Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry is a 1976 documentary film directed by Donald Brittain and John Kramer for the National Film Board of Canada. Malcolm Lowry, author of one of the major novels of the 20th century, Under the Volcano, was an English writer who spent a significant amount of time living and working in Vancouver. Due, in part, to his chronic alcoholism, his life was tortured and nomadic. Shot on location in four countries, the film combines photographs, readings by Richard Burton, and interviews with the people who loved and hated the man. Brittain and Kramer tell Lowry's story in two ways: through Lowry’s own tortured words, read by Burton, and through interviews with family members and friends, including Margerie Bonner and Arthur Calder-Marshall, who helplessly watched Lowry’s self-destruction. Though some have criticized its pedestrian, literal linking of words and images and unrevealing interviews, Volcano is a powerful work that (as one critic wrote) "goes beyond conventional documentary" to reveal "a Picasso-like multi-perspective truth." Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry is included as a bonus feature on the Criterion Collection DVD release of Under the Volcano. Awards
 27th Canadian Film Awards, 1976:
 Best Documentary
 Best Direction
 Best Film Editing
 Best Sound Editing
 Best Music Score
 Best Non-Dramatic Script
 Chicago International Film Festival: Nominee, Best Documentary, 1976
 49th Academy Awards: Nominee:  Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, 1977

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1976 films
1976 documentary films
Canadian documentary films
Best Short Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Documentary films about writers
Films directed by Donald Brittain
National Film Board of Canada documentaries
1970s English-language films
1970s Canadian films