Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4176 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-11
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 134 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious filmmaking techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
A vividly rendered dramatisation of Apollo 13's true-life brush with disaster on the way to the Moon in 1971. This mesmerising film combines computer graphics, archive footage and seamless special effects to recreate the adrenalised odyssey of Astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert who battled astronomical odds to make it back to Earth. Academy Award Nominations: 9, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor--Ed Harris, and Best Supporting Actress--Kathleen Quinlan. Academy Awards: 2, including Best Film Editing.

Customer Reviews

Inspiring story of Heroics and Teamwork
This is one of my favourite films in the last decade. Knowing that this really happened adds to the allure. The fact that it's about real life space-travel and that it happened in the 60s adds too. Ed Norton is great as a leader carrying the weight of responsibility for the stranded astronauts on his shoulders. Gary Sinise steals the show from Tom Hanks in my book.

This film works and works well. I love the message about teamwork and how cruicial the "behind the scenes" guys are to a mission (Not just the quarterback, but the team physician and waterboy as well).

I've not given 5 stars to any films until this one. I can't recommend it more.

Quite Simply Breathtaking.
On a scale of 1-5? Oh, this is a 6! **

No matter how many times I see this film (and I have seen it quite a few times by now) I never fail to be moved by the amazing story being told and the excellence of Ron Howard's film-making.

The staggeringly good cast centres about Hanks, Bacon, Sinise, Paxton and Harris. Never once do any of these disappoint in their performance.

Their spot-on delivery of such simple yet evocative lines as: 'We just lost the moon' and 'I prefer to think of this as our finest hour' presenta wealth of emotions, whilst underscoring the strength and resilience of the human character; at the same time and with equal simplicity 'Christopher Columbus, Charles Lindberg and Alan Armstrong!' expresses one ordinary man's amazement at his friend's new-found place in the history books. The simple efficiency of the writing in this script has resulted in one of the best screenplays Hollywood has ever produced. The first-class direction and acting have ensured a powerful and convincing transfer from paper to celluloid.

Although this is not a 'Special Effects' film, there are a considerable number of effects in the film. Downplayed and used as such effects truly should be (as a technical enhancement to, rather than the object of the film) they convincingly and chillingly impart the sense of isolation felt by the Astronauts.

This 'aloneness'; their captivity in a the tiny LEM; the lack of action available to them is succinctly counter-balanced by the numerous ground crew, unfettered in thier movements as they rush round NASA desperatly, and with unending ingenuity, trying to solve one problem after another before time, power and oxygen run out for the three men in space.


**Rating Explanation

I watch and own a huge number of films and can sit through most
dross. My ratings are based on my personal response to films,not
any standard of quality. Therefore:

1 star : So awful I walked out/switched off/fell asleep
2 stars: I managed to watch all of it, but it was painful
3 stars: It's OK - quite good, but I probably wouldn't watch it again
4 stars: It's good and/or enjoyable. I could happily watch it again
5 stars: These are special. My desert island films.

Amazing
This film is just class you must buy it i am only 14 but hey I have big views. Everything about this flim is so compelling the music the exsitment and the ending well turly class love it.