Apollo 13

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular account of a dramatic event
Review: Almost nine years after have watched the movie for the first time and nearly 34 years since the events it inspired took place, the movie "Apollo 13" seems even more captivating. The story of Apollo 13, for any who have followed the space program and especially for those who witnessed it, is as gripping a story as has ever been told throughout American history. It is fraught with drama, intrigue, plot twists, and thrilling danger. What's more, it all really happened! In April of 1970, the American public was already viewing the amazing accomplishment of landing on the Moon as passé and could not have cared less about the Apollo 13 mission. Interest was so apathetic that the astronaut broadcast as the ship was about to enter lunar orbit was not even carried on television. The fickle public certainly had its interest piqued when, not long after the unwatched broadcast, a simple house-cleaning maneuver (stirring the oxygen tanks) exposed a deadly flaw that led to a tremendous explosion. That explosion sent Apollo 13 flying out of control, ended any hopes of landing on the Moon, and left fate of the three astronauts (Commander Jim Lovell, LM pilot Fred Haise, and Command Module pilot Jack Swigert) very much in doubt. The heroic efforts put forth by the members of Mission Control, as well as the astronauts themselves, the bring Apollo 13 safely back to Earth is one of the greatest stories ever told.

Acclaimed director, Ron Howard, saw this and, inspired by Lovell's own personal account of that mission crafted one of the truly great historical films to ever hit the screen. "Apollo 13" is a true cinematic achievement. It re-ignites the imagination and wonder that the space program held in the 1960's and early 1970's. Using cutting-edge special effects in service of the story (as opposed to in place of it), Howard is able to give audiences a true up close view of the entire Apollo mission. Using archive footage to craft the special effects scenes, the director is able to make launch seem lifelike, as if the viewer is standing atop the tower watching the rocket about to lift off. The scenes in space are well crafted and extraordinarily realistic. When the astronauts are forced to shutdown much of the lunar module, and all of the command module, to conserve power, the abject cold and forlornness that these men were forced to endure is felt by the audience. The true mark of this film's greatness is found in the fact that, even though we know from history that the men of Apollo 13 survived, the final moments during re-entry, as played out in the movie, are still incredibly gripping and tense. Then, the emotional release that comes knowing they made it is so overwhelming that even the most cynical, hard-hearted viewer will get choked with emotion.

The storytelling and effects of "Apollo 13" are great, but the film would likely have still fallen short if not for the tremendous cast hired to perform these roles. Tom Hanks is solid as the unflappable Jim Lovell, Bill Paxton (who seems to always find a way into every blockbuster) is good as the trusted, but untested rookie Fred Haise, and Kevin Bacon gives an accurate portrayal of last minute replacement Jack Swigert. Gary Sinise plays Ken Mattingly, the astronaut Swigert replaced due to fears of a measles infection, with appropriate melancholy. The other truly standout performance is turned in by Ed Harris, who plays the no-nonsense rock of a flight director, Gene Kranz. Harris truly deserved his Oscar nomination for this performance and there is certainly a strong argument to be made for him to have won the award over eventually Supporting Actor winner, Kevin Spacey. "Apollo 13", itself, was a strong contender for Best Picture honors, only losing out to the worthy "Braveheart". The one baffling question is why Ron Howard was omitted from the Best Director nominations (he would have to wait 7 more years before receiving his due for "A Beautiful Mind").

"Apollo 13" is not only a great thriller; it is also a telling history lesson. It enables us to remember those wondrous days of the quest to reach the Moon, as well as the drama of that imperiled flight. These days, it is disheartening to realize how the space program has stagnated since those heady days. "Apollo 13" proves, beyond a doubt, that we still have the men with the will, knowledge, and courage to take this space exploration to places beyond imagination.

Rating:
Summary: NASA's finest hour
Review: To truly appreciate this film it may be necessary to see the TV mini series, "The Right Stuff". However "Apollo 13" stands on its own nearly as well. It is the story of the Apollo 13 NASA mission to land on the moon. It was to be the third landing, Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong being the first. Unfortunately Murphy was at the helm and anything that could go wrong did.

