From the Earth to the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Awesome documentary
Review: I am a real fan of anything to do with space so i was drawn to this dvd set. I was born long after the Apollo missions ended, so this is basically the only history lesson i have had of the whole thing. This is pretty much a documentary but its all acted out as if it were a movie, something which i wish i would see more of.

The series is on 3 dvd's with a forth full of extras. You learn about everything that went on from the first man in space, to that last man to walk on the moon. This is one of the best special interest dvd's I own. Its a must have for any space buff.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST THERE IS...
Review: This is, by far, the most awe-inspiring and breathtaking video I have ever owned. "From the Earth to the Moon" chronicles America's determination, pride and dedication of sending a man 250,000 miles to the surface of moon. HBO, Tom Hanks, Andrew Chaiken and a cast and crew of so many others, have put together a 12hr miniseries, broken into one hour segments that tells and visually shows you the hard work and bravery of the astronauts, engineers, NASA administrators, and even politians like President Kennedy, who have struggled to put the smartest men in the world onto the face of the moon and safely back to earth before the end of the decade. You will get to know, intimately, each astronaut, the wives of these brave men, and the men and women behind the works of the most powerful and sophisticated engineering of the time. After watching this, I am sure you will have a tear-jerking appreciation of this painstakingly accomplishment and give praise to all the customer reviewers who have given this no less than FIVE STARS. On a scale from 1 to 10, I give it an eleven(11).

Rating:
Summary: A Healthy Emphasis on the Human Side of Manned Space Flight
Review: This is a very good set of videos. They portray the many aspects of the space program showing both its successes and failures as well as the issues faced by NASA at the time. What I especially enjoyed was the emphasis on people and their feelings. All of the episodes were good, but 3 of them especially stand out in my mind. First, "The Spider". Engineers are so often perceived as "technogeeks", but this episode (about the design of the LEM) showed that feelings and creativity are as much a part of engineering as art. Second, "Is That all There Is". This episode shows the close friendship and humorous antics of the Apollo 12 astronauts. So often the human element is ignored in major technical feats, yet this episode, as told through the eyes of Al Bean, demonstrates that friendship and fun as well as inspiration are all a part of major technological achievements. The participants in the great acts of history are not stuffy, unfeeling automatons, but are people like you and me. Third, "Galileo Was Right". In this episode, the astronauts of Apollo 15 are bored by geology professors teaching them the science they need for their mission. But one of the back up crew recruits a former professor who inspires and touches the lives of these "flying jocks". Again, one sees that human elements like patience, imagination, perseverence and inspiration are all needed to make technicle things successful. And this episode highlights the value of the teaching profession. I am very glad to add this set to my video collection.

Rating:
Summary: Send me to the Moon, Let me Swing Among the Stars
Review: I used to have a casual interest in the space program prior to watching the series, but upon taking the kind of intimate look into the truly Herculian task of sending (and equally important, returning) a man to the surface of the moon as portrayed by this series, I gained a complete new respect for the men (and the wives of those men) who took such a bolt step into the future.

Rating:
Summary: Thank You So Much, HBO, Mr Hanks, Chaikin & Grazer.
Review: I waited many years for somebody to make a series like this. When 'The Right Stuff' came out I waited impatiently for some kind of follow up, but it never came. Until now. Finally, after Ron Howard's wonderful 'Apollo 13', we have this extraordinary series. We get to see the Astronauts, their families and Nasa management as something other than two-dimensional history book figures. Myself and many others cannot express our gratitude enough for the existence of 'From The Earth To The Moon'. The series gives good coverage of the Gemini program which often tends to be overlooked, although a portrayal of the remarkable events of Gemini 6 and 7 would have been welcome. I know that there was only limited running time and budget to show certain missions. But more details of the near-mutiny of Apollo 7, the white-knuckle events of Apollo 10 and the problem solving of Apollo 16 could have been important additions to the series. Perhaps one day someone will make a long-overdue movie or series about Yuri Gagarin and the eventful Russian space program, Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz mission. And one day, someone could tell the tales of the early Shuttle program and the Challenger tragedy. Manned spaceflight has many tales left to tell. But for now, 'From The Earth To The Moon' is a magnificent and very comprehensive start.

Rating:
Summary: From the Earth to the Moon
Review: Great documentary- brings you into the middle of the action. You get to learn a lot of what takes place in getting humans into space and what dedication and determination really means. Wonder if NASA will ever let Tom Hanks go up in space....

Rating:
Summary: HBO's best
Review: HBO has done a superb job in telling the story of "the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventures on which mankind has ever embarked." - JFK. With a cast of hundreds and a staggering budget of close to 70 million, Tom Hanks and HBO have woven together stories from the Apollo program into one 12-episode miniseries.

