This great film starring Pierce BROSNAN (Goldeneye,Mrs Doubtfire) and the always appealing Linda HAMILTON (Terminator 2) is an absolute must have for any DVD collection. This is the first "Collectors Edition" released by Universal Pictures on DVD and they have done a superb job, they have put so many extras onto this disc that it surpasses any other 'Collectors or Special' edition released so far.

Brosnan stars as Harry Dalton a volcanologist who is sent by his institute to 'Dante's Peak' a sleepy American town to investigate seismic activity in the area. Once at the town he meets the attractive lady Mayor (Hamilton) and soon discovers that the once dormant volcano town neighbour has re-awoken and he believes an eruption is imminent. Assistance from the institute arrives but he has an impossible time trying to convince his boss who doubts his findings and who wants to avoid looking foolish for issuing a town alarm and creating mass hysteria. Dalton in the meantime continues gathering evidence with the help of the mayor, this develops into a love interest and his predictions are soon proved correct when the volcano explodes covering the town in a huge cloud of ash.

When I first saw this film at the cinema I was very impressed with the magnificent special effects and sound, however I thought the movie took a little but too long before the volcano finally unearthed it's awesome power and then I thought that the movie ended rather quickly soon after. The movie's length is about average at 109 minutes and the majority of this film is spent in the inevitable build up to the eruption but once it erupts the action comes at you thick and fast.

The movie is RSDL and is presented in it's letterboxed theatrical representation of 2.35:1 aspect ratio only. This DVD edition proves that Universal is also capable of providing excellent and flawless DVD releases. It is great to see that the major studios are putting the hard yards into quality DVD's and I have no doubt that the majority of DVD enthusiasts appreciate this to no end.

The picture quality of this DVD is absolutely stunning, the image is just about immaculate and cannot be faulted. It is razor sharp, with excellent detail and the color reproduction is jaw dropping. From the beautiful surrounding countryside scenery to the awesome eruption this DVD can easily join the ranks of other amazing releases such as 'The Fifth Element, Goldeneye and Contact'. As you can imagine a movie such as 'Dante's Peak' can really set the pace for special effects and this movie does not disappoint. With thick, black ash slowly covering the town and hot, molten lava making escape almost impossible it really captures the devastation of this natural disaster as it turns daytime rather quickly into night.

The movie is also presented with an excellent accompanying musical score provided by James Newton Howard. The sound effects have to be heard to be believed and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very alive, dynamic and wide. If you are'nt lucky enought to own a subwoofer then this movie demands that you run to the shops, part with some of that hard earned dosh and invest in one straight away. "Dante's Peak" is also fully dubbed in English, French and Spanish, with additional subtitles in English and French.

The extras presented on this disc are massive and I think it will take you a good day on your weekend to properly explore them. The one-hour-long piece "The Making Of Dante's Peak" features anything regarding the making of this movie from the early start of the project, information on the casting of the movie, location scouting, and interesting anecdotes from the shoot. The disc also contains a poster gallery, showing every poster created for the movie's theatrical promotion, as well as a multitude of stills taken from the set of the movie. All of the supplemental material comes with English, French, and Spanish subtitles and also allows you to isolate the music score. Apart from those materials, the disc contains lengthy production notes, cast and crew biographies, and a running length commentary by director Roger Donaldson and production designer Dennis Washington.

This DVD is a great movie experience with amazing extras, let's hope that Columbia-Tristar take a leaf out of Universal's book and release future DVD's with extras like this. Highly recommended. Demo quality.

Features: Dante’s Peak, Collector’s Edition (1997) Universal Home Video. Length: 109 mins. Rated: PG-13 Languages: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish Format: Letterboxed