Event

JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO

Once upon a time When office drone Joe (Tom Hanks) is diagnosed with a rare brain cloud by doctor Robert Stack and given six months to live, he accepts an offer from business magnate Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges) to live like a king, die like a man that is, enjoy the lap of luxury until he acts as a human sacrifice for a tribe of orange soda-guzzling Polynesians (led by Abe Vigoda).

Coming off the heels of his Best Screenplay Oscar win for Moonstruck, acclaimed playwright John Patrick Shanley went for broke with this crazily ambitious directorial debut. Featuring co-star Meg Ryan in three roles (!), a rich supporting cast (including Amanda Plummer, Ossie Davis, Dan Hedaya, and Nathan Lane), a score by great French composer Georges Delerue, and wildly stylized production design by Bo Welch (Beetlejuice), this utterly sui generis romantic comedy-adventure-fantasy represents the kind of expressive, idiosyncratic filmmaking rarely seen from a major studio, in 1990 or ever.

Marketed as something far more conventional upon its release, the film puzzled many critics and audiences with its high style, eccentric sense of humor, and unfashionable sincerity. But 25 years later, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO only looks better and more radical than ever. Its a strange and beautiful creation. (IFC Center)