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 Hanson
Diane Baker	...	Laura
Brian Keith	...	Connerly
Barbara Werle	...	Charley
Sal Mineo	...	Leoncavallo
Rossano Brazzi	...	Giovanni
John Leyton	...	Rigby
J.D. Cannon	...	Danzig
Jacqueline Chan	...	Toshi (as Jacqui Chan)
Robert Hall	...	Guard (as Rob't Hall)
Victoria Young	...	Kiko
Marc Lawrence	...	Jacobs
Midori Arimoto	...	Midori
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:

place name in title | goof in title | ship | convict | pearl | 

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Taglines:

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Volcano

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerama Productions Corp.,Security Pictures,American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 147 min (BBFC submission before censorship)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barbara Werle was the girlfriend of Cinerama chief William R. Forman. When Cinerama came on board " Battle of the Bulge (1965)", Forman also insisted on Werle being cast, much to the annoyance of star Robert Shaw.

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Goofs

The balloon would not be allowed to float untethered since there would be no way to steer the balloon back to the ship. It would be totally at the whim of prevailing winds. The fixed-location engine would be totally useless to steer the balloon since there would be no way to rotate it to the direction opposite of the direction they wished to travel.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Monty Python's Flying Circus: Scott of the Antarctic (1970)

User Reviews

Colorful catastrophe film with spellbinding and impressive cinematography

Adventure/epic movie with a light and plain plot about a vessel weigh anchor from Singapur and with a motley and disparate crew (Diane Baker, Rossano Brazzi, Sal Mineo, Barbara Werle, among others) looking for a hidden treasure in a shipwrecked long time ago . The ship captain (Maximilian Schell) will have to confront rebels , deep-sea divers (Brian Keith), prisoner breakouts (J.D.Cannon) , mutiny , fire and facing specially the Krakatoa volcanic explosion (1883) , which proved to be the most spectacular natural disaster in history .

This jumbled picture was exhibited in big screen called Cinerama . This became one of the last features to use Todd-AO for principal photography . The film unites the Julio Verne's spirit with melodrama and the action footage is top-notch . There are varied procession of characters , typical shallow roles of catastrophic cinema that a few years later consecrates ¨ Airport ¨ (by George Seaton) , but is hampered by simple characterizations . Breathtaking , spectacular cinematography by Manuel Berenguer , outdoors have been shot in Islands Canarias (Spain) and scenarios are glimmer and glittering as when the ship cross through the cliffs while the volcano erupts . The climax is served by overwhelming special effects by Alex Weldon and the master Eugene Lorie (who had Oscar nomination) , it has main issue the volcano Krakatoa (in the map on the west , no east) and the historical eruption and continuing a demolishing seaquake , climaxed by volcanic explosion , tidal wave or tsunami . Krakatoa Island remained destroyed and died approximately 35.000 people in the catastrophe . The producers learned of the geographic error , Krakatoa was west of Java in the Sundra Strait , only after all of the advertising and publicity materials had been prepared. It was deemed too costly to re-do these materials, and possibly delay the release, for the sake of simple geographic accuracy . Frank De Vol musical score (Robert Aldrich's habitual musician) is good and evocative . Heavily cut after premiere , leaving tale more muddle than before . The motion picture was regularly directed by Bernard L.Kowalski . Rating : Passable and entertaining .