"Houston, we have a problem." This is easily one of my all-time favorite space movies. Ron Howard's docu-drama thriller Apollo 13 first opened in theaters in the summer of 1995, celebrating its 29th anniversary this year. The old 35mm trailer scanner YouTube recently posted a crisp 2160p scan of the original Apollo 13 trailer. Though this actually plays more like a teaser, setting up the story and stakes and characters without showing too much (the full trailer is also available right below it). In this movie based on a true story, NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 (which launched in April 1970) to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy. Starring Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell, Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert, Bill Paxton Fred Haise, and Ed Harris on the ground as Flight Director Gene Kranz.
- 4/29/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Nine years after his work in “Silver Linings Playbook” brought him his first Screen Actors Guild Award notices for lead actor and ensemble, Bradley Cooper has filled his film category blind spot by landing in the current supporting actor lineup for “Licorice Pizza.” Of the 38 men who have completed this trifecta, 26 (68 percent) have done so before turning 50, and Cooper is no different. Having prevailed alongside his “American Hustle” castmates in 2014, the 47-year-old could now experience his first individual SAG victory.
Cooper’s challengers are Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”), Troy Kotsur (“Coda”), Jared Leto (“House of Gucci”) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”). The only one to have previously vied for this award is Leto, who (along with Chris Cooper) now holds the record for most bids in the category with three. His win for “Dallas Buyers Club” in 2014 was followed by a mention for “The Little Things” just last year.
Cooper’s challengers are Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”), Troy Kotsur (“Coda”), Jared Leto (“House of Gucci”) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”). The only one to have previously vied for this award is Leto, who (along with Chris Cooper) now holds the record for most bids in the category with three. His win for “Dallas Buyers Club” in 2014 was followed by a mention for “The Little Things” just last year.
- 2/16/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Eric Ladin (The Right Stuff) is set for a recurring role on the fourth and final season of Netflx’s critically acclaimed series Ozark, starring and executive produced by Jason Bateman.
Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, Ozark is a thrilling drama set in the present-day and follows the Byrde family’s journey from their normal, suburban Chicago life to their dangerous criminal enterprise in the Ozarks, Missouri. The series explores capitalism, family dynamics, and survival through the eyes of (anything but) ordinary Americans.
Ladin will play Kerry, the kind of guy you like but can’t stand. His life is one continuous party, and he is always looking for the next trend – sometimes with disastrous results.
In addition to Bateman, Ladin joins series stars Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Charlie Tahan, Jessica Frances Dukes, Lisa Emery, John Bedford Lloyd, and Joseph Sikora in the new season.
Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, Ozark is a thrilling drama set in the present-day and follows the Byrde family’s journey from their normal, suburban Chicago life to their dangerous criminal enterprise in the Ozarks, Missouri. The series explores capitalism, family dynamics, and survival through the eyes of (anything but) ordinary Americans.
Ladin will play Kerry, the kind of guy you like but can’t stand. His life is one continuous party, and he is always looking for the next trend – sometimes with disastrous results.
In addition to Bateman, Ladin joins series stars Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Charlie Tahan, Jessica Frances Dukes, Lisa Emery, John Bedford Lloyd, and Joseph Sikora in the new season.
- 12/18/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
This month you can watch the night He came home from the safety of your own home like never before when Universal Pictures Home Entertainment kicks off their weekly Twitter watch parties with Halloween (2018).
Hosted by Blumhouse with special guests David Gordon Green, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more, the Halloween (2018) screening will begin at 4:00pm Et on Saturday, May 16th at 4:00pm Et, and viewers are encouraged to use the #HalloweenAtHome hashtag. For more details on the Twitter watch parties, check out the official press release:
Press Release: Universal City, California, May 12, 2020 – To entertain and bring audiences together, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has organized weekly watch parties of some of their most iconic films. Every Saturday, starting May 16th, audiences can watch a Universal Pictures film along with special guests and hosts for fans around the world to share reactions and discuss their favorite scenes together on Twitter.
