Search - Krakatoa East of Java (Ws) on DVD

Guilty pleasure, great spectacle, lousy DVD transfer

Joe NY | 04/24/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is a guilty pleasure, best enjoyed in its original uncut, big screen Cinerama format.The story is corny, but the special effects make up for any deficencies. The Simitar DVD release is taken from a cut TV print running 102 min. The original theatrical roadshow Cinerama release ran aprox 136 min including intermission. The Simitar DVD is widescreen and muted stereo, but it is worn and terribly cut. Wait for a new transfer of the complete film from better source materials. Don't waste your money on Simitar junk."

Krakatoa ruined by DVD release

G. Curtis | England | 05/02/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"For some reason I've always enjoyed Krakatoa having originally seen it in Cinerama.This DVD is frankly a disaster; many years ago Benny Hill did a sketch of a movie set on a boat that kept jumping. This is what the print on this DVD does all the time. Whereas Benny Hill was funny, this is not.The picture is weird to say the least; it is billed as Widescreen on the box but even when playing it in Widescreen on a Widescreen TV the picture is too squashed.The sound is not AC3 stereo although I thought it was clear.The film has been cut terribly and runs far short of the time billed on the DVD case.Don't bother with this awful print; let's hope the movie gets restored properly."

Where's the plot?

G. Curtis | 05/09/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I had high expectations during the first 20 minutes or so of this movie, but the were all dashed. It starts out okay and it is interesting but as it goes on, you may find yourself wondering when the story is going to start. Unfortunatly it never does. I describe this movie as a mix of alot of people's stories all mixed up and unconnected. The volcanic explosions were great visually, but the wern't lead up to very well at all. It was kind of like, "Okay, let's have an explosion." with no suspence or anything. ALSO, the quality of the DVD is HORIBLE it jerks and the sound is off about a second at some times and it stoped for about 5 seconds at a time about every ten minutes. Very Annoying. Don't waste your money on this DVD."

The volcano blows, and so does this transfer

Joe NY | 05/20/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, so it's not a work of art. But "Krakatoa" is very much a guilty pleasure. Max Schell and Sal Mineo pretty much phone in their performances. Diane Baker is trying so hard she seems like she's in a different movie. But where else are you going to see Brian Keith trying to rape a Polynesian pearl diver? The effects are clearly the star, with the tsunami tidal wave being fairly impressive, even by today's standards. It's a shame that we cannot get a better transfer of the complete 136 minute film. There are way too many obvious splices in this transfer to be acceptable. Also, this was released originally with a flaw that prevented it from being viewed unsqueezed. The flaw is corrected on the new pressing, but it has the same catalog number as the old pressing! The only way to tell them apart is that the new pressing has a white circle in the center, and the old one is clear."