Under the Volcano (2021 film)

Under the Volcano is a 2021 music documentary film by Australian filmmaker Gracie Otto. Centered on a 1980s recording studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the film features renowned 1970s-80s musicians such as Sting, Nick Rhodes, Jimmy Buffett, Verdine White, Tony Iommi and Stewart Copeland.

Under the Volcano
Poster
Directed byGracie Otto
Written byCody Greenwood
Gracie Otto
Ian Shadwell
Produced byCody Greenwood
CinematographyHugh Miller
Edited byKaren Johnson
Music byPiers Burbrook de Vere
Production
company
Rush Films
Distributed byUniversal Home Entertainment
Release date
  • 19 March 2021 (2021-03-19) (SXSW)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival at Austin, Texas, on 19 March 2021, also being screened at several other festivals in 2021.

Synopsis

The film chronicles a decade of music by AIR Montserrat, which was an important recording studio of 1980s pop music on the West Indian island of Montserrat, built by Beatles producer George Martin in 1979.[1] As a custom-built state-of-the-art recording studio, it became known for such recordings as the albums Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits), Ghost in the Machine and Syncronicity (The Police), Steel Wheels (The Rolling Stones), and the single "I'm Still Standing" (Elton John).[2]

The studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo on 17 September 1989, and some of the filming took place among the ruins.[2]

Cast

As themselves:

Production

Producer Cody Greenwood, the daughter of artist and children’s book author Frané Lessac, was inspired by her family's frequent visits to Montserrat during the 1990s and 2000s. She chose Gracie Otto as director based on her 2013 film The Last Impresario.[2]

Special permission had to be obtained to film among the ruins, due to the dangers of doing so.[2]

Release

The film was selected for many festivals, before its release on streaming platforms in the UK on 26 July, US 17 August and in Australia on September 1, 2021. The festivals (all 2021) include:[3]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 15 critics, with an average rating of 8/10.[8]

Chris Willman of Variety called it "a travelogue", and later added "The doc[umentary] will be catnip to the class of record nerds who care about which great records came out of which bygone studios... and this one certainly offers better scenery than, say, the Van Nuys-set Sound City".[9]

Following its premiere at SXSW, Shane Pfender of The Austin Chronicle wrote "Instead of allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions, this feel-good rock documentary hypnotizes its viewers with the endlessly repeated sentiment of how amazing the Seventies were".[10]

References
  1. "'Under the Volcano' (Trailer)". IF Magazine. 20 July 2021.
  2. Divola, Barry (20 August 2021). "Under the Volcano: The tiny island that rocked until disaster hit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. "Under the Volcano". Rush. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. West, Rachel (19 March 2021). "Under the Volcano (SXSW21) - Review by Rachel West". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. "Chaut 11 - Under a Volcano". Boulder International Film Festival. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  6. "Under The Volcano". Docaviv 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. "Under the Volcano". MIFF 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. "Under the Volcano (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. Willman, Chris (26 September 2001). "'Under the Volcano' Review: Rockers Recall the Remote Island Where Luxurious '80s Record-Making Had Its Last Stand". Variety.
  10. Pfender, Shane (21 March 2021). "SXSW Film Review: Under the Volcano". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 5 September 2021.

Further reading
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