Revealing mistake: After Dante's Peak explodes for the final time, the pyroclastic cloud rolls down the mountain toward the town. Harry shouts "Don't look back, kids, don't look back." and then we are shown a wide shot of the truck zooming down the ash-choked streets. Unfortunately, it's painfully obvious that this is either a miniature or CGI shot, because the truck isn't leaving any tracks behind it or trailing any clouds of ash despite its high speed. (01:28:19)
Dante's Peak (1997)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Jamie Renee Smith, Jeremy Foley
Harry, Rachel, her two children, and the dog are saved from the explosion of the volcano.
Annette
More mistakes in Dante's Peak
Harry Dalton: Get the hell out of there now, before it's too late.
Trivia: When we see Paul in the van as it is taken over by the overflowing river, just as he hits the water, we hear the Wilhelm scream.
Question: Why is the rescue pilot helicopter such a selfish person? He complains about working over lunch, refuses to embark on a search-and-rescue mission without hiking his rates, and even extorts desperate townspeople trying to evacuate on his helicopter for all their money. Why was he such a greedy and insensitive egotist?
Answer: Because the character is written to be the stereotypical antagonist whose sole purpose is to create the obligatory plot conflict. This was such a silly, unrealistic, and all-around bad movie, that the two-dimensional villain guy fits right in. I live in Washington and remember when Mt. St. Helen's erupted. Dante's Peak, which was based on it, was nothing like the real-life event.
raywest ★