Apollo 13 (1995)
Directed by Ron Howard
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
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14 films that influenced Apollo 13
What critics say influenced Apollo 13
Where "The Right Stuff" emphasized the larger-than-life heroism and myth-making of the astronauts and the space program, "Apollo 13" is about how human and vulnerable, brave and foolish, these dreamers are.
Ron Howard makes sunny films about dark subjects (firefighters in "Backdraft"), and his "Apollo 13" has little of the stinging social criticism of Tom Wolfe's and Phil Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1983).
It's not as good as The Right Stuff, but it's light years ahead of 1969's Marooned, which, prophetically, offered up a similar story as science fiction but was so very, very dull.
It's almost a valentine to NASA, but without the celestial mythologizing of films like The Right Stuff.
But, except for a few documentaries like "For All Mankind," no film has given us a more authentic-looking vision than "Apollo 13." Neither a rapturous epic like Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," a satiric extravaganza like "The Right Stuff," nor a pulp-mad space opera like the "Star Wars" trilogy, this movie gets us closer to the real thing.
There is no revisionism here, none of the kind of bemused tweaking Tom Wolfe gave the space program in "The Right Stuff."
It's not as good as The Right Stuff, but it's light years ahead of 1969's Marooned, which, prophetically, offered up a similar story as science fiction but was so very, very dull.
Space travel has been a favorite subject of filmmakers since France's Georges Melies took audiences on "A Trip to the Moon" in 1902.
Director of Photography Dean Cundey helped define the widescreen Carpenter style through the 1980s, but is better known for the miraculous cinematography of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Jurassic Park (1993), and Apollo 13 (1995).
Cinematographer Dean Cundey has developed from his early days doing great work for director John Carpenter (Halloween) into a high-concept miracle worker (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jurassic Park).
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But, except for a few documentaries like "For All Mankind," no film has given us a more authentic-looking vision than "Apollo 13." Neither a rapturous epic like Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," a satiric extravaganza like "The Right Stuff," nor a pulp-mad space opera like the "Star Wars" trilogy, this movie gets us closer to the real thing.
With its grace and economy of narrative, "Apollo 13" resembles those grand old military exploits - "The Guns of Navarone," "The Dirty Dozen," "The Great Escape" and "Seven Days in May."
With its grace and economy of narrative, "Apollo 13" resembles those grand old military exploits - "The Guns of Navarone," "The Dirty Dozen," "The Great Escape" and "Seven Days in May."
"Apollo 13" is the squarest movie Hollywood has made since "The Longest Day," and in many ways it celebrates the same values: teamwork, labor, valor and commitment to mission.
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With its grace and economy of narrative, "Apollo 13" resembles those grand old military exploits - "The Guns of Navarone," "The Dirty Dozen," "The Great Escape" and "Seven Days in May."
Cinematographer Dean Cundey has developed from his early days doing great work for director John Carpenter (Halloween) into a high-concept miracle worker (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jurassic Park).