“Houston, we have a problem.”
Forty years ago this month, on April 13, 1970, the radio transmission that blasted these words to earth was made by the tiny spacecraft Apollo 13, which was carrying three men a quarter of a million miles away. the moon Spoken by a space commander, with a certain calmness instilled by years of training and experience as an aviator and astronaut, these words alerted the world to the catastrophic events that had just happened 200,000 miles from earth… an accident that was literally threatening. maroon killed the three passengers of Apollo 13 in space forever…
In 1995, Imagine released Apollo XIII, an amazing movie directed by Ron Howard and starring, among others, Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, and Gary Sinise. This film graphically depicts those seven days in April 1970, when the citizens of planet Earth anxiously watched and waited to see if the Apollo 13 astronauts returned safely to earth or were permanently lost in the vast and barren space. Based on James Lovell’s best-selling memoir, The Lost Moon, this film vividly recreates all the tension, deep drama, and heroism of that fateful week.
The story begins on the night of July 20, 1969, at the Houston, Texas home of James Lovell (played by Tom Hanks). Excited about the upcoming Apollo 14 mission to the moon (for the late 1970s), Lovell gathered his entire family, and his partners Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxman); the rest of the Apollo astronauts program to watch the television broadcast of Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon.
Shortly after, Lovell, Mattingly and Haise joined the Apollo 13 mission (next to Apollo 1970), after Alan Shepard was ejected from the flight due to solve problems and successfully bring Lovell, Swigert and Haise back to earth, no despite the series of errant trains, they create a very dramatic and youthful atmosphere for this film.
Apollo 13 is a movie that offers viewers three essential performances of heroism. The first video shows the brave efforts of three beleaguered astronauts, risking their lives, to bring their ship under control and return safely to Earth. Difficulties, indeed, were rare from these three men who staggered. At first, their spaceships burned, threatening to tear themselves apart. Then the systems began to hemorrhage one by one the precious resources supporting it – heat and pain. Lovell, Haise and Swigert each had to take turns facing obstacles, analyzing each one, and making almost instantaneous decisions about how to overcome them. If any of their judgments were mistaken, they could find themselves forever sealed by the statue in the vast silence of space.
The astronauts also had to contend with a fierce conflict. Haise points the finger of blame at Swigert, and Swigert’s practices in self-criticism have created greater crowd barriers and tremendous friction within the confines of the space. Only Lovell’s calm demeanor and extraordinary leadership enabled the crew of Apollo 13 to overcome their personal differences.
A second glimpse of heroism can be found in Mission Control’s Hercules efforts to successfully receive astronauts. Led by Gene Kranz, the opening is fiercely determined (“We’ve never lost an American in space… we sure as hell don’t want to lose one on watch. Failure is not an option!”) directed by Mission Control (by Ed Harris in his Academy Award performance named), this diverse group of scientists and engineers was to analyze data from those 240,000 miles away, and arrive at practical solutions to overwhelming problems. From designing carbon dioxide extraction filters, to developing electrical power conservation procedures, to proper space re-entry attitudes – the mission controller’s heroics were quietly made an essential ingredient leading up to the Apollo 13 crew.
Finally, the heroism of the astronauts’ families was mentioned. Sitting defenseless, listening to radio news between Mission Control and space disasters, and watching graphic news and analyses. The fortunes of their husbands on television, while simultaneously scrutinized by the press, Marilyn Lovell and Mary Haise (Tracy Reiner), along with their children, are forced to simply hope and pray that their fiances are returned to them. secure Perhaps that virtue was the greatest of all.
The action in Apollo 13 is equally superb! There is no doubt that the dominant role in this film is played by Ed Harris as the irascible, intent Gene Kranz. In every scene in which Harris appears, he simply outshines the rest of the actors. His performance is astonishing in its truth and thoroughness. Tom Hanks brings a surprisingly easy going, almost “aw-shucks” character to Jim Lovell’s character. Bill Paxman is excellent as the quietly intense Fred Haise, and Kevin Bacon shines as Jack Swigert, a hot-headed but extremely skilled ladies’ man. Kathleen Quinlan gives a beautiful performance as the superstitious Marilyn Lovell, a woman who seems quite enough to have had an astronaut wife.
As with all Ronald Howard/Image Entertainment films, the technical aspects of Apollo 13 are top notch. Ron Howard’s direction provides clues that are very effective in enhancing the film’s overall sense of drama while emphasizing the gravity of the crisis at hand. The two scenes surrounding the launch of Apollo 13 venture into the realm of over-dramatic cliché, and come dangerously close to extending their subject breaking point (In one scene that seemed particularly melodramatic, Marilyn Lovell and Maria Haise look tearfully into the sky, almost as if in rapt prayer, as the Saturn V rocket climbs out of the launch pad. At the same time, a grounded Ken Mattingly stands as a solitary lookout in a nearby field at the launch site, the gold Corvette parked nearby. When he looks up at the sky, “c’mon, Baby!”) In contrast, other scenes – most notably those where the ship’s radio communication with Earth has broken off – they are wonderfully realistic, sensitive, and magnificently reminiscent of the tremendous emotional toll on all those who fought so valiantly to put this crisis to safety – the astronauts, the families, the people. Mission Control
The film’s Academy Award-nominated special effects and visual effects are still stunning now, fifteen years after the film’s initial theatrical release. Especially impressive are the launch sequences, where the viewer is offered several very realistic perspectives of the separation stage of the explosion and the rocket; Apollo 13’s journey to the dark side of the moon; and space meteors as re-entered the earth’s atmosphere.
Apollo 13 is a great movie that accurately depicts one of the most disturbing events of the 1970s. It was overshadowed by two events that happened at about the same time – the invasion of Cambodia by the American army in April 1970, and the killing of four students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 – the Apollo 13 mission itself seems largely forgotten. This extraordinary film brings that event – which Gene Kranz called “NASA’s finest hour” – to the forefront again, and restores the actors in this real life drama to the pantheon of American heroes.
Other Film Reviews by Mike Powers: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
