Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Film poster
Directed by	Donald Brittain John Kramer
Written by	Donald Brittain John Kramer
Produced by	Donald Brittain Robert A. Duncan James de B. Domville (exec.)
Starring	Richard Burton (readings)
Narrated by	Donald Brittain
Cinematography	Douglas Kiefer Jacques Avoine (animation)
Edited by	John Kramer Les Halman (sound) Abbey Jack Neidik (sound)
Music by	Alain Clavier
Production company	National Film Board of Canada
Distributed by	National Film Board of Canada
Release date	1976 (1976)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry is a 1976 documentary film directed by Donald Brittain and John Kramer for the National Film Board of Canada.

Malcolm Lowry, author of one of the major novels of the 20th century, Under the Volcano, was an English writer who spent a significant amount of time living and working in Vancouver. Due, in part, to his chronic alcoholism, his life was tortured and nomadic. Shot on location in four countries, the film combines photographs, readings by Richard Burton, and interviews with the people who loved and hated the man.

The documentary tells Lowry's story in two ways: through Lowry’s own tortured words, read by Burton, and through interviews with family members and friends, including Margerie Bonner and Arthur Calder-Marshall, who helplessly watched Lowry’s self-destruction.

Though some have criticized its pedestrian, literal linking of words and images and unrevealing interviews, Volcano is a powerful work that (as one critic wrote) "goes beyond conventional documentary" to reveal "a Picasso-like multi-perspective truth."

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry is included as a bonus feature on the Criterion Collection DVD release of Under the Volcano.

Cast

• Marjorie Bonner as Self
• Donald Brittain as Narrator (voice)
• John Buchan as Self (archive footage)
• Richard Burton as Malcolm Lowry (voice)
• Arthur Calder-Marshall as Self
• Albert Russel Erskine as Self

Awards

• 27th Canadian Film Awards, 1976:

Best Documentary

Best Direction

Best Film Editing

Best Sound Editing

Best Music Score

Best Non-Dramatic Script

• Chicago International Film Festival: Nominee, Best Documentary, 1976
• 49th Academy Awards: Nominee: Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, 1977

External links

• Watch Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry on the NFB website
• Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry at IMDb
• Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry at AllMovie
• Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry at the TCM Movie Database