Everyone knows that the Indonesian island of Krakatoa blew its top in 1883, killing 40,000 people and creating a tidal wave of such strength that ripples were felt off Bognor Regis. Everyone knows, too, that Krakatoa lies west of Java, not east, though that would have made for a less exotic title. Problem is, as with other disaster movies like Earthquake, San Francisco or Hurricane, it's a long haul before nature rudely intrudes into the human dramas being enacted before back-projected images of the smoking volcano. Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker and Rossano Brazzi play unappealing characters and the big bang, when it comes, is an eye-jarring explosion of cornball special effects, originally intended to be shown in Cinerama, the widest of all screen ratios.

A team of maritime salvage workers are about to embark on a recovery dive. However the 1883 Krakatoa Volcano eruption provides more pressing problems.