Apollo 13 - Special Edition
Plot Outline
On April 11 1970, three men set off on the thirteenth Apollo mission, and although there was nothing routine about landing on the moon to the professionals in the space program, public apathy had already set in. This was the third time Americans would have landed on the moon, and whilst experienced veteran Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) did a live broadcast from the spac.....
Plot Outline
On April 11 1970, three men set off on the thirteenth Apollo mission, and although there was nothing routine about landing on the moon to the professionals in the space program, public apathy had already set in. This was the third time Americans would have landed on the moon, and whilst experienced veteran Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks)_did a live broadcast from the spaceship with rookies Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), America watched 'I dream of Jeanie'.
But the failure of a tiny component caused an explosion in their service module on the outward journey, leading to catastrophic reduction in oxygen and battery power. With all hopes of landing on the moon gone, NASA rewrote the mission to one of getting their astronauts home. It would take the combined talents of everyone at Mission Control led by Flight Director Gene Krantz (Ed Harris), with the help of replaced crew member Ken Mattingley (Gary Sinese), and the astronauts themselves to achieve it. Suddenly the world was watching again.
Review
Movies based on true stories often have to make compromises to tell the story in a cinematically acceptable fashion, and that often leads to factual inaccuracies. In a story as technically complex as Apollo 13 the problem is compounded by the wealth of technical detail, so it is to the credit of all concerned that NASA personnel and advisors have said it exceeded their expectations, and it will stand as the most complete record which surpasses their own archive footage.
This is in no small measure due to the interest that Ron Howard and Tom Hanks had for the material, originally independently of each other, and then in concert as the reality of making the movie crystallised. As each cast member came on board, that enthusiasm spread. So much so that they all went on flights on NASA's KC-135 plane to experience weightlessness which led, after many calls to convince the top brass that they were serious, to flying over six hundred parabolas with the set inside the plane to get genuine zero gravity scenes inside the capsule. Any time someone goes to that much trouble to get a movie made... I'm impressed.
Ron Howard is a master of large cast movies with complex relationships and Apollo 13 is no exception. Here the drama is split for most of the film between groups in three locations; Apollo 13, Mission Control, and the Lovell family home. Yet Howard manages to weave these in the editing of the piece so that you get a real sense of a connected narrative, even when there is no dialog that is actually being shared between the participants in those locations. A lesser director might have been tempted to run an invented sub-plot to hold it together but Howard has no need for that, and relies on the natural drama of the story and the evident quality of the actors.
It's a long movie but it doesn't feel it, as everything has a place in moving the story forward and there isn't a moment which feels surplus to requirements or indulgent. Great care was taken to get the language of the technicians and astronauts right, and members of the cast were given transcripts and tapes of both flight and ground recordings for research. As a result, if the buzz words or an acronyms are totally alien to us it doesn't matter, because we instinctively feel it is meaningful to them and we ultimately understand through the actions and consequences that follow.
The period is well recreated and Hanks, Paxton, Bacon, Sinise and Harris are all excellent, as you would expect. Hanks and Harris particularly have great screen presence and it must have been tempting to allow them at least one scene where they directly converse with each other. But that would not have respected the protocols for communications which go via the command control desk, so it doesn't happen. Yet the scene is even more powerful as a result.
To focus on the male cast however would be to overlook the superb job done by Kathleen Quinlan, who has the task of portraying Marion Lovell. This is a woman who had watched her husband blast off into space on three previous missions and had to do so again despite an unsettling feeling bought about by a superstition which her husband did not share. NASA may not have been superstitious then, but there has never been a mission 13 in any program since.
And when it all went wrong, she had to hold the family together and portray a mask of stoic confidence to everyone, despite every temptation to give in to her own fears. All this Kathleen Quinlan manages to do with relatively little screen time, and an honesty that signals a great performance. Even though you know how it ends I was caught each time of viewing with moist eyes, which is OK in your own living room but a bit embarrassing watching it on a portable on the way in to Liverpool Street.
I must also mention the child actors as well, as so often it is their less than ideal performances that break the spell and remind me I'm watching a movie. All of them really are very good and help sell the reality of the piece, especially when called on to show anxiety, fear, and cry on cue at the prospect of their losing their father in space.
All the elements are here that make a great film - strong story, believable characters, triumph over adversity, touches of humour, credible dialog, great images and sound to immerse you in the moment, and solid performances that add up to an experience worthy of repeat viewing.
Video
Having no reference source for comparison, I can only assume the grain, colour and slightly soft look are all deliberate choices by Ron Howard to evoke the period. If so, they are faithfully rendered in the transfer, with consistent colour, nice solid blacks and no visible artifacts. The transfer is marred by a few instances of dirt and white specks early on, and one very noticeable hair that appears in a scene leading up to take off. After that I wasn't aware of any significant image problems.