Hosted by Blumhouse with special guests David Gordon Green, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more, the Halloween (2018) screening will begin at 4:00pm Et on Saturday, May 16th at 4:00pm Et, and viewers are encouraged to use the #HalloweenAtHome hashtag. For more details on the Twitter watch parties, check out the official press release:
Press Release: Universal City, California, May 12, 2020 – To entertain and bring audiences together, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has organized weekly watch parties of some of their most iconic films. Every Saturday, starting May 16th, audiences can watch a Universal Pictures film along with special guests and hosts for fans around the world to share reactions and discuss their favorite scenes together on Twitter.
- 5/12/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has is getting in on the movie watch parties by announcing their very own Twitter watch parties with some of their own classic films to bring audiences together.
Starting on May the 16th with Halloween audiences can watch a Universal Pictures film along with special guests and hosts for fans around the world to share reactions and discuss their favourite scenes together on Twitter.
In order to join, simply follow the hosts on Twitter. Unlike others who have been showing their films for free with a small donation to charity, you will have to buy or rent the weekend’s movie at any retailer, and press play at exactly 1pm Pt / 4pm Et / 9pm BST! Follow and use the designated hashtag for each title to participate and discuss with friends and other excited fans.
Each and every Saturday will feature a different film, host and a number of special guests.
Starting on May the 16th with Halloween audiences can watch a Universal Pictures film along with special guests and hosts for fans around the world to share reactions and discuss their favourite scenes together on Twitter.
In order to join, simply follow the hosts on Twitter. Unlike others who have been showing their films for free with a small donation to charity, you will have to buy or rent the weekend’s movie at any retailer, and press play at exactly 1pm Pt / 4pm Et / 9pm BST! Follow and use the designated hashtag for each title to participate and discuss with friends and other excited fans.
Each and every Saturday will feature a different film, host and a number of special guests.
- 5/12/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
I’m such a big Nasa nerd that when the 1202 alarm went off during an Apollo 11 simulation in For All Mankind, Apple TV+’s new alternate history of the space race, I immediately knew it was the same alert that in real life nearly scuttled the first lunar landing. I’m such a big Nasa nerd that as soon as it was established that the show’s lead astronauts, Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) and Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman), were on the Apollo 10 mission that came within a few hundred...
- 10/31/2019
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Kyle Chandler, Terry Crews, John Cena, Laurence Fishburne, Gary Sinise, Kellie Pickler, Mike Rowe, Ben Foster, Charlie Weber, Allison Janney, and Clint Eastwood are among the stars lined up for American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes.
The show, which salutes service men and women, will be nationally syndicated to over 100 million households on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations nationwide. In addition, it will be broadcast to Us troops serving around the world and on Navy ships at sea on American Forces Network. American Valor will be filmed the evening of October 26 in Washington, DC and bow on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11.
The American Veterans Center’s annual broadcast special in honor of Veterans Day will be hosted by actor/comedian and veteran of the United States Marine Corps Rob Riggle.
The evening will pay tribute to service men and women from World War II to the present day,...
The show, which salutes service men and women, will be nationally syndicated to over 100 million households on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations nationwide. In addition, it will be broadcast to Us troops serving around the world and on Navy ships at sea on American Forces Network. American Valor will be filmed the evening of October 26 in Washington, DC and bow on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11.
The American Veterans Center’s annual broadcast special in honor of Veterans Day will be hosted by actor/comedian and veteran of the United States Marine Corps Rob Riggle.
The evening will pay tribute to service men and women from World War II to the present day,...
- 10/18/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
A raft of international broadcasters have acquired “The Day We Walked on the Moon.” The upcoming moon landings documentary special was produced by Scotland-based indie Finestripe for ITV in the U.K. and the Smithsonian Channel in the U.S.
It is distributed by Cineflix Rights, which has sold it to Seven Network in Australia and Kiwi pubcaster Tvnz, as well as Nhk in Japan.
