Krakatoa - The greatest adventure of the last century
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Krakatoa - The greatest adventure of the last century |
| Original title | Krakatoa, East of Java |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1969 |
| length | 131 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Bernard L. Kowalski |
| script |
Cliff Gould Bernard Gordon |
| production | William R. Forman |
| music | Frank De Vol |
| camera | Manuel Berenguer |
| cut |
Walter Hannemann Warren Low Maurice Rootes |
| occupation | |
| |
Krakatoa - The Greatest Adventure of the Last Century is an American disaster film from 1969. The film is set against the backdrop of the eruption of the Krakatau volcano on Sunda Strait , which exploded on August 27, 1883 and completely destroyed the island.
action
In the summer of 1883, the Batavia Queen left the port of Singapore. The ship's destination is the volcanic island of Krakatau between Java and Sumatra . A ship with a load of pearls sank there. Among the ship's passengers are: Laura, the widow of the captain of the sunken ship; Rigby, a claustrophobic diving bell pilot; the opium-addicted diver Connerly and his girlfriend Charley; Giovanni Borghese and his son Leoncavallo, both balloonists; the Japanese Toshi, who leads a group of divers. On board are 30 convicts, including the murder suspect Danzig, who is allowed to stay on deck.
The sunken ship is found. But the dives are unsuccessful, the wreck is empty. Laura assures that the entries in the logbook confirm the pearl load, but later she confesses that she is primarily looking for her son, whom her husband left behind on a Catholic mission. The Batavia Queen takes the passengers of a sampan . It is the missionaries who also took Laura's son with them. The son has the pearls with him, Laura starts dividing the treasure.
The volcano erupts with a huge eruption and triggers a gigantic tidal wave. The Batavia Queen has to go out to sea to prevent her sinking.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films describes the film as a "technically complex film adventure that, in view of many secondary topics and a lack of density, does not really know how to pack."
Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote that the film begins with the climax. The few special effects are monotonous.
The variety complained that the director kept the film too simple and only staged the standard action.
The Protestant film observer draws the following conclusion: “Technically impressive large-scale film about an expedition that was caught by ship in the Krakatoa volcanic eruption in 1883. Even if the plot is neglected and the film is lengthy, the overwhelming color shots of the fire and water are really worth seeing. "
Awards
1970 were Eugène Lourié and Alex Weldon for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects nomination.
background
The film premiered on March 17, 1969 in Madrid . In Germany, the film was released in cinemas on March 28th, and in the USA on May 14th.
The film was shot in Italy and Spain.
The producers didn't notice that a geographic error had crept into the original title. Krakatau is located west of Java. The error was only noticed after the advertising materials were printed. Since the costs for a reprint were too high, the title was left.
The film was shot with the Cinerama technology. The cameras were too loud, however, so that the dialogues had to be resynchronized.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Krakatoa - The Greatest Adventure of the Last Century. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)
- ↑ criticism of Variety (engl.) ( Page no longer available , searching web archives ) Info: The link is automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 139/1969
