Apollo 13 (1995)

NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Jim Lovell (book), Jeffrey Kluger (book)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Won 2 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 59 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 The US has 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:

1970s | survival | astronaut | space mission | rescue | 

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Taglines:

Houston, we have a problem.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and emotional intensity

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Ron Howard on the DVD commentary, John Sayles contribution to the screenplay are the scenes involving Jim Lovell's mother in the nursing home.

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Goofs

In the first scene as Lovell is driving, the screen says "July 20, 1969 Houston, Texas". When he walks into the house, 'Waiting' by Santana is playing, but the album the song is on wasn't released until August 30, 1969.

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Quotes

John Young: There's been an explosion. Oxygen tanks are gone. Two fuel cells gone. Command module shut down.
Ken Mattingly: What about the crew?
John Young: Crew's fine so far. Trying to keep 'em alive in the LEM. We're gonna have to shut that down pretty soon, too. We got a lot of people working the numbers on this one, Ken. Nobody's too sure how much power we're gonna have when we hit re-entry. The command module's gonna be frozen up pretty good by then.

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Alternate Versions

The film's IMAX 70mm release presented the film open-matte, at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, meaning there was more picture information visible in the top and bottom of the frame than in normal theaters, during its initial run and on earlier home video releases, before the 10th Anniversary DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Terror Firmer (1999)

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Soundtracks

Groovin'
Written by Felix Cavaliere and Edward Brigati (as Eddie Brigati)
Performed by The Rascals
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

One of the best space movies

I'm honestly a little blown away by how much I liked this film. I have heard nothing but good things, and I went in expecting it to be good, but I never would've expected to be so captivated by it. Apollo 13 is probably the best space movie I have ever seen, at least as far as ones based on actual events go.

While movies like First Man, Interstellar, or even Gravity, have certain moments that are extremely tense, this film keeps that tension going throughout. Apart from the very beginning, I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 140-minute runtime. Especially once the, now infamous line, 'Houston we have a problem' is said, the tension just keeps on ramping up and never eases until the final credits start rolling. Tension, and especially high tension, is what's crucial for these types of movies to be successful. Space is, after all, uncharted territory for most of us watching and having that tension present, adds to the anxiety of the unknown. Another thing that is very much explored in this film is the idea that once you are in space, no one will come to the rescue. Add all these things together, and you will have a tense environment. Something that this movie captures incredibly well.

Something else that I found fascinating, was the way that the situation in this film was solved. The whole mission was done with basically less computing power than we now have in our pockets. To not only be able to undertake such a mission, but to solve the biggest problem that NASA had ever faced with nothing but human ingenuity, is quite astonishing, especially for someone like me who has lived most of his life used to having computers everywhere. In many ways, this movie celebrates how capable we humans are and how far we can stretch ourselves when needed.

What Apollo 13 is, is an incredible story told very well. It captured me and my attention from the very get-go and held onto it until the very end. It's emotional when it needs to be, and the ending can only be described as spectacularly triumphant. As mentioned, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this film. It had been on my watchlist for forever, and now I'm wondering why it took me so long to watch it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

Lankershim Boulevard & Hesby Street - North Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,353,380, 2 July 1995

Gross USA:

$173,837,933

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$355,237,933

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 106 min (IMAX Version)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1