The Eruption of Mount St. Helens: IMAX

Released 1980
Directed by George Casey

The Eruption Of Mount St. Helens chronicles the cataclysmic events during one of America's most famous natural disasters, capturing the dramatic primary and secondary eruptions that began on Sunday, May 18, 1980 at 8:32 a.m. When the destruction was over, the once beautiful symmetrical cone rising 9,667 feet above sea level had lost over 8.8 billion cubic yards of ice, rock and dirt, decreasing its height by 1,300 feet. Originally shot in the IMAX format, this film includes footage from the rescue helicopters that combed the area looking for survivors after the initial eruption. These amazing scenes reveal an unearthly landscape of mud, ash, and steaming crater, which sharply contrasts with the pre-eruption scenery of pristine snow-covered peaks and the crystal waters of Spirit Lake. As the film revisits the area a decade later, it is startling to see the rapid recovery after so much devastation. In this celebration of nature, The Eruption Of Mount St. Helens explores the power of nature to destroy, and to heal, in a cycle of destruction and creation that constantly changes the world in which we live.

Summary from Netflix.com

There are two documentaries on the DVD. The first is an IMAX film that describes the eruptions and show lots of footage of spewing ash, but it's quite shallow in its description. I watched it at home, so I didn't get the IMAX experience. I'm sure I would have liked it better in the proper theater (ie, the Science Museum in St. Paul, MN), but it was rather weak. The other documentary is simply 25 minutes of spewing, oozing, bubbling lava, and it's beautiful. It makes a rental worthwhile. --Bill Alward, April 8, 2001