Dante’s Peak
HD DVD Title: Dante’s Peak Rated: PG-13 Screen format: 1080P 2.35:1 VC-1 Encoding Studio: Universal First theatrical release: 7 February 1997 Previously released on DVD/BluRay: Multiple DVD releases, including a widescreen DTS edition Director: Roger Donaldson Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan Sound Formats: English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, French DD 2.0 Length: 1 Hour 49 Minutes Subtitles: English, French |
Plot: 3/5
Dante’s Peak is the classic summer blockbuster formula tied to a simple film about a devastating volcanic eruption unleashed on an unwitting town. Charming vulcanologist Harry Dalton (Brosnan) is haunted by the memories and losses encountered during a prior assignment, yet steadfastly presses on, attempting to help communities around the globe deal with their own local volcanos. Harry is sent to long dormant Dante’s Peak, which has recently been voted among the most desirable places in America to live. Unfortunately for the peak, Harry immediately begins to suspect that their volcan is due to erupt sooner than later. Harry meets up with local Mayor Rachel Wando (Hamilton) and together they initiate plans to help the town begin preparations, only to be shut down by the arrival of Harry’s boss, Paul Dreyfus (Hallahan). Stung, Harry accepts Paul’s decision but sticks around town to keep an eye on things. To absolutely nobody’s surprise except Paul’s, Dante’s Peak does erupt, sending the town into shocked evacuation. The one person who refuses to evacuate is Wando’s mother Ruth (Elizabeth Hoffman), and Wando’s kids sneak up to her cabin to try to convince her to leave. Thus begins a race against time as Rachel and Harry must track down the kids and Ruth and get them off the mountain and away from the volcano before they become its victim.
I wasn’t a huge fan of DP when I first saw it theatrically, although of course the special effects were enjoyable, as was the use of intense bass and split channel surround sound. While there is a brief action segment to kick off the movie, the rest is like a typical roller coaster ride, a slow build up as the story develops and then the volcano blows and it’s a rush of a ride through to the sharp stop at the end. Somewhat satisfying on a few levels, but not something that was ever going to win any Oscars, tho the effects did bring ticket sales aplenty.
The rather one dimensional story was a bit of a let down, however and while I have the original DVD release, it was never really one of my ‘go to’ disks. Getting a look at it again on HD DVD has allowed me to reevaluate it a bit, and while I still believe the plot is extremely linear, I have to admit that the film itself has a level of charm that was lost on me at first. Dante’s Peak isn’t as polarizing a movie as something like Armageddon was, or as technically masterful as Twister, but it is a solid popcorn-muncher and if you go in expecting any more than that you are likely to be disappointed.
Sound Quality: 4/5
Sonically Dante’s Peak has a lot going for it. Featuring a main theme by James Newton Howard and additional music by John Frizzell, for the most part the soundtrack accompanies the on screen action quite well and serves to underscore both the tension during the escape and the minimal and somewhat sappy character development segments. Effects wise, DP is a real treat, with solid bass rumbles, split screen surround in many segments, and while the second half of this movie isn’t as ‘talky’ as the first, voices never get crunched during the action either. Other films have done all of the above with much more dramatic flavor, but DP’s sound is solid if not overly memorable.
Visual Quality: 5/5
Despite a few quibbles, Dante’s Peak is one of the best looking High Def Transfers I have yet seen. Featuring some absolutely first rate wide screen vistas and deeply rich landscape photography, DP can be jaw-droppingly beautiful at times and absolutely terror inducing at others, especially while the lava and ash are about. Sharpness is as good or better than any film I’ve seen on HD, there is appropriate levels of grain for the original film stock, a very wide color palette, and shocking detail in the effects segments. I noticed very few pops or scratches to the film elements, and outside of two lines in one segment that have been identified as guy-wires, no other incidents of what could have been any other kind of artifacting.
Yes, there are a few scenes that strangely exhibit some edge enhancement, these were notable to be but not distracting. If you are the type of person who goes apoplectic at the mere presence of minor EE, then you should skip this disk. If you are like the other 99.999 percent of the population, you won’t bat an eye at this. Simply put, if you are not happy with the film quality exhibited here you need to pay more attention to the movie and less to the video quality.
Extra Features: 2.5/5
The sole features on the disk have been ported over from prior DVD releases. A VERY in depth behind the scenes featurette titled ‘Getting close to the show’ delves into many aspects of the movie, including interviews with cast and crew and spends a good amount of time looking at how the town was scouted out and how the locals adapted to the film process, in addition to taking a look at some of the practical and optical effects used. There is also the theatrical trailer, a rarity these days, and a feature length commentary from director Donaldson and Production Designer Dennis Washington which I have heard in the past but did not revisit. There are animated menus but no interactive features of any kind, nor is there a DVD flip side.
Overall: 4/5 (not an average)
Audio/visually, it is easy to classify Dante’s Peak as among the best that’s out there. Outside of those characteristics it’s a bit of a mix, with a plot that simply goes from points a to b, and a meager selection of extras that all have been seen before on multiple DVD dips to this well. In the end however, if you want to show off what HD is capable of this disk should be one you are reaching for and that kicks it up into the recommended category.
