| Krakatoa: The Last Days | |
|---|---|
 Cover art of BBC DVD. | |
| Genre | Docudrama History Disaster |
| Written by | Colin Heber-Percy Michael Olmert Lyall B. Watson |
| Directed by | Sam Miller |
| Starring | Rupert Penry-Jones Olivia Williams Kevin McMonagle |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Alan Eyres J. Gregory Smith |
| Cinematography | Giulio Biccari |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Budget | £2,200,000 |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 7 May 2006 (2006-05-07) |
Krakatoa: The Last Days (also titledKrakatoa: Volcano of Destruction in the U.S. on theDiscovery Channel) is aBBC Televisiondocudrama that premiered on 7 May 2006 onBBC One. The program is based upon four eyewitness accounts of the1883 eruption of Krakatoa, an activestratovolcano between the islands ofSumatra andJava, present dayIndonesia.
The series was produced by the BBC in co-production withDiscovery Channel,RTL Television, andFrance 2.
The film was broadcast onBBC One on 7 May 2006 and drew 6.4 million viewers (27% audience share)[1]
The1883 eruption of Krakatoa is the second greatestvolcanic eruption inrecorded history (after the1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, only 68 years earlier), erupting more than 18 cubic kilometres oftephra in less than 48 hours, and killing about 36,500 people. The film refers to an account in thePustaka Raja of a previous violent eruption in that area.
A subplot concerningRogier Verbeek (played by Kevin McMonagle), a Dutch geologist who had surveyed the area two years earlier and laid the basis for modern vulcanology with his research after the eruption, adds a scientific touch and a helpful map to thecomputer-generated imagery that convincingly portrays theash cloud, collapse of thestratovolcano,pyroclastic flows, andtsunamis. The eruption column collapsing sends a big pyroclastic flow over theSunda Strait coast of Sumatra.The film also portrays a family trying to escape the devastating volcano, and aship with more than 100 passengers trapped at sea when the final collapse of Krakatoa island at the end of the eruption generates a massivetsunami.
Just after Captain Lindeman leaves the cargo bay and heads to the ship's deck, one of the girls begins to sing a song to calm down the nervous passengers. The song is "Płonie ognisko w lesie" ("Burning fireplace in the forest"), a popular Polishscout song. It was written in 1922, 39 years after the Krakatoa eruption.[citation needed]
