Apollo 13 [Special Edition]

Director: Ron Howard Ron Howard

Overview

"Apollo 13 receives the kind of treatment very few films are fortunate enough to benefit from on this accurately titled collector's edition DVD. The widescreen anamorphic transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. English, Spanish, and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Spanish subtitles are accessible, and the English soundtrack is closed-captioned. The supplemental materials make this one of the most interesting discs ever produced. The director Ron Howard is joined on his commentary track by Jim Lovell and his wife Marilyn. His accounts of the actual events, along with the original documentary ""Triumph of Apollo 13"" adds a layer of historical context missing from many discs concerned with actual events. Production notes, cast and crew biographies, and a theatrical trailer round out this package that will please film buffs, DVD buffs, NASA buffs, and history buffs. There is truly something for everybody on this spectacular release."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/22/2006
UPC:	0025192015328
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	PG
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:20:00
Sales rank:	243

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Hanks	Jim Lovell
Bill Paxton	Fred Haise
Kevin Bacon	Jack Swigert
Gary Sinise	Ken Mattingly
Ed Harris	Gene Kranz
Kathleen Quinlan	Marilyn Lovell
David Andrews	Pete Conrad
Xander Berkeley	Henry Hurt
Christian Clemenson	Dr. Chuck
Bret Cullen	CAPCOM 1
Loren Dean	John Aaron - EECOM Arthur
Clint Howard	Sy Liebergot - EECOM White,Blanch Lovell,Reverend
Ben Marley	John Young
Marc McClure	Glynn Lunney
Tracy Reiner	Mary Haise
Joe Spano	NASA Director
Mary Kate Schellhardt	Barbara Lovell
Emily Ann Lloyd	Susan Lovell
Miko Hughes	Jeffrey Lovell
Max Elliott Slade	Jay Lovell
Michelle Little	Jane Conrad
Thomas Mills Wood	EECOM Gold
Googy Gress	RETRO White
Patrick Mickler	RETRO Gold
Ray McKinnon	Jerry Bostick - FIDO White
Michael Grodenchik	FIDO Gold
Ned Vaughn	CAPCOM 2
Andy Milder	GUIDO White
Geoffrey Blake	GUIDO Gold
Wayne Duvall	LEM Controller White
Jim Meskimen	TELMU White
Joseph Culp	TELMU Gold
John Short	INCO White
Ben Bodé	INCO Gold
Todd Louiso	FAO White
Gabriel Jarret	GNC White
Christopher John Fields	Booster White
Kenneth White	Grumman Rep
Jim Ritz	Ted,Ted
Andrew Lipschultz	Launch Director
Mark Wheeler	Neil Armstrong,Reporter
Endre Hules	Guenter Wendt
Karen Martin	Tracey
Maureen Hanley	Woman
Meadow Williams	Kim
Walter Von Huene	Technician
Brian Markinson	Pad Rat
Steve Rankin	Pad Rat
Austin O'Brien	Whiz Kid
Louisa Marie	Whiz Kid Mom
Thom Barry	Orderly
Arthur Senzy	SIM Tech
Carl Gabriel Yorke	SIM Tech
Ryan Holihan	SIM Tech
Jane Jenkins	Neighbor
Todd Hallowell	Noisy Civilian
Matthew Goodall	Stephen Haise,Fred Haise Jr.
Misty Dickinson	Margaret Haise
Roger Corman	Congressman
Lee Anne Matusek	Loud Reporter
Mark D. Newman	Loud Reporter
Mark McKeel	Suit Room Assistant
Jack Conley	Science Reporter
Jeffrey S. Kluger	Science Reporter
Bruce Wright	Anchor
Ivan Allen	Anchor
Jon Bruno	Anchor
Reed Rudy	Roger Chaffee
Steve Bernie	Virgil Grissom
Steven Ruge	Edward White
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	Reporter
Paul Mantee	Reporter
Julie Donatt	Reporter
Thomas Crawford	Reporter
Frank Cavestani	Reporter
J.J. Chaback	Neighbor
John Dullaghan	Reporter
John M. Mathews	Reporter
James Lovell	Captain of USS Iwo Jima,Actor
Steve Ruge	Edward White
James Horner	Composer

Technical Credits

Al Reinert

William Broyles Jr.

Ron Howard	Director
Al Reinert	Screenwriter
William Broyles Jr.	Screenwriter
Brian Grazer	Producer
Todd Hallowell	Executive Producer
Eric Lindemann	Sound Effects
Dean Beville	Sound Effects
Warren Hamilton Jr.	Sound Effects
Warren Hamilton	Sound Editor
Michael Bostick	Producer
Aldric La'Auli Porter	Producer

Editorial Reviews

You can look up the result in any encyclopedia: all three astronauts made it home alive. But from the moment Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) utters those fateful words -- "Houston, we have a problem" -- until the astronauts are safe on the deck of the USS Iwo Jima, you'll be on the edge of your seat in genuine suspense, hoping that somehow the seemingly inevitable catastrophe will be averted. Though a certain license has been taken with the truth (Ken Mattingly, for example, was not the one who devised the "power-up" procedure), Apollo 13 is largely faithful to actual events and sets a new high-water mark for putting real-life drama on the big screen. Director Ron Howard mixes the action in orbit with scenes back at NASA, detailing the frenzy and triumph that occurred on the ground as well as far above it. The acting is solid, the special effects spectacular, and the period and technical details recreated with single-minded accuracy. In fact, no documentary footage was used at all; every shot, effect, and model was new. Howard went to astounding lengths in his quest for realism. To achieve actual zero-gravity, for example, the cast and crew flew more than 500 parabolic flights in NASA's KC-135 airplane; each flight earned them only 23 seconds of weightlessness. The beauty of Apollo 13 is that it actually fulfills the cliché of "bringing history alive." For the millions of Americans who will never experience the national obsession of the Space Race, who will never understand how the country's pride could hinge on a few scared men in a jury-rigged tin can, or who will never list astronauts among their childhood heroes, Apollo 13 offers the unique opportunity to understand that glint in their parents' eyes.