On seeing Apollo 13 again tonight

[thatcrazycajun]

Sci Fi just ran Ron Howard's 1995 film Apollo 13, based on the book by the actual mission's commander James Lovell, Lost Moon, tonight. Even though Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton look nothing like the so-often-seen photos of the real trio of astronauts, they still managed to portray excellently the mix of cool competence, sheer terror and gritty determination that reigned on that almost-doomed flight. And Gary Sinise as left-behind team member Ken Mattingly, Ed Harris as NASA flight director Gene Kranz, and Kathleen Quinlan as Lovell's wife all provide faultless support.

Even though I've seen the film before more than once, even though I know as we all do the actual historical account of that eight-day ordeal in 1970 (I was all of seven years old when it happened), I empathized with poor Marilyn Lovell being informed of her husband's predicament and listening to the radio and watching TV waiting to learn if he would survive. And I loved Ron's mom Jean in a cameo as Lovell's aged mother, who despite obvious signs of Alzheimer's or similar senile dementia refuses to be alarmed when informed of her son's dire situation: "If they could make a washing machine fly, my Jimmy could land it!" (Seeing Blanche's little boy in action in this film, one can quite easily believe her...and certainly he and his crew must have felt like they were in a Maytag on spin cycle a time or two that week.) Then there was Marilyn telling the pressies not to set up their equipment on her lawn: "If they don't like it, they can take it up with my husband. He'll be home Friday." And I found myself almost biting my nails in apprehension again at those last four minutes following reentry, when the returning Odyssey module is blacked out from radio contact and Mattingly repeats forlornly, "Odyssey, this is Houston. Do you read?" And I wanted to cry along with Marilyn's tears of relief and catharsis when Jim's voice finally rings out, "Houston, this is Odyssey!" and cheers fill Mission Control in Houston. And having the real Lovell play the aircraft carrier captain, greeting Hanks' faux version of himself with a handshake and a salute, was a nice touch.

And I recall Lovell's final line: "I wonder when we will go back. And who that will be." So do I.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

I'm second-generation NASA. (I worked on UARS' data validation.) My da worked for RCA's Range and Range Rate boys with the 85-foot dishes out of Rosman, NC; Thirteen was the last ship he tracked.

Dad's comment was that the movie was almost a documentary. They got a few things wrong, but not many. (The blue flame coming out of Apollo was one horribly noticeable screwup; kerosene burns orange (see icon of the real thing; that's Eleven blasting off). I did not know about Jim Lovell's cameo; I suspect that means he was also heavily involved in the script, which would be a reason for its accuracy.

But, no. Absolutely wonderful film. That one, The Right Stuff, and that series they did with Barry Corbin playing Deke called Moon Shot... wonderful stuff. Done right.

Oh, and one final tidbit. Jack Swigert, who was *actually* in charge of getting Oddesey back in one piece (Jim commanded, but Jack was the pilot), damn near *hit* the recovery carrier, landing within 2000 feet of it... something no computer could ever match (most being within 2-3 miles). That man had a frelling chronometer for brains. They don... no, I take that back, they do still make'em like that, or did, anyway. Their names are Melville and Binnie and Rutan. Dick. I hope for our childrens' sake that they do still make'em like that....

[archiver-tim.livejournal.com]

You would probably also enjoy Gene Kranz's Failure Is Not An Option from the History channel in 2003 it runs 90 minutes when spots are removed. It sometimes shows up in thier 6am "Classroom" segments. I made myself a homemade DVD out of my recording.
I'm sure it is also a book by Gene Franz.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

I have Apollo 13 on tape and DVD. I get a little tearyy-eyed every time I watch it.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

My mom was working at Universal at the time they had a private screening of it in North Hollywood back in 1995. She knew she wouldn't be interested, but called me up, told me that if I wanted to go I could get her pass, and I could go in her place. As one who's performed "The Ballad of Apollo XIII" and remembered enough about the mission to be a space cadet, I was still entranced with the way the movie was done and how things turned out at the end. Granted, you can't get everything done absolutely correctly in a movie, but dang!, it was a great movie.