The first episode, "Can We Do This?," begins with the early years of American space exploration. Alan Shepard's heart stopping Freedom 7 flight is skillfully portrayed and Ed White's first Gemini spacewalk is seen. It really is a great beginning. "Apollo 1" gets right to the point. Within 5 minutes after the start of the episode the fire occurs. Most of the rest of the episode chronicles the investigation with the Apollo 204 Review Board and the clash between Harrison Storms and Joe Shea. It's got a really neat ending, probably the best of the series. "We Have Cleared the Tower" follows the Apollo 7 crew training all the way up to the launch as seen by a documentary crew filming the mission. If you want to know what it's like before a mission, this is the episode for you. "1968" I honestly thought was the worst episode. A lot of it is just a bunch of stock news footage from '68 and it keeps switching from color to those annoying black and white shots. However, this episode survives because later on it has an excellent scene as the Apollo 8 crew witnesses the first earthrise seen by humans. The episode also has some great in-flight scenes while the crew is in lunar orbit. "Spider" is by far one of the best. It has a good story mixed with a little dose of humor. It's really interesting seeing all the work that went into the lunar module and the Apollo 9 flight. This one also has a great ending. The only bad thing is it gives only 30 seconds devoted to the Apollo 10 mission. "Mare Tranquilities" is a great episode, but could have been better. I got sick of the interviews mixed in with different scenes. It isn't until the end that you see the actual mission, when Apollo 11 is already in lunar orbit. But the episode is still good because of the fast paced landing and the goose-bump filled first step. It's a scene you can't get enough of. "That's All There Is" is a fun one. The Apollo 12 crew was best friends and it showed. This episode is one of the most enjoyable and is a great one to watch with friends, especially if you are the only space buff. Astronaut Al Bean narrates the episode. "We Interrupt This Program" follows the press covering the flight of Apollo 13. The producers were creative and did not show any shots of the crew in space except at the beginning. The reason for this is because they did not want to compete with the movie Apollo 13 and they wanted something new and different. "For Miles and Miles" is another one that could have been better. It's got a slow start but a good ending. The episode follows Alan Shepard's road to return to the flight rotation. "Galileo Was Right" is a great one. It is interesting and fun as you watch the Apollo 15 crew go through geology training and eventually go to the moon and drive the lunar rover. One of the best. "The Original Wives Club" has not been one that I have watched over and over. It tells the astronaut wives' story and what went on behind the scenes while the astronauts were training for the Apollo program. It has only about five minutes worth of Apollo 16 footage, which was a disappointment. But it is an interesting one. "Le Voyage Da Na Lune" has to be the most creative episode there was. Mixing scenes of an early 20th century film crew filming a movie about a science fiction voyage to the moon as well as Apollo 17 footage. It also features interviews with the "astronauts," which are actually the actors who played them, speaking of Apollo. It ends with parts of Kennedy's speech and the astronaut's names scrolling across the screen.

From the Earth to the Moon has to be the best thing HBO has ever done. The accuracy makes it seem almost like you were there in the 60s and 70s, watching as mankind voyaged to another world. I have watched many episodes almost a dozen times because I can't get enough of it. If you are interested in Apollo or even if you lived during Apollo and want to re-live the adventures, then get this now. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: This may be the greatest tv series ever. It has everything: beautiful pictures, adventure, inspired acting and great directing. The series takes the viewer through a host of different emotions--joy, grief, disappointment, among others. The shots in space are realistic and the variety of actors is great (even Chris Isaak makes an appearance as an astronaut). To top it off, you're learning history as you watch. Tom Hanks did a great job with this one.

Rating:
Summary: One of the finest pieces of film-making...
Review: 'Adventure', 'Imagination', 'Danger', 'Bravery', 'Heroes' - all these things are the ingredients which writers and film-makers have used throughout the ages to enthrall and entertain us... This series had the added benefit of being the story of the incredible genius and bravery of some extraordinary human beings... It saddens me, as a British film-maker, that Britain no longer has the imagination or the ability to make such a series... Thankfully, there are still real film-makers in the States and, using the talents of so many skilled and gifted people, they made this unmissiable series... It is a fitting legacy to the men and women who were and who still are the right stuff!

Rating:
Summary: The definitive chronicle of the American Space Program.
Review: Until the movie Apollo 13 came to the screen, many were unaware, or had forgotten of that event, or of the many facets, the visions, the energies that made up the American Space program in the 1960s. A program with a dictate set forth by President Kennedy: to get men to the moon, and return, safely, before the end of the decade.

This 12-hour (12 x one-hour segments) tribute is the personal mission of two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, a man with a childhood love for the astronauts and the space program, and a man with enough clout to get this big-budget extravaganza made.

Each segment is in and of itself a story, each with a different point-of-view on the major aspects of the program. Certainly the main events-the first manned flight, the Apollo 1 fire, the lunar landing, the Apollo 13 emergency, are all there. But quite differently than what we've seen previously, here we have an opportunity to relive much of the day-to-day, aspects-the politics, the personalities, the emotions, of many, many of the key individuals. The astronauts, the engineers, the administrators, the news people, the wives-they all get wonderfully recognized.

Since I'm about the same age as Mr. Hanks, I admit to being a space freak myself as a youngster-at the time these events actually happened. At that time I waited every week, for Time, Newsweek and Life magazine to give me the pictures, and accounts of the activity at NASA.

It's oh so appropriate to have this wonderful tribute to this important piece of American history.