Krakatoa: The Last Days (2006)

I really wish "real" disaster movies like Dante's Peak, Volcano e.t.c would be more like this - and this was supposed to be a documentary/movie combination. Awesome special effects, especially the victims being burned by the pyroclastic cloud. The acting was superb!The only thing that didn't look "good" was when the Captain saved the ship by "riding" the Tsunami. I'm quite sure that's now what really happened without the boat "falling over" or breaking in half, it just looked... unbelievable. I guess they went with a "special effects" bravery scene, since this movie was already heavy on special effects. There's also a scene where two men tie themselves to a pole to survive a tsunami flood, which also looked a bit fake.

The idea of a volcano isn't very exciting or scary, we just say ...'oh..a volcano'...But this documentary shows Krakatoa, the daddy of all volcanoes and the damage it has done to the world...The documentary shows the eruption in 1800's and a British families horrific tale of survival from the molten lava and toxic ash that fell from the skies, the after effects of the Volanco that could be seen throughout the world...The narrator did a terrific job in bringing in the audience and the acting was brilliantly done...The special effects are the key to this documentary and make the situation even more terrifying...A brilliant documentary.

A fact-based account of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait near Java, an Indonesian island. The eruption and its effects (including tsunamis and a super-hot ash cloud) took over 36,000 lives. The story follows several characters throughout the ordeal, including a Dutch official, his family, and his native clerk; a ship captain, his passengers and crew; a lighthouse keeper and his family; and a Dutch scientist in Indonesia to study the regions volcanoes. Included are narrations from diaries and journals of the survivors. The special effects are pretty good for a film of its kind, and unlike most made-for-TV fare, this docudrama actually has some good acting.

I've just watched the American release of this movie ("Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction") on the Discovery Channel. Another reviewer commented on the visuals. I agree with him. All the scenes of the volcano, eruptions, ash, fire, pyroclastic clouds and tidal waves looked very convincing. In fact, I really found myself wondering how they did it. The stories chosen to dramatize this historical event, of real people who lived through the disaster, were well told and interesting. Semi-documentary in style, this TV movie manages to weave in a lot of scientific fact along with the history and drama. I was riveted to my TV. Another well done to BBC.