Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4822 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-02
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 102 minutes

From Amazon.com
Joe Versus the Volcano is a true early-1990s cult film. This fantasy-comedy was the first pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, yet it polarizes viewers like a Blue Velvet or Happiness. As the only directorial effort from John Patrick Shanley (the Oscar-winning writer of Moonstruck), it is something special, and it's hard to resist the film's feather-light heart tugging. Joe Banks is having the life sucked out of him at a dead-end job. Miserable in his gray surroundings with stark fluorescent lighting, Joe dreams of being brave again. A visit to the doctor reveals that he has a "brain cloud." It's fatal, but he'll be fine for a few more months. An eccentric millionaire, Samuel Harvey Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges), hears of Joe's predicament and comes to him with a proposal: The people of the Pacific island of Waponi Woo need a human sacrifice to appease their gods. Why not live like a king for a few weeks, then throw yourself into a volcano? (Graynamore needs a sacrificial victim to offer in exchange for permission to mine the island for a rare mineral.) Joe accepts Graynamore's lavish proposal and on his journey meets three romantic possibilities (all played by Ryan). Joe embraces life; so does the movie. It's packed with smile-inducing supporting performances by Bridges, Ossie Davis, Robert Stack, and Dan Hedaya; playful songs ("Sixteen Tons," "Ol' Man River," Presley's version of "Blue Moon"); and amusing scenes (such as Joe buying luggage). Add the daring, imaginative production design of Bo Welch (Edward Scissorhands), Hanks and Ryan's chemistry, and Georges Delerue's romantic music and you have a film to fall for. --Doug Thomas

Video Details
Laughs erupt when Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love and fall in lava in Joe Versus the Volcano, a colorful, stylish laughquake written and directed by Moonstruck Oscar winner John Patrick Shanley. As Joe, Hanks adds to his phenomenal string of successes that includes, Splash, Big and Turner & Hooch. And Meg Ryan follows up her starmaking When Harry Met Sally...with three roles, playing each of the women in Joe's life. When we first meet Joe, he has the white-color blues. Every day is Monday, the boss is always in a bad mood and the cumulative stresses convince Joe has a terminal condition called a "brain cloud." So when a zany jillionaire pops up and offers him a fleeting taste of the good life, Joe leaps at the chance. All he must do in return is leap into a volcano. But funny things happen on the way from the urban isle of Manhattan to the remote tropical isle of Waponi Woo... Out of the corporate frying pan. Into the fire. Is Joes doomed to be the last of the red-hot lovers? Not if the forces of courage, love and comedy have their way.

Review
The directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, this quirky comedy is one of the few flops under the belt of star Tom Hanks, its off-kilter brand of loopy charm flying over the heads of most audiences. As a nebbish who thinks he's dying of a bizarre disease, Hanks diverges from his usual role of an intelligent, supremely competent professional, perhaps alienating his fan base, but delivering a winning, funny performance that ranks with his work as a wide-eyed innocent in Big (1988). In her first pairing with frequent co-star Hanks, female lead Meg Ryan loses herself in a trio of roles that rank among her best work and presage the most undeservedly ignored performance of her career in Courage Under Fire (1996). It's the goofball characters and sneaky symbolism of the screenplay by Shanley that make this wacko project the comic delight that it is, however. Whether it's Abe Vigoda as an Orange Crush-worshipping tribal chief, Lloyd Bridges as an eccentric millionaire, or the recurring visual references to fate (keep an eye peeled for hidden zig-zags and lightning bolts), the film is a major cinematic treat. Although trounced by many critics, Joe Versus the Volcano is a woefully underrated film, one of the decade's lost classics and a film that star Hanks has often singled out as the lone, unfairly tarnished gem on his resum�. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

Joe Versus the Volcano
This has quite possibly the best opening sequence I've ever had the privelege to see. It rocks; the song, the situation, and the set work perfectly.

But, further along with the review.

It's about a hypochondriac named Joe Banks. He had had a job before, putting out fires, but for the past several years he's had a job shipping out catalogues for a medical parts company. He uses up basically all of his salary on doctors' bills, because, being the hypochondriac he is, he won't rest until he finds something wrong with himself. And- wonder of all wonders- one doctor FINALLY tells him he has an uncurable disease- a 'brain cloud' that will kill him in the next six months. Joe feels great about that; quits his job, and takes out the secretary he had to dinner. (played by Meg Ryan)

After she dumps him (he tells her he's about to die), he is visited by a very rich man who is willing to give him any amount of money that he can spend in the next few days in exchange for him voluntarily jumping into a volcano. On his way to accomplishing that goal, he meets the man's two daughters (both played by Meg Ryan).

Wonderful performance by Tom Hanks (as usual) and a wonderful show of acting by Meg Ryan. The voices, costumes, and mannerisms for each of the three women she plays are completely different from each other.

I loved all the Tom Hank/Meg Ryan movies, and this is no exception. Great movie, great acting, great plot... great reasons to see it. :)

original and inspiring
A friend gave me this film years ago. At first I was not sure if I liked it. And then, I watched it again and again. It is a story that opens one's eyes, heart and mind. It made me see the world as hilarious and profound at the same time. And John Patrick Shanley, who wrote and directed this film, presents the story in such a subtle and affecting way. I wish he wrote and directed more movies. I am curious what he would do next. Sometimes I wonder what happened to Joe after he went on his next journey "away from the things of man." I am not a big fan of Hanks or Ryan. It is the story that is amazing. I am glad I was able to get it on DVD as my VHS tape is barely alive. Now, if they only released the soundtrack!

Joe Versus Joe (And Wins!)...
Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) is doomed. He not only works for the most despicable boss at the most horrible job since the slave-driven corporation in "Metropolis", he has also found out that he is dying from a rare condition called a "brain cloud". Thankfully, Joe is visited by the filthy rich owner of a super-conductor manufacturing company (Lloyd Bridges), who wants Joe to go to the island of Waponi Woo and jump into a volcano to appease the god of the Waponi people; so he can secure the mining rights of a rare mineral he needs. This is in exchange for unlimited funds for Joe and the guarantee of high adventure. Joe accepts the offer and sets out on the journey of his life. Meg Ryan plays three very distinct roles as the women Joe encounters on his way. This is truly an oddysey of discovery. Full of humor, romance, miracles, great music, and unexpected events, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO is not a typical romantic comedy. If you have ever once fantasized about telling your boss to get bent, or have ever wanted to just quit your job, take off, and live like there's no tomorrow, then watch this movie right now! I would advise you to buy some water-tight steamer trunks for the trip. They come in VERY handy! Highly recommended...