While the film was based on reality, it actually went fairly close to showing reality, (a once on a blue moon event, ha ha). The only deviations, (determined after reading Jim Lovell's account), were minor and for the sake of simplifying complex situations or dramatizing an otherwise technical problem.

The cast was terrific. Tom Hanks as Lovell was at his usual brilliant best. He was well supported by Bill Paxton, (who seems to get parts in a lot of great films), playing astronaut Fred Haise. And I want to give a special mention to Kevin Bacon, who played Jack Swigert, for a better than usual effort. He is really starting to mature as an actor. I am a fan of Gary Sinise, so it would be remiss of me not to praise his work as Ken Mattingly, the astronaut that is bumped from the mission due to a potential case of measles.

The whole film was created from scratch, that is to say no old NASA launch footage was used. The quality of the effects makes the film seem more real than actual space missions. The director, Ron Howard, was advised by actual astronauts and assisted by NASA, (for an enormous fee). Even to the point of using true free fall environments to film the appropriate space sequences and as far as I know, that is a first in movie history.

I see no point in giving a blow by blow rendition of this film, if your are interested, read a history text. Suffice to say that it is not only educational but thoroughly moving.

Rating:
Summary: Great science fiction
Review: Apollo 13 is an exciting film about a trip to the moon, filmed "documentary style" as if it really happened. of course the whole thing was faked, and here's why-
Facts about the Moon

An average days temperature on the moon ranges from 260° F to 280° F, too for film to survive. At those temperatures, film crinkles up into a ball.

About 20 miles about the Earth, there is a radiation belt named the Van Allen belt. No human can get through this belt, If you try than you get hit with 300+ rads of radiation. Unless they are surrounded on each side by 4 feet on lead.

There are millions of micro-metors traveling at speeds up to 6000 MPH, which would tear the ship to pieces.

If you look at the pictures/video of people on the moon, you will never see more than 3 stars.

When the LEM set down on the Lunar surface, it gave out 3000 lb. worth of thrust. This would have created a massive hole underneath the Lunar Module, but in pictures of the Lunar Module, the ground underneath is untouched.
But why would they do it?

I have come up with three reasons why NASA would fake a landing on the moon:

MONEY. NASA gathered about 30 billion dollars pretending to go to the moon. That means that someone is getting a lot of money in their pockets.

ATTENTION. If you ever saw the movie "Wag the Dog", the president has sexual relations with a 12 year old. This information goes out to the media 1 week before elections. So, to get the publics mind off of the little Girl, the president stages a war with Albania. The moon shots were the same concept. People did not like what was going on with the Vietnam war, so, to get the publics mind off of all the bad things going on in Vietnam, the US faked a moon landing. If you check your dates, we abruptly stopped going to the moon around the same time the Vietnam War Ended. (

TO WIN THE SPACE RACE -- Back in the late 60's early 70's, Russia and the US were in a heated battle to see, well, pretty much who was better. Once the US realized that they couldn't send a man to the moon, they couldn't just say, "OK Russia, we give up."

I recommed this movie if you are able to forget all the facts and just enjoy a well told story.

Rating:
Summary: High Drama
Review: Everything about this movie is five-star, the direction, the cast, the story, all working together to produce the recreation of real-life high drama!

All the pieces of the story are tightly woven together to tell a riveting tale that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat and takes them on an emotional roller coaster.

This is a story that had to be retold, and a movie that had to be made!

Rating:
Summary: "We've just lost the Moon!"
Review: With those words, Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) tells his crew that their Lunar landing mission had taken a desperate turn to a fight for survival.

"Apollo 13" shows that, while the three men in space were heroes, there were many unheralded heroes on the ground, from a grounded-by-measles fellow astronaut to a bunch of guys with slide rules. Spaceflight is a team effort -- bringing the astros home after disaster took everything that NASA and the aerospace contractors had to give.

