Krakatoa: East of Java (1968)

In 1883, ship captain Hanson plans a shipwreck salvage mission in The Dutch East Indies to retrieve a cargo of pearls but an unexpected volcano eruption and a state-ordered transport of convicts upset his plans.

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Cliff Gould (as Clifford Newton Gould), Bernard Gordon

Stars:

Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maximilian Schell	...	Captain Chris Hanson
Diane Baker	...	Laura Travis
Brian Keith	...	Connerly
Barbara Werle	...	Charley Adams
Sal Mineo	...	Leoncavallo Borghese
Rossano Brazzi	...	Giovanni Borghese
John Leyton	...	Douglas Rigby
J.D. Cannon	...	Danzig
Jacqueline Chan	...	Toshi (as Jacqui Chan)
Robert Hall	...	Guard
Victoria Young	...	Kiko
Marc Lawrence	...	Jacobs
Midori	...	Midori (as Midori Arimoto)
Niall MacGinnis	...	Harbor Master (as Niall Macginnis)
Joseph Hann	...	Kuan

Storyline

The Dutch East Indies, in the late 19th century. Capt. Hanson of the "Batavia Queen" is preparing to embark on a salvage expedition. His mistress, Laura, knows the location of a ship belonging to her late husband, a shipwreck concealing a cargo of rare pearls. A diver and a diving bell are aboard ship. But a government agent coerces Hanson into accepting a shipment of convicts for the ship's hold. The wreck lies dangerously close to the erupting volcano on the island of Krakatoa, where Laura's young son attends the convent school...

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Plot Keywords:

year 1883 | place name in title | goof in title | singing in school | playing piano | 

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Taglines:

The new CINERAMA hurls YOU into the incredible day that shook the Earth to its core!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

To get Cinerama to back this project, the producers had desperately tried to get Kirk Douglas as the lead.

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Goofs

When the diving bell operator asks to be turned to port, the view moves to the right, which is starboard.

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Quotes

Connerly: I can get down there and I can get back up again, now what happens after that's up to me.

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Crazy Credits

This film was shot using Super Panavision 70 and Todd-AO formats for presentation in single-strip Cinerama. The opening title sequence has the image devided into three frames just like the original three-strip Cinerama.

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Alternate Versions

Originally premiered in Cinerama format at 136 minutes. After tepid reactions, film was cut to 101 minutes and re-released.

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Connections

Referenced in Bones (2001)

User Reviews

Waited years to see this, and could've kept waiting but for the suspense of waiting

I have been waiting since 1969 to see this, since it wasn't available on tape, and finally saw it on DVD on widescreen TV, home theater sound, etc, to get as close to the movie theater experience as possible. Too bad, because while the spectacle of all the adventure and effects are grand, the acting, dialog and direction borders on insipid. The director, Kowalski, was interesting with his two 50's sci-fi horror flicks, he was and has been basically a TV director and it shows here. He never really uses the big screen, not to mention Cinerama, to it's potential. He doesn't use the great (like Sal Mineo) and good (like Brian Keith) actors to their full potential. The effects are nice enough, but the same shots are used too often. Where there should be build up of suspense, there's only tedium and passing the time, much like typical 70s network TV fare. The writing is uninspired and much of the dialog is weak. There's plenty of dramatic plot elements to bring together and hit us in the gut, such as the woefully unexplored relationship of Mineo and Jacquie Chan, and this would have been great with a director the caliber of David Lean or Robert Wise. The first 15 minutes are very good and made me think it would be as good as, say, The Sand Pebbles, but alas, no. In the hands of an inspired talent, I dare say it could have had several academy award nominations, including Brian Keith for supporting actor, and it could have run nearly 3 hours and still have been engrossing. Well, MGM wasn't up to snuff in 1968-69, and so this is what we got. Normally, I'd give a 6 to a film like this, but it gets 4 because of all of the wasted potential. Could be a good remake though!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Volcano

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,403,403

Company Credits

Production Co:

Security Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 147 min (BBFC submission before censorship) 105 min (shortened)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1