Dante's Peak - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Since I'm publishing this review at the same time as my review for the turbine disc, there's no need to write a separate review. 

So if you've read my reviews of flicks like The Abyss, DeepStar Six, and Leviathan, you might get a sense that I love it when Hollywood studios cannibalize each other with similar films about nearly identical topics. If it’s not underwater critters run amok, it’s Christopher Columbus. If it’s not that wayward Italian, it’s some high-concept hook that’s vague enough for competing studios to deliver multiple films in theaters for audiences to scarf down on some popcorn. Between February and April of 1997, we got volcanoes. First was the traditional straightforward disaster action/adventure film Dante’s Peak, the second was the goofier, more gimmicky but no less entertaining Volcano. Both are fun, both deliver big-screen, destructive entertainment, but lava, having once been magma, I have to edge Dante’s Peak out front.

We pick up our story with James Bond #5 starring as volcanologist Harry “Not Timothy” Dalton working for the USGS. Years after the death of his special lady friend during a previous volcanic eruption, he’s a bit high-strung and maybe a little paranoid. When he’s sent to the town of Dante’s Peak to check out some strange rumblings in the deep depths of the mountain, he teams up with pretty single mom town mayor Rachel Wondo (the lady from King Kong Returns) to get the lay of the land. The chances of a volcanic eruption are a billion-to-one, but when two hikers turn up broiled in a hot spring like a pair of bangers without any mash, Harry is ready to evacuate the neighborhood. But as internal bureaucracies and local politics delay the inevitable exodus, the mountain blows its top, and it becomes a race against time and a pyroclastic cloud of death and destruction to reach safety. 

So part of why I really enjoy a paint-by-numbers disaster film like Dante’s Peak isn’t so much the story but its approach to the disaster genre. The story and characters are strong enough to hold your attention without taking itself too seriously. Some personal relationships are obviously set up for a big, destructive payoff later, but the film never really falls into the dreaded pit of sanctimonious melodrama. Between the cast of characters and the big eruptions, you get some laughs, a little romance, and plenty of suspense and action with a whole heap of town-leveling destruction. In contrast, there’s Volcano, which is a fun movie, don’t get me wrong, I do like it, but so many sequences feel like they come with that smirking wink of “hehe, L.A. sucks, amirite?” that I just don’t enjoy the same level of edge-of-your-seat intensity. 

But the draw here is the big bad volcano, and I love how this one was done. 1997 was among the last great years when there was this tangible blend of old-school matte paintings and miniatures with cutting-edge green screen, and limited CGI to pull off the big effects in our blockbusters. And so much of it is seamlessly done in Dante’s Peak, you often forget they’re VFX shots. One of my favorite sequences of the whole film is when a washout busts through a dam and destroys a bridge as the National Guard convoy is trying to get through. It’s a beautiful mix of practical and digital trickery that delivers a memorable character death, complete with a Wilhelm Scream for extra flavor. And that’s before you get to the big pyroclastic cloud climax, which is another amazing amalgamation of classic miniature artistry and state-of-the-art (for its time) digital technologydelivering one hell of a suspenseful (if improbable) escape sequence. 

With a solid cast including character actors like Grant Heslov, Arabella Field, Tzi Ma, Lee Garlington, Peter Jason, and Brian “High Talker” Reddy, you’ve got some fun faces helping to set the stakes and ramp up some character drama. Charles “I’m not The Thing” Hallahan would sadly pass away a few months after Dante’s Peak hit theaters, but he was a solid addition to this cast as the bureaucrat "villain" with a heart. Elizabeth Hoffman was a nice addition as Grandma Ruth, and her demise may be the most memorable moment in the film. But at the end of the day, it’s the guy who stole Robin Williams’ family’s movie, and he brings a strong action everyman persona to the show with a nice turn from Sarah Connor as his love interest. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Dante’s Peak pops its top in 2160p with a two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 with a Region A BD50 disc serving the 1080p version and the bulk of the extras. The discs are housed in a standard two-disc black case with identical slipcover artwork. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with basic navigation options.

