Episode 142: Dante’s Peak (1997)

“A man who looks at a rock must have a lot on his mind.” James Bond and Sarah Connor face a whole lotta lava in the 1997 disaster epic Dante’s Peak.

Bereaved yet dashing volcanologist Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) is dispatched to the titular tiny town that sits nestled beneath a hulking, dormant volcano. Mayor and coffee shop proprietor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) believes Harry’s increasing concerns about the rising threat of an eruption, but is doubted by the rest of his U.S.G.S. team – especially his skeptical boss, who delays an evacuation with potentially disastrous consequences.

Sneaking out mere months before its igneous competition (and previous Rewind episode) Volcano in one of those curious 1990s duelling releases, the film eschews that picture’s metropolitan carnage and awkward social commentary for a down home, old school, small town tale that makes space for big mayhem. Boiled grannies ensue.

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