So, not a disaster but it's a shame they are present at all on a film only ten years old, especially as there was a digital restoration of the print prepared for IMAX cinemas that is included on the R1 anniversary edition. The IMAX version is shorter on running time by twenty minutes though, so you have to wonder why they didn't clean up the full theatrical version instead as this would be used on all the releases.
Audio
The down mix to stereo produced quite low levels of sound on my TV in places and I had to turn the volume up more than usual - quite a shock if you forget to knock it back down again before the kids flip back to Cartoon Network! That may have been just an issue with my set-up, or something that will have been fixed by the retail pressing.
But those with cinema sound systems will appreciate the Dolby 5.1 track which produces a wonderful listening experience, with dialog clear throughout. The R2 release benefits by having a DTS soundtrack as well (only present on the IMAX version in R1), and here the sound is even more impressive. There's a richer feel to music and dialog alike, with even better presence across the whole soundscape, and as you can imagine, the sub-woofer gets a real workout during lift-off. Like Lord of the Rings, this is a disk that really shows the benefits of a DTS capable system and will have any friends yet to make the investment rushing to upgrade.
Extras
Both disks have a start-up that get to the menus via a Universal logo, two warning screens and a disclaimer (not skippable), a language selection screen, and then finally you get to the menu via a moving image lead-in (which mercifully you can skip past). I only mention this because every time I went back to the menu it would insist on going through all but the Universal logo again which believe me gets quite tedious. Especially as this seemed to be the only way to change audio tracks. OK, so not something you need to do a lot when watching the movie straight through but as a reviewer it gets very tedious - very quickly.
The menus themselves have some evocative music and images behind the text, but the scene selection is rather static and uninteresting. There are 20 chapter stops in all, and With only 4 scenes per screen of selections it's a shame they didn't make them a little larger, and for a special edition one could reasonably expected something a little more exciting.
A choice of two very different commentary tracks accompany the movie. The first is by the director, Ron Howard. Although it inevitably does cover some of the same ground as the 'Lost Moon' documentary, he demonstrates a thorough recall of the making of the film which takes you even further into the creative process. His enthusiasm is evident throughout and it feels more like listening to a friend conversing than a prepared list of anecdotes and cast and crew acknowledgements that typify some director commentaries.
The other commentary track is by Jim and Marion Lovell, and although not as slick and flowing as Ron Howard's it is fascinating to hear more reactions to the portrayal of themselves and of the accuracy of the events as dramatised in the film. What also comes over is that stated by Ron in his commentary; that they have a very strong marriage that has survived extraordinary pressures, and how Marion acts as a grounding influence for Jim.
Both are well worth a listen.
All the remaining bonus materials are found on disk 2, the most significant of which is 'Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13, a 58 minute 'making of' documentary that takes it's name from the book on which the film is based. It is a good balance of comment from crew, advisors, cast and their real life counterparts. Also included is archive footage of the day, including a US chat show host stumbling painfully through an introduction that makes you very glad our TV is generally better in the UK. Shame they chose this to open the piece, but thankfully it does get better. There's some content on the effects but probably not enough to satisfy the real enthusiasts.
Oddly enough the original R1 release included this documentary, as well as a featurette dedicated to the effects, comparisons to archive footage, and Bill Paxton's home movies at 'training school'. All of these last items have been dropped from both the anniversary releases in favour of the other two featurettes; "Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond" and "Lucky 13: The Astronauts Story" (what makes you think the typesetters had an excess of colons to offload?).
Taking them in order, "Conquering Space" is a recent 48 minute documentary on the space race which unlike NASA output of the day, acknowledges the original Russian superiority. It is a very good encapsulation of 50 years of space exploration and a useful catch up for anyone who hasn't lived through it. There are many contributions from Jim Lovell and other NASA specialists that are very accessible to audiences of all ages.
"Lucky 13" is a 'Dateline' NBC show transmitted at the time of the movie's release. A swift 12 minute telling of the story using archive footage, technician and astronaut interviews, with a few clips from the movie and reconstructions using animation for good measure. You'll learn more from "Lost Moon" and the movie itself of course, but it does correctly credit Command Centre technician John Aaron for creating the power up procedures that the movie gives under artistic licence to Ken Mattingly.
A lacklustre full frame trailer make up the package, but by this time you'll be so familiar with the story that you can safely miss it. The only 'new' element is the shot of a rocket stage falling away to make one of the O's of Apollo in the title, which is admittedly a great shot.
Overall
The real worth of this package is the movie itself, the commentaries and the main documentary. As all but the documentary were released only a few years ago in R2, those with that version will find it hard to get excited by this release, although audiophiles may find the addition of the DTS track swings it for them.
Everybody else who has yet to add the film to their collection should seriously consider a purchase, as it has quality, integrity, and attention to detail in spades, all wrapped up in an unashamedly uplifting narrative.
When Americans celebrate success in movie form they can often seem unnecessarily self congratulatory to audiences elsewhere in the world, but this is surely one example where such celebration in excellence of human endeavour is more than justified.
Click here to view a trailer.
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