In Europe, it has been picked up by broadcasters including Dr in Denmark, Nrk in Norway, and Nelonen in Finland. Mediaset’s Focus channel in Italy and Rtve in Spain have also taken the documentary. Pan-territory buyers include AMC, which has it for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Discovery, which has it for its networks in Asia.
The one-off documentary commemorates the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. It has interviews with figures in the Apollo 11 mission, including astronaut Michael Collins and flight director Gene Kranz.
It is distributed by Cineflix Rights, which has sold it to Seven Network in Australia and Kiwi pubcaster Tvnz, as well as Nhk in Japan.
In Europe, it has been picked up by broadcasters including Dr in Denmark, Nrk in Norway, and Nelonen in Finland. Mediaset’s Focus channel in Italy and Rtve in Spain have also taken the documentary. Pan-territory buyers include AMC, which has it for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Discovery, which has it for its networks in Asia.
The one-off documentary commemorates the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. It has interviews with figures in the Apollo 11 mission, including astronaut Michael Collins and flight director Gene Kranz.
- 6/5/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
There will be more chapters in The Story of God after all: National Geographic is resuming production on Season 3 of the documentary travel series after completing an investigation into alleged sexual harassment by host Morgan Freeman.
In a statement to our sister site Deadline, Nat Geo says its investigation “revealed no incidents of concern during any of our work with Mr. Freeman,” so “we have now made the decision to move forward with the production” of Season 3, which is expected to debut in 2019.
The Story of God sends the Oscar-winning actor across the globe to trace how the world’s...
In a statement to our sister site Deadline, Nat Geo says its investigation “revealed no incidents of concern during any of our work with Mr. Freeman,” so “we have now made the decision to move forward with the production” of Season 3, which is expected to debut in 2019.
The Story of God sends the Oscar-winning actor across the globe to trace how the world’s...
- 8/31/2018
- TVLine.com
Six alum Eric Ladin, Camping‘s Arturo Del Puerto and former Devious Maids star Rebecca Wisocky are set for recurring roles in Apple’s upcoming space drama series from Battlestar Galactica‘s and Outlander‘s Ronald D. Moore.
Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Moore’s Tall Ship Productions, the untitled Apple series, created and written by Moore along with Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman and Sarah Jones star.
Ladin will play Gene Kranz, one of the heads of mission control. Del Puerto will portray Octavio Rosales, an immigrant looking for a better life for his family. Wisocky will play Marge Slayton, the wife of the head of the astronaut program.
Moore, Wolpert and Nedivi executive produce with Tall Ship’s Maril Davis.
Ladin was most recently seen in the series regular role...
Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Moore’s Tall Ship Productions, the untitled Apple series, created and written by Moore along with Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman and Sarah Jones star.
Ladin will play Gene Kranz, one of the heads of mission control. Del Puerto will portray Octavio Rosales, an immigrant looking for a better life for his family. Wisocky will play Marge Slayton, the wife of the head of the astronaut program.
Moore, Wolpert and Nedivi executive produce with Tall Ship’s Maril Davis.
Ladin was most recently seen in the series regular role...
- 8/30/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Ed Harris’ ‘Westworld’ Turn Was A Perfect Late-Career Move For One of Our Best Actors — Career Watch
Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Ed Harris, who’s doing what he’s always done: owning character roles in film, theater and television.
Bottom Line: Harris has an iconic masculine American gravitas. The camera loves him and you can count on Harris to deliver a character’s emotional spine with subtle and sturdy grace. That’s why this hard-working actor never falls out of demand. And he seemingly can do anything, whether stalwart hero (John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” or the Mission Control voice in “Apollo 13” or “Gravity”) or contemptible villain (see “The Firm,” “Enemy at the Gates,” “Swing Shift,” or “The Rock”).
Director Peter Weir (“The Truman Show,” “The Way Back”) once told me that shooting Harris is “spiritual, a man that has a past and regrets,...