This dramatization of real events is a MUST BUY for any space buff, but it is also a well-written historical adventure with a cliffhanger ending.

Special features on the dual-layer disc include the almost-obligatory theatrical trailer, a documentary on the production of the film (including the zero-Gee scenes), and the real prize is an alternate soundtrack with Jim and Marilyn Lovell commenting on the movie!

If you are looking for a disc to show your friends WHY you bought DVD in the first place "Apollo 13" may very well be the one END

Rating:
Summary: An exciting and inspiring film. The DVD is loaded.
Review: Even though I hope to become an astronaut in 10 years or so, I didn't see this film when it was released in 1995. Now, 6 years later, the DVD version does it great credit. This is truly an inspiring film, with stellar performances from the entire cast. The CG effects in the movie are spectacularly realistic. Although it's not 100% techically or historically accurate, it still leaves you with great respect for the Apollo 13 astronauts and the flight crew that brought them home. This film is a tribute to Ron Howard's directing genius and to human ingenuity.

If you're going to purchase this film, get the special edition DVD. It's loaded with goodies, including the film's theatrical trailer, an interesting short "making of" film, and lots of data on the cast and crew. Universal really does a good job with their DVDs (I have their DVD release of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) and I'm very impressed with the quality.

In conclusion, this is a must-buy film for any space enthusiast or anybody who loves watching exciting historical films. The musical score by James Horner is out of this world, and as I said before, the acting is teriffic. Add this to your wish list or shopping cart now. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A Dandy Film! And A Terrific "Collector's Edition" DVD!
Review: 1995's "Apollo 13" is a well-crafted and truly inspiring motion picture, based on the actual events of the nearly-doomed Apollo 13 moon mission in April 1970.

Director Ron Howard guides this project with passion. A passion that seems to be equally shared by each and every one of his starring actors on screen -- Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton, and Ed Harris. Plus, there's the ever-appealing Kathleen Quinlan, as Hanks' wife. Quinlan and Howard worked together more than two decades prior to this movie -- on "American Graffiti" (Kathleen had a very small role in that 1973 film, which starred Howard).

Three astronauts' lives hang in the balance during the last half of this finely-tuned film, as the Apollo 13 spacecraft suffers a major "problem" on board. An oxygen tank explodes, crippling the craft and endangering the lives of the moon-bound passengers (Astronauts Lovell, Haise, and Swigert -- portrayed by Hanks, Paxton, and Bacon, respectively).

Some of the more dramatic dialogue-driven scenes on board the spacecraft are fictionalized, but most of this film (from what I've been able to discern) is derived from actual, true events. With much of the dialogue between Mission Control and the spacecraft being taken (nearly verbatim) from the official NASA tapes and transcripts.

This single-disc (and single-sided) Universal "Collector's Edition" DVD delivers the goods admirably IMO, with very good picture quality, excellent 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound (with the rousing music score shining through especially well), and some nice bonus features to boot.

The film is presented here in its original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1. This is the perfect screen shape for this film, in my view -- nice and w-i-d-e! And it looks great via this anamorphically-enhanced DVD transfer.

DVD Special Features include a very informative and extremely fun-to-watch Making-Of documentary, "Lost Moon". This feature, which runs 58 minutes, begins with a nicely well-preserved clip of the real three Apollo 13 astronauts being introduced by Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" (circa May 1970). Director Ron Howard, and the cast members, add much insight into the making of this technically-challenging motion picture, including stories (with film clips) from rehearsals inside the KC-135 aircraft (a modified Boeing 707 jetliner) known as "The Vomit Comet", which was used by the filmmakers to simulate weightlessness. Interesting stuff here.

Also on tap on the DVD are two Audio Commentary Tracks (one of them by Director Howard), the film's Theatrical Trailer, and some extensive text notes.

This DVD package also contains a multi-page (fold-out type) paper insert, which contains Production Notes, Chapter Lists (for both the film AND the nearly-hour-long documentary, which is broken down into 13 "chapters" itself), and some photographs.

