Cinematographic interest in volcanic eruptions and lava rivers, in the form of documentaries or fiction films, began in the days of silent cinema, with short and feature films about Vesuvius and other similar disasters. Despite its destructive nature, the work of volcano and volcanologists and seismic experts creates a movie magic that results in very interesting or spectacular films of a scientific nature, as the current eruption near Grindavik, Iceland shows. adventurous, melodramatic or apocalyptic. We examine 10 of them.
‘The Last Days of Pompeii’ (Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1936)
Although it is a historical melodrama about the transformation of a Roman gladiator into a fervent Christian, the remake is quite successful, with models from the time of the Pompeian tragedy and sparse effects. The film was produced by the team that reached one of the peaks of fantasy with ‘King Kong’ three years ago. ‘Pompeii’, the 2014 version of the eruption of Vesuvius, is not superior.
‘The Devil in Four’ (Mervyn Le Roy, 1961)
An exemplary mix of natural disaster and melodrama, set on an island in French Polynesia near Taiti, where leprosy is spreading. The priest, played by Spencer Tracy, and three escaped convicts, one of whom is played by Frank Sinatra, join forces to save and evacuate the children who were hospitalized when the island’s volcano erupted.
‘East of Java’ (Bernard L. Kowalski, 1969)
It is one of the first disaster films made in a period before this subgenre was formed. With a second-rate star-studded cast (Maximilian Schell, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, Diane Baker), some rudimentary effects and the visual power of Cinerama, it focuses on the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano near Sumatra – the film was shot in Spain and Italy in 1883.
‘La soufriere’ (Werner Herzog, 1977)
Herzog has always had a special fascination with volcanoes. This is his first film on the subject; A 30-minute medium-length film in which the German filmmaker and two camera operators climb to the top of La Soufrière volcano on the island of Guadeloupe and film an eruption that eventually leads to death. Despite scientific predictions, it did not come true. The journey is truly ghostly.
‘The Day the World Ended’ (James Goldstone, 1980)
The latest hits of seventies disaster cinema, this time with a luxurious cast. A love triangle formed by Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden crudely combines the dramatic landscapes of a Hawaiian island, oil conflicts and real estate speculation threatened by a volcano that has been dormant for decades. burst into.
‘A Town Called Dante’s Peak’ (Roger Donaldson, 1997)
Pierce Brosnan, then at the peak of his career as James Bond, and Linda Hamilton, the proactive heroine of the ‘Terminator’ saga, lead the cast of this accurate film that combines personal drama (he lost his wife in a volcano eruption). in the Philippines) and collective tragedy. As in ‘Jaws’, no one listens to the expert and an extinct volcano begins spewing lava and fire.
‘Volcano’ (Mick Jackson, 1997)
That year, 1997, there was a double helping of cinematic volcanoes. It’s as accurate as ‘Dante’s Peak’, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche, but less ambitious and in any case more apocalyptic: in this case the threatened population is Los Angeles and the tremors beneath the asphalt and intense heat. The imminent eruption of a volcano about which there is no news.
‘2012’ (Roland Emmerich, 2009)
Roland Emmerich, the director most skilled at filming natural disasters, has brought it all together to reveal what could happen in 2012 according to the Mayan calendar. John Cusack is among the long-suffering heroes facing seismic activity that threatens the entire West Coast of America. The volcanic eruption is accompanied by earthquakes, typhoons and Dantes-like temperature drops.
‘Inside the Volcano’ (Werner Herzog, 2016)
Herzog’s new approach to the mystery of volcanoes, this time with a more scientific and didactic approach. Together with Clive Oppenheimer, a respected figure on the subject (a surname linked to fire, of course, whether volcanic or atomic), he films various craters in Indonesia, North Korea, Ethiopia and Iceland, interviews scientists from each of these countries, and comes to a conclusion. powerful kinetic experience.
‘Love fire’ (Sara Dosa, 2022)
The famous documentary, ‘The Fire Within’, tells the story of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, about whom Herzog shot another film the same year. The film is about the triangular love story between the couple and the volcanoes, compiled from Maurice’s own footage. Both died while recording the eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan on June 3, 1991.
Source: Informacion
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.