On this run of Dante’s Peak on 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, we see virtually the same Roger Donaldson-approved Dolby Vision restoration transfer as Germany's Turbine. I say “virtually” because between countries of origin, there are some slight encoding differences that offer slight differences. Similar to what I mentioned in my Death on the Nile 4K review from KLSC, they seem to have overcranked the bitrate a tad, and as a result, the film grain can look a bit grittier and is a bit more noticeable in the swift cantilevered panning and swirling camera shots. Perhaps not distractingly so, but it’s something I spotted and kind of stuck in my mind after watching these discs in quick succession. I will say the good news is that once the big volcanic action hits, I didn’t notice any of that stuff. Otherwise, I have virtually the same notes to share from my Turbine review:
Clarity, fine details, and a much more vibrant and real-looking color grading were what immediately stood out to me. Fine film grain generally looks clean and well rendered. There are a couple of moments that could look a tad noisier than others, namely whenever the photography would skew for one of those cantilever panning shots, but otherwise everything looks nice and tight without issue. As I said, colors look much healthier and more vibrant than before - primaries look splendid. Black levels are stronger and more distinct than the old Blu-ray, appearing true black instead of a murky gray tone. Likewise, shadows lend to better image depth with a better balance for whites and contrast. Some odd shots linger, or a matte painting may stand out a tad, but those aren’t really issues to get too huffed up about. 

And just like Turbine’s disc, KLSC is delivering the same Dolby Atmos track supplied by Universal - which I think is their first on-disc Atmos release! I could be wrong, but I don’t recall KLSC ever offering Atmos before. If they have, it’s a rare occurrence. At any rate, it’s a great track, so here’s what I said from my Turbine disc review:

For the Atmos, I think it’s a banger. Given all the tectonic and magmatic rumblings, there’s plenty of underground LFE and explosive overhead activity to go around. On top of having a bad transfer, that old 2011 Blu-ray had a rather wimpy audio mix, I felt, that covered the basics but didn’t pull me into the feature. This round, I feel like there’s genuine sonic immersion with stronger audio placement for side and rear activity, and then the extra attention given to overheads, especially when the malarky hits the fan, and the big volcano blows its top, well, that’s just the cherry on this auditory sundae.

Now the differentiator for this release is that the 5.1 and 2.0 audio options are in DTS-HD MA, but similar to Turbine’s lossy DTS offering, it sounds like a mixdown from the new Atmos track. Again, can’t find my old 2011 Blu-ray for comparison, but just from memory, it feels like the track hits a little differently. I didn't spend much time with the 2.0; it's fine, it works on its terms, but given the other options available, I didn't see the point in going too hard on that option. Regardless, my recommendation is to roll with the Atmos, even if you’re not equipped. I really enjoyed how they worked those elements for maximum impact. It is worth noting, though, that the Atmos track is NOT on the included 1080p Blu-ray; that disc only has DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0

For the KLSC selection of extras, we get some of the same, some different materials from the Turbine release. The same solid commentary comes in. We get the excellent making-of documentary, albeit not rejiggered for HD. The 4K disc does come with an Isolated Score and Effects track that’s pretty good, but I tend to get a little irritated when I hear sound effects in a score track. Similar to when they put lines of dialogue in the score album, it's just distracting - so I’m glad I’ve got the film’s score on hand, because it's solid work. After that, it's KLSC's traditional gallery of trailers.

4K UHD

• Audio Commentary featuring Roger Donaldson and Dennis Washington
• Isolated Score and Effects Track

Blu-ray

• Audio Commentary featuring Roger Donaldson and Dennis Washington
• Getting Close to the Show - Making-Of Documentary (SD 1:02:19)
• Trailer
• Trailer Gallery:
• Daylight
• Turbulance
• No Way Out 
• Taffin

When Hollywood likes to clone itself with competing studio projects, it can be hard to decide which is the best version of the same story. In 1997, we had to decide if we liked Volcano or Dante’s Peak better - or if we were just going to save our money and go see Face/Off, Air Force One, or Titanic. I saw both in theaters, and 30 years ago, I liked Dante’s Peak better, and still do today. Volcano is fun, I like it, but I like that this film took the assignment a little more seriously without also becoming overly melodramatic about it. Plus, I thought Remington Steele and Sarah Connor made pretty attractive leads for this disaster epic. Thanks to KLSC, Dante’s Peak comes to 4K in the domestic marketplace, offering virtually the same Roger Donaldson-approved 4K Dolby Vision transfer from Turbine (accounting for some encoding differences), the same Universal-supplied Atmos mix, and a nice, solid, slightly different assortment of extras for an overall Recommended release. As for which disc to grab, one could make the case that the better value is found on the Turbine set, but for the sake of simple convenience, this KLSC disc is a good pickup too.