Plus -- Don't forget about the really cool "Easter Egg" on this disc. Well, I guess you could say it's not really an "Egg", being that it isn't really "hidden" here. But it isn't an "advertised" bonus on the packaging, at any rate. -- By just popping in the disc and getting to the "Main Menu", you thereby get to the unadvertised bonus of the "Complete Musical Score" to the film, which will play non-stop to its end by just leaving the Main Menu on the screen. Pretty nifty indeed. An excellent idea, I think, for incorporating an "Isolated Music Score" onto a DVD. I wish more DVDs had this nice musical feature. The music score can be "advanced" to the next "track" (or music segment) by using your remote's "Skip" or "Chapter Advance" key. (You can only go "forward" in the score, however. The "Skip Back" button has been disabled for this bonus feature; at least it has been on my player.)

"Apollo 13" is a good film to re-visit occasionally -- and this well-done Universal Collector's Edition DVD makes doing just that even a greater pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding film, first-rate DVD
Review: Apollo 13 is a rare combination. Good acting, quality direction, a compelling story, and rich DVD. Tom Hanks nearly won his third consecutive Oscar for this effort, and very deservedly so. Even with the movie's foregone conclusion (it IS a historical film) Ron Howard manages to keep tremendous tension in tightly strung film. Overall, Apollo 13 is a tremendously entertaining movie that performs the unique effort of keeping historical faithfulness, personal interest, and the big picture all in razor sharp focus.

This DVD continues in the path of the original film, carrying a ton of rich information. By far the most interesting feature of the movie is the commentary track by Jim and Marilyn Lovell. Jim Lovell, besides having an excellent memory of the events depicted, clearly has a tremendous appreciation for the moviemaking process. When he points out the differences between the film and what actually happened, he also does a fine job of exlpaining WHY the change was made in way that makes you feel comfortable with the whole film. The Lovells also have a tremendous appreciation for Tom Hanks, pointing many of the small gestures, turns of phrases, and other idiosyncracies of Jim Lovell that he picked up and blended into his performance. This is one of the best commentary tracks on any film.

The documentaries showing the experiences of the actors, the research involved, and the details of the actual events provide a rich and informative backdrop for the movie. Considering this DVD was released before Hollywood really got the hang of what people wanted in special editions, this is an incredible DVD. A definite purchase for fans of the movie or space exploration.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD release for a great movie.
Review: Director Ron Howard's acclaimed 1995 space drama about the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. This has been one of my favorite movies since the first time I saw it in the theater. High drama, great character moments, and an exploration of the human spirit, all brought together masterfully on the screen with innovative filmmaking techniques, great special effects, and a brilliant score by composer James Horner.

Ron Howard captures the spirit and reality of the Apollo era in an amazingly accurate and entertaining film. There are certain sacrifices in accuracy for dramatic value, but overall, the message and story are delivered intact. The work and attention to detail put into this film is phenomenal.

The DVD release doesn't disappoint. This was one of the first "fully-loaded" discs before special edition releases became common. First is a very interesting an informative documentary on the making of the film. There's not one, but two commentary tracks included (one with director Ron Howard, and one will real-life hero Jim Lovell and wife Marilyn). Commentaries are my favorite aspect of the DVD format, because they allow the director and/or people who worked on the film to provide the viewer with their own personal perspective on their work. Both of these commentaries are informative and interesting.

The acting is great. The story is great. The DVD is great. Pick this up - you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: I'M ROOTIN' FOR AMERICA!
Review: "Apollo 13" (1995) was Ron Howard's excellent, patriotic re-enactment of the 1970 moonshot that went awry. The Soviets offered their assistance, but NASA said they would handle their own house, and they did. It is virtually impossible to conceive that any other country on Earth could have produced astronauts and ground crew that could have gotten that ship home safely. Howard makes a film that has you waving the flag when you walk out. At least you should.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
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