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Simply Perfect

Purely Joyful Movie!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Mediocre TV-film that lacked a suspenseful build-up.To call this a documentary or docudrama is a mistake. Although framed in Verbeek's narrative, the portrayal of actual events is not entirely accurate; while the portrayal of the people involved is heavily fictionised and styled to suit a modern audience. Some of the script and acting was good, but most of it was bad; and far too much emphasis was placed on fictitious drama rather than the actual events. The film could have been saved by special effects, but even these seemed dated lacking the quality CGI standard we now expect. Also there was a lack of attention to detail. For example, Captain Lindemans's ship the SS Governor General Loudon was built in 1875, yet the ship portrayed in the film is clearly a product of the 1895 - 1910 period.There were one or two nice touches, such as the audio being replaced by a ringing noise to convey the temporary loss of hearing due to the loud explosion, and the scenes aboard Loudon prior to the Tsunami, but in retrospect I would say that I watched this film to the end more out of curiosity about how it was made, rather than because I found it enjoyable. I have to say that it was a wasted opportunity.

In 1883 the volcanic island of krakatoa erupted with the most catastrophic results. this story follows the experiences of a dutch family who witnessed the eruption of krakatoa. It also follows the accounts of a missionary who recorded his accounts of the eruption. People thought it was three, small volcanoes on 1 island but through his research he discovers it is 1 giant volcano about to have a massive eruption on a scale noonoe has ever witnessed. The 4th explosion was the largest noise ever recorded. It was heard 6 thousand miles away in Brisbane,Australia! an incerdible story of survival and horrible tragedy of a Dutch family and amazing heroics and quick wit of a ship captain make this a truly great story. I was just absolutely shocked at the catastrophic effects an eruption so far reaching can inflict. a must see!!

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.

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.