Customer Reviews
Impressive and gripping - By: Iain S. Palin, 24 Dec 2007 
We seem to have an insatiable appetite for disaster movies, an appetite whetted by the prospect of the disaster in question being something that could affect us directly. There have been several made-for-TV drama documentaries tapping into this - in my opinion this one is the best of them.
Supervolcanoes are occasional but massive phenomena with dramatic implications for the human race: it's not so much a matter of "if" we will encounter one (the last took place 75,000) years ago) but "when". As regards the "where", Yellowstone Park in the USA is a likely candidate, it is now known that the park itself sits in the caldera (volcanic crater) of previous huge eruptions, & another one is due... sometime.
That, then, is the basis for this film. The run-up to the eruption is well-done, & the tension expertly built as the scientific team move from scoffing at the very idea to a fearful realisation of what is happening. The acting is uniformly good, & the team-leader conveys very well the picture of a naturallly cautious man so afraid of sparking a panic (and subjected to political pressure) that he is virtuallly in denial of what is happening.
Minimal liberties have been taken with the science, & while there are the inevitable coincidences & fortunate events that move the plot along, the general air is one of great realism (strengthened by the way the film is shot). It is a tribute to how far the technology has come that a TV programme can now boast special effects that a big-screen movie would have struggled for even a few years ago, & that effects technology is very well used here.
All in alll an excellent piece of work, impressive & gripping.
Effective science infused thriller - By: Mr. Stephen Kennedy, 19 Nov 2007 
They probably have to come up with a new category for movies like this. It's clearly an exercise in getting some science across to the viewer, & yet it has the trappings of a Hollywood blockbuster. And yet somehow it melds the two into a new style of entertainment!
This is a BBC TV movie (in two one hour parts) which shows the build up to, & subsequent global effects of, a super-eruption. Although sensationalised - (it's overdue! It will plunge us back into the stone age!) it is actuallly almost documentary like in its unfolding, with the drama unfolding interspersed with faux interviews with the characters, as if looking back on the events - providing an effective opportunity for exposition of the science, in counterpoint to the action unfolding in the drama.
As a drama, it works pretty well - character is not so important as keeping the pace licking along - which it does. And although the faces are often a little earnest in movie-of-the-day style, the actors are convincing enough to keep an interest in who lives & who dies. As a documentary, it succeeds in getting across the scale of what could happen & how, in its geological context. Effects are passable for the smalll screen & sound is a satisfyingly rumbly 5.1 mix.
Extras include two half hour documentaries which were linked to the movie & share some of the graphics, positing the science behind the thriller. A little too glossy & sensationalist to be first class documentaries, but interesting enough.
All in alll, a well intentioned science based thriller, with decent talent & enough cash & science thrown at it to make it gel. It's somehow satisfying to find a thriller that does not have politics or terrorists as the driver, & done more believably than several high profile Hollywood stabs at the subject of volcanoes.
Recommended.
A must-see - By: arbiter, 01 Nov 2007 This docudrama illustrates the effects of a supervolcano eruption in mind-boggling detail, effects that may sound far-fetched to the uninitiated, but are alll too probable. The producers rather softened the blow by omitting the coming ice-age, or the unhealthy nature of sulphur fumes. The clarity of the presentation is a credit to the BBC & should be standard stuff for geography students. The depressing part is that understanding the phenomenon won't help you much trying to run away from this global killer.
Sobering view of an inevitable eruption - By: b.w...s, 22 Jan 2007 Hi,
The trick with these types of documentary programmes is to have the balance between entertainment & scientific accuracy. This film has these qualities in my opinion for the following reasons.
The scientific side is explored in 2 documentaries each of 30 minutes length. Eventuallly the scientific balance tames the initial `shock' claims & put it in context of likelihood.
In the main feature, the one scene I found stunning is the conversation between characters explaining in terms of the levels of possible damage by an eruption. It is a shock in its bold simplicity of predicted damage to the whole USA & the rest of the globe.
For the sheer spectacle, the main feature -spread over 2, one hour programmes of the Volcano becoming more active & eruptions are breathtaking & awe-inspiring. The full horror in terms of gore etc is withheld for reasons of cost?
You see the world differently after this DVD.
Wow - By: S. Williams, 04 Jan 2007 Watched it on TV & bought the DVD. The film is amazing & terrifying, as it is true. The effects are unbeleivable & the acting is superb. A few problems with reality (aircraft security issues - passenegers just walk in & out of the cockpit)
The 2 part documentry is a reallly interesting part, & for both the drama & the documentary on one disk makes it very good value.
Excellent buy, would recomend it to anyone.
