Apollo 13 (1995)

Three astronauts must devise a strategy to return to Earth safely after their spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Jim Lovell (book), Jeffrey Kluger (book),

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Won 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Jim Lovell
Bill Paxton	...	Fred Haise
Kevin Bacon	...	Jack Swigert
Gary Sinise	...	Ken Mattingly
Ed Harris	...	Gene Kranz
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Marilyn Lovell
Mary Kate Schellhardt	...	Barbara Lovell
Emily Ann Lloyd	...	Susan Lovell
Miko Hughes	...	Jeffrey Lovell
Max Elliott Slade	...	Jay Lovell
Jean Speegle Howard	...	Blanch Lovell
Tracy Reiner	...	Mary Haise
David Andrews	...	Pete Conrad
Michele Little	...	Jane Conrad (as Michelle Little)
Chris Ellis	...	Deke Slayton

Storyline

Based on the true story of the ill-fated 13th Apollo mission bound for the moon. Astronauts Lovell, Haise and Swigert were scheduled to fly Apollo 14, but are moved up to 13. It's 1970, and America have already achieved their lunar landing goal, so there's little interest in this "routine" flight.. until that is, things go very wrong, and prospects of a safe return fade.

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Plot Keywords:

space | astronaut | moon | nasa | apollo 13 | 

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Taglines:

Houston, we have a problem.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and emotional intensity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$200,645 (USA) (20 September 2002)

Gross:

$1,736,281 (USA) (9 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 256 min (Anniversary Edition IMAX) 280 min (Universal's 100th Anniversary Blu-Ray Edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo DTS IMAX 6-Track (IMAX version) Dolby SR

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In interviews, the real Jim Lovell had said that he thought Kevin Costner looked a little bit like him, but Costner was never cast. When Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment got the rights to the script, Ron Howard signed on to direct and knowing that Tom Hanks was an Apollo/space buff, sent the script to him. They set a meeting and Hanks agreed to play Jim Lovell during Hanks' and Howard's first meeting about the film.

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Goofs

Visible in the background of mission control once the crisis starts, collecting the audio of some of the controllers. This could be because the command center was being televised (which is not mentioned at all, so it probably wasn't), but it is not seen in any later shot of the command center in that scene, including the following wide shot.

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Quotes

Gene Kranz: Let's work the problem people. Let's not make things worse by guessing.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.85 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"WAITING"
Written by Carlos Santana, David Brown, Gregg Rolie, and Michael Shrieve (as Mike Shrieve)
Jose Chepito Areas (as Jose Areas) and Mike Carabello
Performed by Santana
Courtesy of Columbia Records
by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

From the moment the problems started I was sitting on the edge of my seat

I don't know what the real event was like, because I wasn't even born then, but I guess it must have been really shocking to see how these astronauts were fighting for their lives. The movie really has done a good job on showing how inventive people can be in times of need, and on recreating the emotions that the crew, their families and the people in the flight command center had to go through.

If you ask me, the film really was at its best as soon as the crew was actually taking off in their rocket. Before that the movie was a little bit too slow to my taste and it didn't have that much to say. However, from the moment the problems with Apollo 13 started I was sitting on the edge of my seat. It all felt very real and you just have to empathize with the crew and their family.

Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton,... all did a great job showing us the astronauts, their families and the flight crew on this doomed mission. Their performances made "Apollo 13" one of the better movies of the nineties. I reward it with an 8/10.