MovieChat Forums > Under the Volcano (1984) Discussion > Under the Volcano Appreciation Thread

Under the Volcano Appreciation Thread


Under the Volcano is a very unnderrated John Huston film, one he made very late in his career, just a few years before he passed away.

Albert Finney was incredible. The fact that his character was a raging drunk for the entirety of the film was a bit distracting because we never got to see the real "Geoffrey", just the alcoholic, depressed and lonely version of him. Bisset was beautiful, how could she have been 40 at the time of filming? She looked 29 to me. The one thing I kept thinking throughout the film, though, was why in the hell would a gorgeous, charming woman like Bisset want to come back to an aging drunkard like Finney? It doesn't make sense, particularly if you consider the fact that she had just recently divorced him. I'm not a huge fan of Huston's work, but this was a very good film. Give it some love people!!


P.S. The DVD cover is one of the coolest dvd's covers ever! In fact, I rented this movie based simply on that. I had no clue what this film was about, or who made it or anything, but as soon as I saw Al Finney on the cover with those sunglasses and the skull underneath his face, I said "this is what I'm renting... NOW!"

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Albert Finney does an incredible job of portraying a very intelligent drunk at the end of his line, especially the way in which he manages to switch from senseless raving to lucid, insightful moments.

I didn't find the story itself particularly compelling, but the film is worth watching for Finney's performance alone.

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