This movie is a factual account of the ill-fated trip to the moon, which saw the entire world stop its business for a few days to pray for the astronauts' safe return. It successfully combines official footage, animation and a naturally harrowing storyline that keeps you engrossed, even though you know how it's going to end.
The film is replete with moving interviews with the astronauts, their families and the scientists who worked on the mission. (One notable omission is the absence of Jack Swigert, the command module pilot, who died of cancer in 1982. Odd that that is not noted anywhere in the movie or the credits.)
One of the best parts is the footage of and subsequent interviews years later with the ground controllers who had to solve the impossible problem of how to get the men back with limited air, water and electricity. The explanations are technical but still quite understandable to the layman. It's fascinating to view them saving the flight when most of them were only in their late 20s! And to see them get choked up when remembering the event 20 years later shows the human sides of even the most rugged technicians and administrators.
It's a valuable bit of history and is a testament to human resiliency, ingenuity, and most of all the human spirit. As the narration says at the end, "Apollos 8, 11 and 13 brought us together in ways we never expected."
The film is replete with moving interviews with the astronauts, their families and the scientists who worked on the mission. (One notable omission is the absence of Jack Swigert, the command module pilot, who died of cancer in 1982. Odd that that is not noted anywhere in the movie or the credits.)
One of the best parts is the footage of and subsequent interviews years later with the ground controllers who had to solve the impossible problem of how to get the men back with limited air, water and electricity. The explanations are technical but still quite understandable to the layman. It's fascinating to view them saving the flight when most of them were only in their late 20s! And to see them get choked up when remembering the event 20 years later shows the human sides of even the most rugged technicians and administrators.
It's a valuable bit of history and is a testament to human resiliency, ingenuity, and most of all the human spirit. As the narration says at the end, "Apollos 8, 11 and 13 brought us together in ways we never expected."