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Countdown (1967)

 -  Sci-Fi | Thriller  -  February 1968 (USA)
6.1
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Ratings: 6.1/10 from 856 users  
Reviews: 17 user | 12 critic

Desperate to reach the moon first, NASA sends a man and shelter separately, one-way. He must find it to survive; he can't return until Apollo is ready.

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Writers:

(screenplay), (novel)
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Title: Countdown (1967)

Countdown (1967) on IMDb 6.1/10

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Lee Stegler
...
Mickey Stegler
...
Chiz
Barbara Baxley ...
Jean
Charles Aidman ...
Gus
Steve Ihnat ...
Ross Duellan
...
Rick
...
Walter Larson
Stephen Coit ...
Ehrman
John Rayner ...
Dunc
Charles Irving ...
Seidel
Bobby Riha ...
Stevie Stegler (as Bobby Riha Jr.)
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Storyline

The Apollo 3 crew are training when it is discovered that the Russians plan a moon landing. The Americans enact a makeshift plan to land a man on the moon first, using an older style Gemini spacecraft. Lee is chosen as the astronaut instead of Chiz, who was trained for the mission, because Lee has no military connection. Lee has three weeks to train before take-off, and will have to stay on the moon in a shelter for about a year, until an Apollo is ready to pick him up. However the Russians take off two days earlier than expected. Written by Will Gilbert

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The motion picture that puts a man on the moon ... and you will follow him every terrifying second of the way ... See more »

Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Certificate:

Unrated | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

February 1968 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Askel avaruuteen  »

Filming Locations:


Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Executive Producer William Conrad supplied the TV announcer's voice. See more »

Goofs

When explaining the medical telemetry to Mickey Stegler, the doctor says one plot is respiration and another is breathing, even though both words mean the same thing. Also, several of the plots have completely different shapes from what they should. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Robert Altman (2001) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Altman's First Time at Bat
28 July 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

"Countdown," Robert Altman's first theatrical release, is the only film I've seen by the prolific director that feels nothing like an Altman project. A bit of history surrounding it reveals that Altman battled the studios over creative control, and that the final version of the film exists more as a product of the studio than of the auteur. Never again, for better or worse, would Altman relinquish control of his films, a tenacity that won him an instantly recognizable style not afforded to many other directors.

So "Countdown" isn't terribly interesting formally and feels like it could have been directed by anybody, but that's not to say it isn't an interesting movie. Released a year before man actually landed on the moon, it provides a remarkably accurate guess at what such a feat would look like, and the film is played with conviction by a strong cast of actors led by James Caan, Robert Duvall and Michael Murphy. Duvall and Murphy would appear again in "MASH," and Murphy would go on to become an Altman regular. Barbara Baxley, known to Altman devotees as Haven Hamilton's wife in "Nashville," fulfills wifely duties in this film as well, though women may as well not even exist for all the attention the screenplay affords them.

As a studio film, "Countdown" isn't half bad. As an Altman film, it's one of his weakest. But nevertheless, it's well worth seeking out, especially for fans of the iconoclastic director.

Grade: B-


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