Apollo 13
Published August 27, 2010
Film info
- Title Apollo 13
- Director Ron Howard
- Year 1995
- Run time 2hrs 19m
- Genres Drama, History
- Tagline Houston, we have a problem
Ron Howard's Academy Award-winning take on the Apollo 13 story. The mission, manned by astronauts Lovell, Swigert and Haise, starts out as a routine space flight which generates little media interest. But all that changes when an oxygen tank explosion cripples the ship and prompts the famous line, 'Houston, we have a problem'. Now Lovell and his crew have to struggle to keep going, while at Mission Control their colleagues Kranz and Mattingly do everything they can to bring them home.
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:54 | I wonder if astronauts really use space exploration as a chatup line. |
| 4:47 | It must have been incredible when this happened. The entire world gathered, watching, and not because of a tragedy. |
| 6:11 | Mr C doesn’t think they should have sent Jim to get beer because he’s an astronaut. Apparently astronauts are too special to shop. |
| 8:08 | That’s quite a tall building. I reckon they might have a space rocket in there. |
| 11:06 | Surely an ear infection isn’t going to last two months. |
| 11:29 | I can’t believe they even offered up an Apollo 13. If hotels won’t have a 13th floor, you would forgive NASA for skipping to 14. |
| 14:47 | I’m glad he’s explaining it to the child because… now I understand. |
| 17:02 | He has a nice car. Do astronauts get paid a lot? |
| 18:49 | So many 13s! They are just asking for trouble. |
| 20:00 | They are walking quicker than the rocket is travelling. What is that thing? It’s like a giant tank. |
| 23:16 | “It’ll be a hell of a mission. One for the books.” |
| 29:34 | All of NASA’s millions and they just strap on a big ol’ wristwatch outside of his suit. |
| 31:10 | That CGI is pretty impressive. Hasn’t aged either. |
| 33:56 | Beautiful day for it. No chance of any delays. |
| 38:09 | “We just had our glitch for the mission.” WHY do they keep saying these things? |
| 43:13 | I’m not sure I get what they just did, split off, turn round and join again? Did they build the thing upside down on purpose? |
| 46:42 | It’s no wonder the networks dumped them, have you seen NASA TV? |
| 48:55 | I worry about them throwing stuff around. It could bump into the controls and let ants out. Oh, that might be The Simpsons I’m thinking of. |
| 52:31 | A “wicked shimmy”. I’m hoping that’s a technical term. |
| 55:12 | I bet Mission Control is no smoking these days. |
| 1:06:59 | Must be eerie seeing your spaceship with no lights or nothing. |
| 1:08:27 | They did the slingshot thing on Armageddon. Something I understand! |
| 1:12:24 | She has a direct radio feed from NASA? I can’t believe that’s a good idea. |
| 1:13:57 | Poor Jim. So close. |
| 1:20:39 | Quite literally a square peg in a round hole. It’s quite Itsa Bitsa. |
| 1:29:05 | Duct tape really does fix everything, even in space. |
| 1:30:42 | I’ve just realised this must be real news footage. It’s not as annoying as I usually find stock footage. |
| 1:37:30 | “Just a little medical mutiny.” |
| 1:41:48 | Gah! Why 39 seconds? Why not 40? I hate NASA. |
| 1:53:26 | Toaster through a car wash. There are some excellent analogies here. |
| 1:56:42 | Now a typhoon? What else could go wrong for them? |
| 1:58:25 | Imagine having to watch this news about your dad in class. |
| 2:02:09 | Where are they now? Not in the lunar thing, not in the bit that exploded… where else? |
| 2:04:58 | Do they not have to put helmets on for re-entry? |
| 2:09:45 | YAY! Best film ever! |
| 2:11:51 | I must say the shuttle has a much more graceful landing than falling into the sea and being winched into a helicopter. |
Thoughts
Okay, so this is one of the movies that Film Watch was made for. I’ve seen this a few times as a kid, by myself, only half paying attention. Now I was all set to watch with Mr C, and be seriously paying attention, so I could understand what really happened up there. We established quite early on that I couldn’t remember, when I suggested the Mission Director guy saved them all, when in reality, he spent most of his time trying to stop the others panicking. However, we’ll find out more of that as we go through the film.
Ohhhh, I love it so much more now that I understand it. I mean, I’m no rocket scientist, but it makes so much more sense. Since we watched this film, I have become completely obsessed with all things Apollo and Shuttle and NASA, and did you know that in real life it wasn’t 39 seconds, it was actually 14? I still hate NASA for it, but cooool. I can’t stop reading Wikipedia about astronauts and space, and hey, what do astronauts do when they’re not up there? Do they just sit and wait? Anyway, fantastic film. Fabulous ending.
Rating: 5 / 5
