Krakatoa: The Last Days (2006)

A different way of telling a story

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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.

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.

I taped this long-winded docu-drama, and intended to watch it right through. I found much of it moderately interesting, but unfortunately the black-and-white footage of eruptions did not sit well with the technicolor narrative. Was this old footage from the 1930s? If so, why didn't the producers bother to use computer technology to add some colour?The first action sequence leading up to the tsunami was marred by the waving about of a hand-held camera. This amateurish attempt at realism never, repeat NEVER, approximates to real-life vision, as our eyes flick from one focus to another. They don't pan across a scene, blurring everything in sight.I struggled on until the ridiculous scene of the ship riding the slow-moving giant wave. This was utter nonsense. A tsunami wave travels at several HUNDRED miles an hour, and over deep ocean is very very very long but quite low in profile. It is only when it approaches land and shallow water that it becomes a high wave. The depiction of the ship somehow remaining on the 45 degree slope of water with its bow pointing up at the sky, without sliding back, was so ludicrous that I gave up and switched off.