Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 2, 2017

As many publications have already mentioned, the volcanic island of Krakatoa is actually west of Java. Oops. It’s the first of many mistakes encountered during “Krakatoa: East of Java,” a strangely titled disaster effort from 1969 that was reportedly built backwards, with producers completing work on special effects before they had a script, requiring the writing to fit the needs of spectacle. The strain of such creative madness shows throughout the feature, which is incredibly dull when it isn’t blowing things up, unable to connect as a melodrama despite a fine cast trying their best to look vaguely interested in their characters.

“Krakatoa: East of Java” is a stronger picture when nobody is forced to pretend the relationships presented have any real meaning. With a cast that includes Maximilian Schell, Brian Keith, Sal Mineo, and Diane Baker, there should be some comfort with the human element of the tale, but the screenplay just isn’t there, laboring through interpersonal issues and power plays before it finally launches panic with sea-based challenges, offering disasters underwater before a volcanic island erupts, commencing a massacre that, for reasons I’d rather not know, finds director Bernard L. Kowalski focusing on teary, distressed faces of children to fully manipulate the viewer into a state of horror.

Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.34:1 aspect ratio) presentation supplies a colorful look at the moviemaking spectacle of "Krakatoa." Hues are generally lively, managing costuming with vividness, along with intense greenery and blue waters. Skintones are also appealing. Detail handles well with close- ups, delivering the sharp sense of physical ruin with beaten and wet characters, and disaster highlights are easily surveyed, exposing the artificiality of it all as models crash and water rises. Delineation is adequate, handling shadowy corners of the ship. The source has some brief rough patches, including brief blips of chemical damage and mild scratches.

Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't anything extraordinary, remaining within period sonic limitations, it's impressive how well the track holds together during disaster sequences. There's a lot of chaos going on in "Krakatoa," especially during its final hour, but there's nothing distortive about the listening experience, maintaining good control of explosions and screaming survivors. Dialogue exchanges are acceptable (everything is looped), without intelligibility issues. Scoring maintains support, delivering satisfactory instrumentation.

Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Krakatoa: East of Java Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Geographical mistakes aside, "Krakatoa: East of Java" might provide passable entertainment for those on the hunt for carnage. Once the volcano explodes, the feature runs through a routine of mass death, survival sequences, and bickering, eventually graduating to a tsunami. The movie is certainly busy, and it's far more interesting when it's not trying to be meaningful with blah characters, delivering suitably cinematic mayhem.