AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => Movie reviews => Topic started by: Barry on March 23, 2025, 03:21:44 PM
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Apollo 13: From Earth to the Moon
Apollo 13, a 1995 movie directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, is based on Jim Lovell’s book “Lost Moon.” It recounts the true story of the near-disaster of a three-man mission to the moon in 1970. While the movie fictionalizes and dramatizes certain moments, it remains largely accurate, reflecting the real-life experiences of astronauts Lovell, Hanse, and Swigert.
Despite its fictionalized elements, the movie maintains suspense throughout and almost seems like the plot is entirely fabricated. However, the basic premise is based on a real event.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable movie, and even though you know the ending, it keeps you in suspense.
I found a video version that was mostly satisfactory, but occasionally the face would appear red and grainy. So, I’d rate the video quality at a nine out of ten. The audio is excellent and supports DTSX, which is outstanding.
From Earth to the Moon:
I wanted to highlight something I thought was particularly noteworthy. Three years after the movie’s release, HBO produced a 12-part mini-series based on Andrew Chaikin’s book, “A Man on the Moon,” published in 1994. This series is highly accurate in recounting the story of Apollo and the early stages of the space program. It closely follows the book and cleverly avoids repetition in discussing each flight. Each episode covers a chapter of space exploration, and each one is exceptionally well-crafted. I’ll just mention two as particularly noteworthy examples.
I initially bought the DVDs of these when they were first released, shot in the 3 x 4 aspect ratio, which was the standard for television at the time. To modernize the format, when they re-released them a few years ago on Blu-ray, they added letterboxing, which involves adding a bit to the left and right sides of the frame while removing some from the top and bottom. This update is a bit disappointing.
The special effects from the era definitely hold up and contribute to the storytelling. The audio quality is also quite good. Interestingly, when they stream the show, they stream the newer version. If you’re interested in space exploration, history, or even just great drama, this is a fantastic series to watch.
WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM:
This was a very ingenious episode. The series portrayed the missions of Apollo, and I wondered how they would handle Apollo 13 since they had already made a movie about it. Their clever approach was to avoid showing the astronauts or their families. Instead, they focused on the competition between the television mediums. They compared the Walter Cronkite, the straightforward reporter, to the up-close and personal Geraldo Rivera. It was a fascinating contrast.
THE ORIGINAL WIVES CLUB:
This episode was directed by Sally Fields, who also makes a cameo appearance. The show offers a unique perspective on the Apollo program from the wives’ point of view, highlighting the sacrifices they made. It was a thought-provoking aspect that I hadn’t considered before. At the end, they provide an update on the fate of these marriages, revealing that most ended in divorce, leaving a few widows.
Both the movie and the TV series are definitely worth watching. They offer valuable insights into history and provide entertainment value in their own right.
Note: Another excellent movie about this history is Hidden Figures, which is also available in 4K. It’s a personal story about the individuals who developed the technology behind the launch.
However, there’s another entertaining movie that’s historically inaccurate. I don’t want to mention it, but people will bring it up, “The Right Stuff.” It’s not yet available in 4K.
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I am separating this from the main text, but it is important and interesting.
The cause of both disasters :
Apollo 13:
Apollo 10, and all Apollo missions, had two oxygen tanks. In order to get accurate readings, there was a “stir” feature. And the unit ran on 28 volts. When one of the units failed on Apollo 10, before launch of course, they replaced it with an oxygen tank from Apollo 13. Once fixed they replaced the unit on Apollo 13 with the one from Apollo 10. However, they had upgraded Apollo 13‘s electricity to run on 65 volts not 28. When stirred this caused an explosion due to the overheating. Future missions took out the stir capability and added a third oxygen tank.
Apollo 1:
Gus Grissom was America’s second astronaut in space and he also was in the Gemini program. Being in all three programs was scheduled to be the first man on the moon.
In his first flight, Mercury’s second, the spacecraft was lost when it sank because the outward opening door was blown off by explosive bolts. This caused all spacecraft, at that time, to eliminate outward opening doors and have only doors that open inwardly.
In 1967, the three astronauts of Apollo 1, Grissom,White and Chaffee, were in the capsule doing a test run. The air was almost 100% oxygen under great pressure. And there were hundreds of feet of Velcro in the space capsule. Velcro was used by astronauts to prevent the floating of everything. But Velcro is very flammable and explosive under pressure and in a pure oxygen environment. Somehow a spark went off, and the Velcro basically exploded. Because of the heavy pressure, the inward opening door could not be opened, and the astronauts all died of smoke inhalation and burns.