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DVD Apollo 13 (Full Screen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious filmmaking techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. --Jeff Shannon
Review(s): DVD Apollo 13 (Full Screen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
Rear channel sound?
The sound in the original release of Apollo 13 had virtually no rear channel information, which was really disappointing. For example, in the scene in the vehicle assembly building, there's nothing from the rear when the big boom happens. Did they do a better job on this one?
I believe this will be our finest hour...
APOLLO 13 is a unique adventure story that finds its magic in the history books. And although the film is more cinematic, the story it is based is easily more dangerous. It is also amazing that this story has faded from our psyche.
The unlucky 13th Mission was to be a moon landing, but after several mishaps beginning with a last minute crew change, a mechanical malfunction cripples the crew and the space capsule, changing its mission to one of survival. The lunar lander is used as a lifeboat, the only chance the astronauts have for survival.
Ron Howard put away his "Opie Taylor" fishing rod long enough to direct one of the richest human ensembles in awhile. Sure, Tom Hanks is excellent as astronaut Jim Lovell, but it is the people surrounding him that are the real treat. Kathleen Quinlan is wonderful as Jim Lovell's wife Marilyn. Her strength and humanity keeps this space adventure grounded on earth. And she shows exactly how difficult the situation is. She is extremely gifted in communicating sub-text. Her reaction watching the show-stoppng launch sends chills through the viewer. Gary Sinise is also wonderful as 'grounded' astronaut Ken Mattingly and helps add respect to the nuts and bolts mechanics that could easily have buried this film in the doldrums. Ed Harris puts in his finest performance yet as Gene Kranz, the head of ground control. His performance has some incredible nuances as he postpones his emotions for a time when they can be dealt with, after the crew was back on terra firma. Surprisingly, Ron's brother Clint also excels as one of the ground controllers. He is left with some very funny lines and does his brother proud.
The film was a major commercial success and it deserves to be, with wonderful special effects that actually serve the picture and a triumphant musical score by James Horner (TITANIC). Overall, this film delivers in spades and, along with the RIGHT STUFF and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, makes for a great rainy weekend marathon.
Watch for the real Jim Lovell saluting Hanks onboard the military carrier at the end of the film! The DVD has nice sound that will challenge your receiver and 2 extremely interesting commentaries as well as a making of documentary. This was an early DVD release so the video could use another remaster.
Houston, we have a problem.
Houston, we have a GREAT MOVIE here. Do you copy?
+++++
This movie is a dramatized version of the real life near-tragedy of Apollo 13.
Apollo 13 was the third mission to land men on the Moon and the Apollo program's first aborted mission. An explosion in one of the oxygen tanks crippled the spacecraft during flight. The Lunar Module (used only to land on the Moon) was used to provide emergency propulsion and life support after the loss of the service module system. The crew was forced to just orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
Here are the facts of the Apollo 13 (AS-508) mission:
(1) Lunar Module: Aquarius
(2) Command and Service Module: Odyssey
(3) Crew: Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module pilot Jack Swigert**, Lunar Module pilot: Fred Haise
(4) Launch: April 11, 1970
(5) Landing site: near Fra Mauro (one of the Moon's craters)
(6) Returned to Earth: April 17, 1970
** The initial pilot Tom Mattingly was removed 72 hours prior to launch due to presumed exposure to German measles. (He later flew on Apollo 16.)
Director Ron Howard has taken these bare facts (and the book "Lost Moon" co-authored by Jim Lovell who served as technical consultant on this movie) and made an unforgettable adventure, drama, and history movie using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious movie-making techniques.
There are actually three stories in this movie:
(1) The astronauts struggle to stay alive
(2) The controlled chaos at NASA who try to solve the numerous problems caused by the explosion
(3) The trauma faced by the astronaut's families
The acting is superb. Tom Hanks as Lovell and Ed Harris as Mission Control Director Gene Kranz give especially good performances. Also look for the fine performance of Gary Sinise as bumped astronaut Ken Mattingly. Ron Howard does not make the mistake of letting the special effects upstage these terrific performances. (Ron Howard's real-life mother also has a role in this movie.)
Another highlight of this movie is the actual historical news footage that was used. Look for people like Neil Armstrong (the first person to set foot on the Moon in July, 1969) as well as Jim and Marilyn Lovell among this footage.
The movie ends with Hanks as Lovell summarizing the "seven extraordinary days of Apollo 13" and he ends his summary with this statement:
"I look up at the Moon and wonder when we will be going back and who will that be?"
Finally, the anniversary edition DVD is flawless with respect to picture and sound quality. It has eight interesting extras. The most notable extra is that the entire movie is also presented in IMAX.
In conclusion, be sure to see this incredible movie and see why it was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture!!
(1995; 2 hr 20 min; widescreen; 2 discs)
+++++
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