Bottom Line: Harris has an iconic masculine American gravitas. The camera loves him and you can count on Harris to deliver a character’s emotional spine with subtle and sturdy grace. That’s why this hard-working actor never falls out of demand. And he seemingly can do anything, whether stalwart hero (John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” or the Mission Control voice in “Apollo 13” or “Gravity”) or contemptible villain (see “The Firm,” “Enemy at the Gates,” “Swing Shift,” or “The Rock”).
Director Peter Weir (“The Truman Show,” “The Way Back”) once told me that shooting Harris is “spiritual, a man that has a past and regrets,...
- 6/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ed Harris’ ‘Westworld’ Turn Was A Perfect Late-Career Move For One of Our Best Actors — Career Watch
Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Ed Harris, who’s doing what he’s always done: owning character roles in film, theater and television.
Bottom Line: Harris has an iconic masculine American gravitas. The camera loves him and you can count on Harris to deliver a character’s emotional spine with subtle and sturdy grace. That’s why this hard-working actor never falls out of demand. And he seemingly can do anything, whether stalwart hero (John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” or the Mission Control voice in “Apollo 13” or “Gravity”) or contemptible villain (see “The Firm,” “Enemy at the Gates,” “Swing Shift,” or “The Rock”).
Director Peter Weir (“The Truman Show,” “The Way Back”) once told me that shooting Harris is “spiritual, a man that has a past and regrets,...
Bottom Line: Harris has an iconic masculine American gravitas. The camera loves him and you can count on Harris to deliver a character’s emotional spine with subtle and sturdy grace. That’s why this hard-working actor never falls out of demand. And he seemingly can do anything, whether stalwart hero (John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” or the Mission Control voice in “Apollo 13” or “Gravity”) or contemptible villain (see “The Firm,” “Enemy at the Gates,” “Swing Shift,” or “The Rock”).
Director Peter Weir (“The Truman Show,” “The Way Back”) once told me that shooting Harris is “spiritual, a man that has a past and regrets,...
- 6/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Neon, the recently launched distribution company founded by Tom Quinn and Tim League, will release Oscar winning director Errol Morris’ “The B-Side,” a heartfelt portrait of photographer, Elsa Dorfman. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2016 followed by a prestigious festival run, screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (Idfa).
The film is slated to open theatrically on June 2.
– Gravitas Ventures has secured worldwide rights to “Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo,” the compelling untold story about an extraordinary team.
The story is told told “with unprecedented access to archival footage and stories from the men who lived it, including the creator of Mission Control,...
– Neon, the recently launched distribution company founded by Tom Quinn and Tim League, will release Oscar winning director Errol Morris’ “The B-Side,” a heartfelt portrait of photographer, Elsa Dorfman. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2016 followed by a prestigious festival run, screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (Idfa).
The film is slated to open theatrically on June 2.
– Gravitas Ventures has secured worldwide rights to “Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo,” the compelling untold story about an extraordinary team.
The story is told told “with unprecedented access to archival footage and stories from the men who lived it, including the creator of Mission Control,...
- 2/24/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Photo: M.Craig
Georges Méliès’ A Trip To The Moon, Apollo 13, The Right Stuff, HBO’s “From The Earth To The Moon.” Since the birth of cinema, audiences have been preoccupied with trips to our closest celestial body. Hollywood and Nasa merge once again – this time to tell the story of Captain Gene Cernan in the documentary The Last Man On The Moon.
This is the story of one of the very few men who went to the moon not only once, but twice. He first went to the moon on the Apollo 10 mission. It was the dress rehearsal for Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. His next flight was Apollo 17, the last time men would go to the moon. Riding aboard a Saturn V rocket, the largest and most powerful and impressive rocket that ever successfully flew, he was on man’s last mission to explore earth’s closest neighbor.
Georges Méliès’ A Trip To The Moon, Apollo 13, The Right Stuff, HBO’s “From The Earth To The Moon.” Since the birth of cinema, audiences have been preoccupied with trips to our closest celestial body. Hollywood and Nasa merge once again – this time to tell the story of Captain Gene Cernan in the documentary The Last Man On The Moon.
