Film

Days of Destruction

1973 · 27m · Documentary

The film begins in the early hours of the morning of January 23rd 1973. A mile long fissure had ripped itself open on the outskirt of the fishing village on Heimaey, a small island of the Vestmannaeyjar group, off the South Coast of Iceland. Glowing ash and molten lava was spewed over the sleeping town. We see the evacuation of the 500 inhabitants, both by air and by sea. We witnes unbelievable scenes of bellowing craters, flowing lava, burning and collapsing buildings. We learn of the agony and uncertainty of people made homeless, and of the measures taken by the Civil Defence to deal with a disaster of an enormity rarely faced by so small a nation.

• Páll SteingrímssonDirector · Screenplay · Director of Photography
• Ernst Rudolf KettlerDirector of Photography · Editor
• Ásgeir LongDirector of Photography · Editor

Release date

January 1, 1973

Status

Released

Original language

Icelandic

Runtime

27m

Genres

Documentary