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.
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.Written by
Rob Hartill
The Saturn V rockets (used for launching the Apollo spacecraft) were 363 feet (110.8 Meters) tall, taller than the overall height of the Statue of Liberty. See more »
Goofs
In the sequence of Lovell on the lunar surface, the Earth is shown just above the horizon, implying the location on the Moon is somewhere around the edge of the portion that we can see from Earth, but the Fra Mauro landing site was much closer to the centre of the Moon's visible disk, so the Earth should be much higher in the sky. See more »
Quotes
William 'Bill' Pogue, CAPCOM:
Odyssey, this is Houston. We need you to power down immediately. And you're gonna have to power up the LEM at the same time, so you better get somebody over there.
Jim Lovell:
We already have Freddo in the LEM, Houston.
William 'Bill' Pogue, CAPCOM:
We've got serious time pressure here, Jim. You've gotta get the guidance program transferred, and you've gotta do it before you're out of power in the command module, or you're not gonna be able to navigate up there.
Jim Lovell:
How much time? Can you give me a number?
William 'Bill' Pogue, CAPCOM:
Well, we're looking at less than ...
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
The IMAX version either mutes or skips over a lot of the language from the original theatrical version. Uses of "g-----n", "s--t", "a-s" "J---s" are either deleted or muted while milder profanities like hell and damn remain intact. Additionally Swigert's scene in the shower with his girlfriend is omitted as well as Marilyn Lovell losing her wedding ring in the shower drain and Jim and Marilyn making love in their backyard This is truly the more PG rated version of the film. Although the theatrical cut was also rated PG it really should have been PG-13 due to the language. This version would be much more suitable for a PG rating. See more »
APOLLO 13 (1995) ***1/2 Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan, Ed Harris, Loren Dean, Clint Howard. Exhilarating and absorbing true life account of the 1970 mishap of the American space program's Apollo 13 that nearly became a tragic catastrophe based on astronaut and team leader Jim Lovell's novel "Lost Moon". Hanks is excellent as Lovell, grace under pressure realized, as is the rest of the fine ensemble and perfect visual effects of space travel and ingenuity. Harris won a nomination for Best Supporting Actor as Mission control's chief. Noteworthy: that's director Ron Howard's real life mother as Lovell's mom and look sharp for Lovell himself at the film's conclusion. Oscar winner for Best Editing and Best Sound.
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APOLLO 13 (1995) ***1/2 Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan, Ed Harris, Loren Dean, Clint Howard. Exhilarating and absorbing true life account of the 1970 mishap of the American space program's Apollo 13 that nearly became a tragic catastrophe based on astronaut and team leader Jim Lovell's novel "Lost Moon". Hanks is excellent as Lovell, grace under pressure realized, as is the rest of the fine ensemble and perfect visual effects of space travel and ingenuity. Harris won a nomination for Best Supporting Actor as Mission control's chief. Noteworthy: that's director Ron Howard's real life mother as Lovell's mom and look sharp for Lovell himself at the film's conclusion. Oscar winner for Best Editing and Best Sound.