Showing at Ebertfest 2012

from Ebert's blog:

"Joe versus the Volcano" (1990) will play at 7 p.m. April 25, as our opening night film. No film has almost played in Ebertfest more often than this one. Nate may be able to confirm that it's been shortlisted in at least ten of the past years. Something always came along to crowd it out. Because it was often rumored to be a selection, people started to badger me about when they'd finally be able to see it, and we determined that this would be the year.

As you will see, John Patrick Shanley's film is so visionary and epic in conception that it really requires a big screen like the Virginia's to make its ideal impact. I can't wait to see again that early scene of dark skies lowering over its factory -- a vast block of ugliness set down in the middle of a field of mud. Tom Hanks stars as the worker who hates his job so much he welcomes a death sentence from his doctor. In the spirit of Alex Guinness, Meg Ryan plays three different roles in the film: As Joe's secretary, and both daughters of Granamore (Lloyd Bridges), who wants to hire Joe to be a human sacrifice.

As I wrote in my review: "I had not seen this movie before. Most movies, I have seen before. Most movies, you have seen before. Most movies are constructed out of bits and pieces of other movies, like little engines built from cinematic Erector sets. But not 'Joe Versus the Volcano'." I continue to believe it deserves greater recognition, and cannot understand why I gave it 3.5 stars instead of four.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/03/introducing_ebertfest_2012.html