KRAKATOA: EAST OF JAVA (1969) *

Krakatoa:  East of Java was kind of like a precursor to the disaster movies that were so popular the ‘70s.  It features an all-star cast, a big budget, and was filmed in Cinerama, which was sort of the ‘60s version of Imax.  In fact, the cast squares off against not one, but TWO natural disasters in the film (a volcano and a tsunami).  Too bad it’s boring as all get-out.

Maximillian Schell stars as a captain who sets sail to find a sunken ship containing a cache of pearls.  He sets a course for Krakatoa, and if he was using the movie’s title for navigation, he would never get there because Krakatoa is actually WEST of Java.  That’s the first sign you are in trouble with this bloated mess:  The filmmakers didn’t even bother to fact-check where the hell Krakatoa was.  In fact, once they discovered their error, they had already printed up the ad campaign and it would’ve been too costly to recall all the posters, so they just left it.  Good gravy.   

Just as much care went into the script, as it is a mishmash of subplots including the obligatory shipboard romances, double-crosses, and father/son bonding.  All this stuff does is get in the way of the treasure hunt.  Even then, the scenes of hot air ballooning and underwater diving slow things down even further. 

All of this is a slog to get through, but the film does come to life near the end once the volcano finally erupts.  The special effects are pretty good for the time (although some of the shots are obviously repeated).  That shouldn’t come as a surprise since they were done by Eugene Lourie, a man who’s no stranger to special effects epics, having directed The Giant Behemoth.  (There’s another movie with an incorrect title.  A giant is a behemoth, and a behemoth is a giant.  To call something a “giant behemoth” is just redundant.)

It doesn’t help that Schell is totally miscast as the captain.  He’s much too suave and good looking to buy as a crusty seafarer.  Brian Keith, who plays the terminally ill deep-sea diver, would’ve been a much better choice.  All in all, the geographical errors, sluggish subplots, and bad casting help to ensure Krakatoa:  East of Java goes up in smoke.

AKA:  Krakatoa.  AKA:  Volcano.