This is the story of one of the very few men who went to the moon not only once, but twice. He first went to the moon on the Apollo 10 mission. It was the dress rehearsal for Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. His next flight was Apollo 17, the last time men would go to the moon. Riding aboard a Saturn V rocket, the largest and most powerful and impressive rocket that ever successfully flew, he was on man’s last mission to explore earth’s closest neighbor.
- 3/15/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
2015 may just be noted in the annals of cinema history as the year that Hollywood really went “space happy” (a more benign term for “space madness” I suppose). The Martian, a fairly fact-based film (though we’ve not gone to the “red planet”) won critical praise and was a box office smash. We’ll see if it takes home some Oscar gold this Sunday night. And of course there’s that space fantasy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, that smashed several records and is still in the box office top ten nearly ten weeks after its release. The studios have mined the stars since the beginnings of movies over a 100 years ago. The great majority of these films are fictitious, with a couple of notable exceptions being the overlooked gem from the 80’s, The Right Stuff, and the 90’s nail-biter Apollo 13 (and its HBO companion mini-series “From the Earth to the Moon...
- 2/26/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Apollo program was a time when true space travel happened. The United States wasn’t just going into space and coming back, it was sending men to another celestial body in our universe. The stakes were very high.
Everything had to work – spacesuits could not leak, rocket engines absolutely had to fire, life support systems could not fail. When you’re a quarter of a million miles away from earth, there are no safety nets. No rescue missions were possible.
What started out as a presidential goal in the early 1960’s turned into the most impressive feat of all mankind. We did something no other country ever did or has done since. Not only once, but six times.
Now comes the story of Gene Cernan – one of the very few men who went to the moon not only once, but twice. He first went to the moon on the Apollo 10 mission.
Everything had to work – spacesuits could not leak, rocket engines absolutely had to fire, life support systems could not fail. When you’re a quarter of a million miles away from earth, there are no safety nets. No rescue missions were possible.
What started out as a presidential goal in the early 1960’s turned into the most impressive feat of all mankind. We did something no other country ever did or has done since. Not only once, but six times.
Now comes the story of Gene Cernan – one of the very few men who went to the moon not only once, but twice. He first went to the moon on the Apollo 10 mission.
- 1/18/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In honor of the passing of Neil Armstrong, whose first step on the lunar surface marked a “giant leap for mankind,” History plans to air a full day of programming about the astronaut and the Apollo 11 mission that first brought humankind to the moon. Beginning at 8am Et, the stunt will take viewers on a multi-perspective trip through the pivotal years of Armstrong’s career, and in particular the mission for which his name became synonymous. The event launches with Failure Is Not an Option, based on Mission Control Flight Director Gene Kranz’s best-selling book. (Movie fans will remember Ed Harris’ [...]...
- 8/27/2012
- by Karl Paloucek
- ChannelGuideMag
The only thing more terrifying, interesting, gut-turning, or even heart-warming than watching a film that someone created entirely on their own is to watch one that has been inspired by true events. Whether it be an inspiring story about how one overcame an obstacle, a horrific tale of a serial killer, or the tale of a rock legend, these films grab hold of their audience and take them along on their journey. With The Rite coming out this week, and it being .based on true events. we figure it.s a great segue into this weeks top ten.
Top Ten: Based On True Events Honorable Mention: Alive
Plane crashes are one of my worst fears. In Alive (1993), a Rugby team is stranded in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashes and they are put to the test in order to survive. Freezing temperatures, dying friends, injuries and a lack of...
Top Ten: Based On True Events Honorable Mention: Alive
Plane crashes are one of my worst fears. In Alive (1993), a Rugby team is stranded in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashes and they are put to the test in order to survive. Freezing temperatures, dying friends, injuries and a lack of...
- 1/26/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The only thing more terrifying, interesting, gut-turning, or even heart-warming than watching a film that someone created entirely on their own is to watch one that has been inspired by true events. Whether it be an inspiring story about how one overcame an obstacle, a horrific tale of a serial killer, or the tale of a rock legend, these films grab hold of their audience and take them along on their journey. With The Rite coming out this week, and it being “based on true events” we figure it’s a great segue into this weeks top ten.
