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:	164

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
Mary Kate Schellhardt	Barbara Lovell
Emily Ann Lloyd	Susan Lovell
Miko Hughes	Jeffrey Lovell
Max Elliott Slade	Jay Lovell
Jean Speegle Howard	Blanch Lovell,Sy Liebergot - EECOM White
Tracy Reiner	Mary Haise
David Andrews	Pete Conrad
Michele Little	Jane Conrad(as Michelle Little)
Chris Ellis	Deke Slayton
Joe Spano	NASA Director
Xander Berkeley	Henry Hurt
Marc McClure	Glynn Lunney
Ben Marley	John Young
Loren Dean	John Aaron - EECOM Arthur
Googy Gress	RETRO White
Tom Wood	EECOM Gold
Andrew Lipschultz	Launch Director
J.J. Chaback	Neighbor
John Dullaghan	Reporter
John Wheeler	Reporter
Paul Mantee	Reporter
Julie Donatt	Reporter
Frank Cavestani	Reporter
John Mathews	Reporter
James Ritz	Ted
Steve Ruge	Edward White
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	Reporter
Frank Lovell	Actor

Technical Credits

Ron Howard	Director
Todd Hallowell	Executive Producer
Brian Grazer	Producer
Lorne Orleans	Producer
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.