their meaning comes across powerfully within the framework of this movie.

I have seen this movie several times and I am still seeing things that connect throughout the movie. This makes it more fun to watch time and again, because you always will find something new missed before. Spielberg is an excellent director and he knows how to tell a story. The story presented in Joe vs the Volcano is done extremely well in this movie. There is much more to it within the movie than just the interplay of the two main characters. In addition, the music adds a depth to this, a surprising depth. I have tried to find the sound track and it is not available. Only 3500 CD's were made and these are gone to those who likewise found it to be something worth keeping.

There are unforgettable scenes throughout the movie too. One in particular I always see in my mind and thoughts. Tom Hanks (Joe)and Meg Ryan are on a raft after the sail boat that Meg was captain of sunk in a storm. Meg suffered a blow to the head and is unconscious so Joe gives her water to keep her well, denying any for himself because he does not know when they will be rescued. About the third night he sees the moon rise. At one point he struggles to stand and it then appears he is holding the moon up with his hands. It is touching, an unforgettable scene. Joe then says:
"Lord, who's name I do not know,
I Thank you for my life.
I forgot... just how big...
Thank you for my life."

My recommendation is to not miss this movie. It is worth the price, and then some, I believe sincerely. You will not forget it, you will find the movie refreshing everytime you see it. And you will find a smile or two on your face, and maybe a tear or two as you understand all the things this movis is saying to you.

Joe

Just a fun movie.......2007-01-10

I missed it in the movies, but after seeing it it on STARS, I knnew I had to have it in my collection !!

A Wonderful Fairy Tail for Grownups.......2006-12-15

Stuck in the world of the corporate grind ... not sure how to break free ... not sure you can? Well, this wonderful little movie might just inspire you to FIND a way to break out of the "eternal gray" and create a wonderful life for yourself. And even if it doesn't ... it's a lot of fun.

This film works best as a rainy-day appetizer.......2006-12-06

This is a artsy, stylized movie, full of quirky humor and subtle satire. If you love "The Princess Bride" and/or "O! Brother, Where Art Thou?", then you will understand this film. The characterization of personality archetypes (in English, he makes fun of odd people that we all know) is what sticks the most with me, along with Elvis signing Blue Moon and the large moonrise on the ocean.

It has enough adventure in it so that it is not strictly a chick flick, but it strikes a nice balance. I think this is the first paring-up of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

This film works best as a rainy-day appetizer, with hot cocoa and summer sausage. I recommend seeing it between 3:30 and 5:45 at the latest.

Average customer rating:

Joe Versus the Volcano/Tin Cup
Starring: Kevin Costner , Rene Russo , Don Johnson , Cheech Marin , and Linda Hart
Director: Ron Shelton , and John Patrick Shanley
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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