Ring of Fire (1991 film)
Encyclopedia
Ring of Fire is a 1991 documentary film in IMAX
format. It looks at some of the varieties of volcanism
and earthquake
activity in the Ring of Fire
, around the Pacific Rim. The film runs 40 minutes.
The film was jointly presented by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
in Fort Worth, Texas
, the Science Museum of Minnesota
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
, and the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diego, California
The film has eight main segments, corresponding to chapters in the DVD
release:
1. Ring of Fire: an overview of the region using wireframe
computer animation, and including footage of Hawaiian lava flows as an illustration of how early Earth might have looked. Footage of a new volcano in Chile is also shown.
2. The San Francisco Quake of '89: looks at the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
in San Francisco, California
and its aftermath, including IMAX footage of the rescheduled game of the 1989 World Series
, ten days after the quake.
3. Mount Saint Helens: includes IMAX footage from about 10 years after the 1980 eruption, and the famous time sequence of the eruption taken at the time.
4. Floating on Hot Liquid: looks at the geology of volcanism, again using wireframe computer animation to illustrate plate movement and magma flow up through the crust.
5. Learning to Live With a Volcano: life in Sakurajima
, an island in Japan
where eruptions are almost constant and evacuation drills are an annual event; sulfur
mining at Kawah Ijen
6. Buddhas Keep Watch: Using the temple of Borobudur
and the Balinese
Kecak
dance as a frame, shows how Indonesians
live with the simultaneous threat and fertility provided by their volcanoes.
7. The Center of the Ring: Looks at volcanism on Hawai'i, especially Kilauea
and Mauna Loa
, Footage includes roads, houses and cars destroyed by advancing lava, and underwater lava flows.
8. End Credits
The film was released as a VHS video in 1995, and as a DVD in 1997 (rereleased in 2006). It will make its Blu-ray debut on July 12, 2011.
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
format. It looks at some of the varieties of volcanism
Volcanism
Volcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It includes all phenomena resulting from and causing magma within the crust or mantle of a planet to rise through the crust and form volcanic rocks on the surface....
and earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
activity in the Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire
-Music:* Ring of Fire, a Johnny Cash song, written by his wife, June** Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash, an album by Johnny Cash** Ring of Fire , a musical theater production on the life of Johnny Cash...
, around the Pacific Rim. The film runs 40 minutes.
The film was jointly presented by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is located on 1600 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 in the city's Cultural District. It was opened in 1945 as the Fort Worth Children's Museum and moved to its current location in 1954. In 1968, the museum adopted its current name...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, the Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota
The Science Museum of Minnesota is an American museum focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science and mathematics education. Founded in 1907 and located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the 501 nonprofit institution is staffed by over 500 employees and over 1,600 volunteers...
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, and the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
The film has eight main segments, corresponding to chapters in the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release:
1. Ring of Fire: an overview of the region using wireframe
Wireframe
Wireframe or wire frame may refer to:* Wire-frame model, visual presentation of a three dimensional or physical object used in 3D computer graphics* Website wireframe, a basic visual guide used in web design...
computer animation, and including footage of Hawaiian lava flows as an illustration of how early Earth might have looked. Footage of a new volcano in Chile is also shown.
2. The San Francisco Quake of '89: looks at the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and its aftermath, including IMAX footage of the rescheduled game of the 1989 World Series
1989 World Series
†: Game 3 was originally slated for October 17 at 5:35 pm; however, it was postponed when an earthquake occurred at 5:04 pm.-Game 1:Saturday, October 14, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California...
, ten days after the quake.
3. Mount Saint Helens: includes IMAX footage from about 10 years after the 1980 eruption, and the famous time sequence of the eruption taken at the time.
4. Floating on Hot Liquid: looks at the geology of volcanism, again using wireframe computer animation to illustrate plate movement and magma flow up through the crust.
5. Learning to Live With a Volcano: life in Sakurajima
Sakurajima
, also romanized as Sakurashima or Sakura-jima, is an active composite volcano and a former island of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan...
, an island in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where eruptions are almost constant and evacuation drills are an annual event; sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
mining at Kawah Ijen
Ijen
The Ijen volcano complex is a group of stratovolcanoes, in East Java, Indonesia. It is inside a larger caldera Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name of this volcano resembles that of a different volcano, Mount...
6. Buddhas Keep Watch: Using the temple of Borobudur
Borobudur
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
and the Balinese
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
Kecak
Kecak
Kecak is a form of Balinese dance and music drama, originated in the 1930s Bali and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006....
dance as a frame, shows how Indonesians
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
live with the simultaneous threat and fertility provided by their volcanoes.
7. The Center of the Ring: Looks at volcanism on Hawai'i, especially Kilauea
Kilauea
Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...
and Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
, Footage includes roads, houses and cars destroyed by advancing lava, and underwater lava flows.
8. End Credits
The film was released as a VHS video in 1995, and as a DVD in 1997 (rereleased in 2006). It will make its Blu-ray debut on July 12, 2011.