Under the Volcano

Adapted from Malcolm Lowry's 'unadaptable' 1947 novel, Under the Volcano gave Albert Finney one of the five Oscar nominations of his career, and brought director John Huston back to Mexico for the first time since The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. In the vein of all those great, charming literary drunks before him, washed up and wasted ex-consul Geoffrey Firmin (Finney) staggers his way through the Day of the Dead, pining for his ex-wife (Bisset), and racking up a monster bar bill. As might be expected from such a quality production, this is a film in which the cinematography predictably sparkles, and the script crackles with radiant wit and nuanced observation. But it is Finney's performance that really makes this movie a truly welcome re-release. A more lovably infuriating screw-up you'd be hard pushed to find outside of a Hunter S. Thompson epic, Firmin's bender is a couple of hours well worth losing. [Lindsay West]