Dante's Peak - Turbine 4K UHD

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 erupts onto 4K UHD thanks to German boutique label Turbine with a two-disc 4K + Blu-ray set. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 disc with a Region Free BD50 serving the 1080p. The discs are housed in a two-disc black case with a slipcase cover. The discs load to a language option menu, German or English, so the main menu will be in the language of your choosing as will the default

Working alongside Roger Donaldson, Turbine delivers an impressive 4K Dolby Vision restoration of a film that never really received great treatment on home video. In my opinion, the previous Blu-ray made the film look like it was shot through a murky fishtank, for how soft and void of vivid color it was. So, on that note, this transfer in 4K and the new 1080p HD option are marked improvements over that disc (I have it, but frustratingly couldn’t find it for immediate comparison… but I located my Laserdisc, so that’s something!). 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 cantilevered swirling 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 particularly splendid and skin tones are healthy. Black levels are stronger and more distinct than on the old Blu-ray, appearing true black rather than a murky gray. 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.

On this release, Turbine delivers a new Atmos audio mix supplied by Universal and a lossy DTS 5.1 track. For the Atmos, I think it’s a banger. Given all the 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. 

As for the DTS mix, it’s fine. I’m not sure why it’s not a full lossless mix in DTS-HD MA, but it’s there and works. With that, it does sound different from the old DTS-HD MA track from the 2011 Blu-ray. It’s a bit more present and pronounced, but as I said before, I frustratingly cannot find that old disc, so I’m working off of memory (not something I like to do if I can avoid it). But I’d say even if you don’t have a full Atmos setup, the default Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix is worth rolling with. It’s also worth noting that the standard Blu-ray does offer the Atmos mix, so even if you're not rolling in 4K, you can rock out with the Atmos in 1080p.

On the bonus features scale from Turbine, we score the solid archival audio commentary featuring Roger Donaldson and his production designer Dennis Washington. The excellent making-of documentary Getting Close to the Show also returns, but Turbine has given it a little bit of an HD facelift, improving the SD material while editing in restored HD clips from the film instead of leaving it to the old letterboxed SD intercuts. So while it’s still technically 1.33:1, it does go 2.35:1 for those moments. After that, we get to enjoy a bunch of storyboards and image galleries covering the Hot Springs and Pyroclastic flow, visual effects, production design, steeple collapse, and poster concepts. A couple of these segments play alongside the final filmed versions os we can see what the concept to film process looked like.

• Audio Commentary featuring Roger Donaldson and Dennis Washington
• Getting Close to the Show - Making-Of Documentary (HD 1:02:18)
• Storyboards: Hot Springs (HD 00:50
• Storyboards: Pyroclastic Flow (HD 1:39)
• Gallery: Visual Effects (HD 00:33)
• Gallery: Production Design (HD 02:08)
• Gallery: Steeple Collapse (HD 1:37)
• Gallery: Poster Concepts (HD 1:59)
• US Teaser
• German Teaser
• US Trailer

Dante’s Peak is a fun, engaging disaster feature with big, exciting visual effects work, anchored by a solid cast. Sure, one could argue that just about anyone could fill the shoes of Thomas Crowne and Vickey from Children of the Corn, but the pair brought their A-game for a believable pair of would-be lovers caught in the middle of a massive volcanic eruption. But mass destruction is the real star of the show, and Roger Donaldson and his visual effects crew delivered the goods. Certainly not the greatest film ever made, but it’s a damn fun time worth shoveling the popcorn for. Now, thanks to the good folks over at Turbine, we get to enjoy a vastly improved 4K UHD Dolby Vision transfer. To me, that old Blu-ray was a coaster on release day. So add in a new great Atmos track with some solid extra features, I think this is a disc that’s safe to call Recommended. - As for which disc to grab, Turbine’s or KLSC’s, they’re comparable releases, and you really can’t go wrong with either one. I’d give this set the edge because both 4K and 1080p discs have the new Atmos track and a little more diverse selection of extras, but it's nice to have options depending on where you live and your budget.  

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