Top Ten: Based On True Events Honorable Mention: Alive
Plane crashes are one of my worst fears. In Alive (1993), a Rugby team is stranded in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashes and they are put to the test in order to survive. Freezing temperatures, dying friends, injuries and a lack of...
Top Ten: Based On True Events Honorable Mention: Alive
Plane crashes are one of my worst fears. In Alive (1993), a Rugby team is stranded in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashes and they are put to the test in order to survive. Freezing temperatures, dying friends, injuries and a lack of...
- 1/26/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Shorter by about 20 minutes but bigger and better than ever on an Imax screen, the Academy Award-winning 1995 film "Apollo 13" is the first official flight of what could become a lucrative theatrical format for new and, more excitingly, old films. Opening in 22 Imax theaters and likely to draw good crowds, "Apollo 13 The Imax Experience" utilizes Imax DMR, a digital remastering process that facilitates the transfer of existing 35mm films into the 15-perforation 70mm format.
In other words, it is now possible to see conventional theatrical releases on a screen so big and encompassing of one's field of vision (up to 120 feet wide) that it's the equivalent of watching a 27-inch television from one foot away. Combined with six-channel stereo sound pumped through 44 speakers resulting in 12,000 watts of surround sound, the result is arguably the most viewer-enveloping way to watch a movie.
With "Apollo 13 The Imax Experience" -- which is quite a bit more engineered for the hardware than projecting existing 35mm films on the large-format screen, a practice that's become regular for major-event movies -- the technological upgrade has intriguing results that only time and more remastered classics (1995 best picture winner "Braveheart", anyone?) will verify.
Originally a widescreen release, director Ron Howard's film looks pretty good in the 1 to 1:33 aspect ratio of the Imax format, with few resulting awkward compositions. Many shots have noticeably extra room at the top of the frame (in medium and many close shots, few crew-cut or big-hair heads are cut off), but the most startling revelation is the three-dimensional quality of close-ups and tight shots, of which "Apollo 13" has a ton. In the Command Module and the Aquarius lunar module, where distances are measured in a few feet, the feeling of being connected to the characters and storytelling is greatly enhanced.
This newfound intimacy between viewer and performers also means that one nearly chokes on the cigarette smoke of flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and almost feels the breath of characters speaking directly to the camera, such as when Jean Speegle Howard, as the mother of astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), says the great line about her son's prowess at landing anything that can fly.
Helping to achieve the sense of immediacy is the removal of grain from the images, a result of the digital remastering. It's a marriage of two worlds that could have a long future, while the upcoming Imax rerelease of "Stars Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" will show the results of using all-digital material in the leap to the 15/70mm format.
What's more hinted at than fully exploited in "Apollo 13", which is a fault of the original film, is that many of the spectacular shots in space and the launch sequence, while memorable, are not held long enough. Sure, the Imax format has long been ghettoized as the realm of travelogues and educational works where aerial shots and landscapes are often lingered on, but in an effort to expand their audience, giant-screen engineers shouldn't assume everyone has "been there and done that."
The well-told story of a 1970 mission to the moon that encountered trouble and enthralled the world as it enfolded, "Apollo 13" is a savvy launch vehicle for Imax DMR with its unique combination of drama and spectacle. However, it's always seemed that Howard and company de-emphasized the visual splendor of spaceflight in favor of the emotional core of the story, which makes one all the more ready to see a remastered film that revels in sweeping scenes of action and beautiful individual shots.
The special effects and many scenes of weightlessness look as good or better than in the original, while the Oscar-winning sound and James Horner's rousing score make good use of the hefty audio system. The trimming of the running time seems barely noticeable in terms of the storytelling and appears to have resulted mostly because the current Imax projectors cannot handle a movie longer than 120 minutes.
