Dante's Peak (1997)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writer (WGA):

Leslie Bohem (written by)

Release Date:

7 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

The pressure is building...

Plot:

Dr. Harry Dalton discovers that Dante's Peak, which has recently been named the second most desirable place to live in America, is being threatened by a volcano that hasn't been live for years.

Plot Keywords:

Volcano | Mayor | Lava | Cascades | Volcanic Eruption

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Pierce Brosnan	...	Harry Dalton
Linda Hamilton	...	Rachel Wando
Charles Hallahan	...	Paul Dreyfus
Jamie Renée Smith	...	Lauren Wando
Jeremy Foley	...	Graham Wando
Elizabeth Hoffman	...	Ruth
Grant Heslov	...	Greg, USGS Crew
Kirk Trutner	...	Terry, USGS Crew
Arabella Field	...	Nancy, USGS Crew
Tzi Ma	...	Stan, USGS Crew
Brian Reddy	...	Les Worrell
Lee Garlington	...	Dr. Jane Fox
Bill Bolender	...	Sheriff Turner
Carole Androsky	...	Mary Kelly (as Carol Androsky)
Peter Jason	...	Norman Gates

Also Known As:

Dante pokla (Hungary) [hu]
Dante yanardagi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Dante's Peak (Germany) [de]
Dante's Peak (Norway) [no]
Dante's Peak - la furia della montagna (Italy) [it]
Dantejev vrh (Slovenia) [sl]
Góra Dantego (Poland) [pl]
I koryfi tou Danti (Greece) [el]
La furia de la montaña (Venezuela) [es]
Le pic de Dante (France) [fr]
Le sommet de Dante (Canada: French title) [fr]
O Cume de Dante (Portugal) [pt]
O Inferno de Dante (Brazil) [pt]
Pisgut Dante (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Un pueblo llamado Dante's Peak (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and gore.

Runtime:

Poland:104 min | USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35097) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Poland:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Pacific Western

Trivia:

Pierce Brosnan plays a character with the last name Dalton in this film. Two years earlier he took over the role of James Bond, replacing Timothy Dalton.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When they go to save the grandmother, just before the lava comes bursting through the wall, the grandmother has a garbage bag in her hands. When the lava breaks through, she appears to drop the bag and starts running. Then they show the whole family outside, and the bag is back in the grandmother's hands, with no time for her to have picked it up. In fact it was Mayor Wando who dropped her bag; she was standing in front of the grandmother, making it appear that she dropped hers.

Quotes:

Greg: It's coffee time! Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee! Cappuccino, java, YES!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Weird Al Show: Al Plays Hooky (#1.9)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Blue Moon Revisited

Good Effects Make It Fun To Watch

This "disaster film" had some of the best special effects of its day (almost 10 years ago). I have to say "of its day" because technology has made CGI become dated quickly these days.

This film is all about a volcano, a la Mt. St. Helen's, erupting and killing people and destroying a small town below it. Some of the scenes were just jaw- dropping and, at least for the first-time viewer, a lot of suspense over whether the main characters of the story will survive it.

Of course, there are some credibility gaps in here, things that just could not happen such as little boy drive van up a mountain (when his feet wouldn't reach the foot pedals!) but you just go along for the ride and enjoy the tension and special effects even if the story gets a little hokey.

It might not be the most intelligent film, but it's very entertaining 109 minutes, and that's the name of the business. It's good escapist fare, and that's all. It's worth two looks.