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Supervolcano [2005]


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Editorial
Synopsis

The year is 2020 and the world faces the ultimate threat. Not nuclear war or a terrorist attack, but the eruption of a gigantic 'supervolcano' simmering beneath Yellowstone Park. The last eruption of this kind plunged the world into darkness for six years, triggered the last Ice Age and reduced the human population to just 2,000 people. Scientists know that the molten lava bulging against the Earth's crust in Yellowstone will explode; it's just a question of when.

This powerful, reality-based thriller explores the environmental, political, economic and social impact of such a cataclysmic event. After witnessing the build-up and devastating climax, viewers are projected into the aftermath: a post-apocalyptic world. Can the human species ever recover? Local news feeds, diary footage, CCTV, family camcorder and real archive footage are simulated in gritty detail, while human drama overlays the factual scenario, shaping events into a compelling experience.


Impressive and gripping
Review date: 2007-12-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

We seem to have an insatiable appetite for disaster movies, an appetite whetted by the prospect of the disaster in question being something that could affect us directly. There have been several made-for-TV drama documentaries tapping into this - in my opinion this one is the best of them.
Supervolcanoes are occasional but massive phenomena with dramatic implications for the human race: it's not so much a matter of "if" we will encounter one (the last took place 75,000) years ago) but "when". As regards the "where", Yellowstone Park in the USA is a likely candidate, it is now known that the park itself sits in the caldera (volcanic crater) of previous huge eruptions, and another one is due... sometime.
That, then, is the basis for this film. The run-up to the eruption is well-done, and the tension expertly built as the scientific team move from scoffing at the very idea to a fearful realisation of what is happening. The acting is uniformly good, and the team-leader conveys very well the picture of a naturally cautious man so afraid of sparking a panic (and subjected to political pressure) that he is virtually in denial of what is happening.
Minimal liberties have been taken with the science, and while there are the inevitable coincidences and fortunate events that move the plot along, the general air is one of great realism (strengthened by the way the film is shot). It is a tribute to how far the technology has come that a TV programme can now boast special effects that a big-screen movie would have struggled for even a few years ago, and that effects technology is very well used here.
All in all an excellent piece of work, impressive and gripping.


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Reviews


Effective science infused thriller
Review date: 2007-11-19 Rating: 8 out of 10

They probably have to come up with a new category for movies like this. It's clearly an exercise in getting some science across to the viewer, and yet it has the trappings of a Hollywood blockbuster. And yet somehow it melds the two into a new style of entertainment!
This is a BBC TV movie (in two one hour parts) which shows the build up to, and subsequent global effects of, a super-eruption. Although sensationalised - (it's overdue! It will plunge us back into the stone age!) it is actually almost documentary like in its unfolding, with the drama unfolding interspersed with faux interviews with the characters, as if looking back on the events - providing an effective opportunity for exposition of the science, in counterpoint to the action unfolding in the drama.
As a drama, it works pretty well - character is not so important as keeping the pace licking along - which it does. And although the faces are often a little earnest in movie-of-the-day style, the actors are convincing enough to keep an interest in who lives and who dies. As a documentary, it succeeds in getting across the scale of what could happen and how, in its geological context. Effects are passable for the small screen and sound is a satisfyingly rumbly 5.1 mix.
Extras include two half hour documentaries which were linked to the movie and share some of the graphics, positing the science behind the thriller. A little too glossy and sensationalist to be first class documentaries, but interesting enough.
All in all, a well intentioned science based thriller, with decent talent and enough cash and science thrown at it to make it gel. It's somehow satisfying to find a thriller that does not have politics or terrorists as the driver, and done more believably than several high profile Hollywood stabs at the subject of volcanoes.
Recommended.


A must-see
Review date: 2007-11-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

This docudrama illustrates the effects of a supervolcano eruption in mind-boggling detail, effects that may sound far-fetched to the uninitiated, but are all too probable. The producers rather softened the blow by omitting the coming ice-age, or the unhealthy nature of sulphur fumes. The clarity of the presentation is a credit to the BBC and should be standard stuff for geography students. The depressing part is that understanding the phenomenon won't help you much trying to run away from this global killer.

Sobering view of an inevitable eruption
Review date: 2007-01-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Hi,

The trick with these types of documentary programmes is to have the balance between entertainment and scientific accuracy. This film has these qualities in my opinion for the following reasons.

The scientific side is explored in 2 documentaries each of 30 minutes length. Eventually the scientific balance tames the initial `shock' claims and put it in context of likelihood.

In the main feature, the one scene I found stunning is the conversation between characters explaining in terms of the levels of possible damage by an eruption. It is a shock in its bold simplicity of predicted damage to the whole USA and the rest of the globe.

For the sheer spectacle, the main feature -spread over 2, one hour programmes of the Volcano becoming more active and eruptions are breathtaking & awe-inspiring. The full horror in terms of gore etc is withheld for reasons of cost?

You see the world differently after this DVD.


Wow
Review date: 2007-01-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Watched it on TV and bought the DVD. The film is amazing and terrifying, as it is true. The effects are unbeleivable and the acting is superb. A few problems with reality (aircraft security issues - passenegers just walk in and out of the cockpit)
The 2 part documentry is a really interesting part, and for both the drama and the documentary on one disk makes it very good value.

Excellent buy, would recomend it to anyone.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Michael Riley
Shaun Johnston
Adrian Holmes
Gary Lewis (III)
Jennifer Copping

Creators:
Michael Riley (Primary Contributor)
Gary Lewis (III) (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503165925
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2005-03-14
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 118 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005-04-28
Language: English (Original Language)

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