APOLLO 13 THE IMAX EXPERIENCE
Universal Pictures
Imagine Entertainment A Brian Grazer production
Credits:
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriters: William Broyles Jr., Al Reinert
Producer: Brian Grazer
Executive producer: Todd Hallowell
Director of photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Michael Corenblith
Editors: Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
Costume designer: Rita Ryack
Music: James Horner
Casting: Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson
Cast:
Jim Lovell: Tom Hanks
Fred Haise: Bill Paxton
Jack Swigert: Kevin Bacon
Ken Mattingly: Gary Sinise
Gene Kranz: Ed Harris
Marilyn Lovell: Kathleen Quinlan
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
In other words, it is now possible to see conventional theatrical releases on a screen so big and encompassing of one's field of vision (up to 120 feet wide) that it's the equivalent of watching a 27-inch television from one foot away. Combined with six-channel stereo sound pumped through 44 speakers resulting in 12,000 watts of surround sound, the result is arguably the most viewer-enveloping way to watch a movie.
With "Apollo 13 The Imax Experience" -- which is quite a bit more engineered for the hardware than projecting existing 35mm films on the large-format screen, a practice that's become regular for major-event movies -- the technological upgrade has intriguing results that only time and more remastered classics (1995 best picture winner "Braveheart", anyone?) will verify.
Originally a widescreen release, director Ron Howard's film looks pretty good in the 1 to 1:33 aspect ratio of the Imax format, with few resulting awkward compositions. Many shots have noticeably extra room at the top of the frame (in medium and many close shots, few crew-cut or big-hair heads are cut off), but the most startling revelation is the three-dimensional quality of close-ups and tight shots, of which "Apollo 13" has a ton. In the Command Module and the Aquarius lunar module, where distances are measured in a few feet, the feeling of being connected to the characters and storytelling is greatly enhanced.
This newfound intimacy between viewer and performers also means that one nearly chokes on the cigarette smoke of flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and almost feels the breath of characters speaking directly to the camera, such as when Jean Speegle Howard, as the mother of astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), says the great line about her son's prowess at landing anything that can fly.
Helping to achieve the sense of immediacy is the removal of grain from the images, a result of the digital remastering. It's a marriage of two worlds that could have a long future, while the upcoming Imax rerelease of "Stars Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" will show the results of using all-digital material in the leap to the 15/70mm format.
What's more hinted at than fully exploited in "Apollo 13", which is a fault of the original film, is that many of the spectacular shots in space and the launch sequence, while memorable, are not held long enough. Sure, the Imax format has long been ghettoized as the realm of travelogues and educational works where aerial shots and landscapes are often lingered on, but in an effort to expand their audience, giant-screen engineers shouldn't assume everyone has "been there and done that."
The well-told story of a 1970 mission to the moon that encountered trouble and enthralled the world as it enfolded, "Apollo 13" is a savvy launch vehicle for Imax DMR with its unique combination of drama and spectacle. However, it's always seemed that Howard and company de-emphasized the visual splendor of spaceflight in favor of the emotional core of the story, which makes one all the more ready to see a remastered film that revels in sweeping scenes of action and beautiful individual shots.
The special effects and many scenes of weightlessness look as good or better than in the original, while the Oscar-winning sound and James Horner's rousing score make good use of the hefty audio system. The trimming of the running time seems barely noticeable in terms of the storytelling and appears to have resulted mostly because the current Imax projectors cannot handle a movie longer than 120 minutes.
APOLLO 13 THE IMAX EXPERIENCE
Universal Pictures
Imagine Entertainment A Brian Grazer production
Credits:
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriters: William Broyles Jr., Al Reinert
Producer: Brian Grazer
Executive producer: Todd Hallowell
Director of photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Michael Corenblith
Editors: Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
Costume designer: Rita Ryack
Music: James Horner
Casting: Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson
Cast:
Jim Lovell: Tom Hanks
Fred Haise: Bill Paxton
Jack Swigert: Kevin Bacon
Ken Mattingly: Gary Sinise
Gene Kranz: Ed Harris
Marilyn Lovell: Kathleen Quinlan
Running time -- 116 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 9/20/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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