Search - Apollo 13 [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1995 DVD Release: 08/22/2006 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Drama, Historical Film, Docudrama, Space Adventure See Also: Apollo 13, Apollo 13 [Anniversary Edition], Apollo 13 [Widescreen Anniversary Edition], Apollo 13 [HD DVD], Apollo 13 [Collector's Limited Edition] [Widescreen], Apollo 13 [Collector's Edition]

"Houston, we have a problem." Those words were immortalized during the tense days of the Apollo 13 lunar mission crisis, and the suspense, fear, and excitement of those days are captured in Ron Howard's epic recreation of the 1970 crisis. When the commander of the original mission Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), bows out due to possible exposure to measles, astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is slated as NASA's third lunar landing mission. All goes smoothly until the craft is halfway through its mission, when an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies. As the courageous astronauts face the dilemma of either suffocating or freezing to death, Mattingly and Mission Control leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) struggle to find a way to bring the crew back home, all the while knowing that the spacemen face probable death once the battered ship reenters the Earth's atmosphere. Even though the outcome, in which all three astronauts miraculously survived, is historical fact, the film derives suspense from the situation itself and from the actions of the heroic astronauts and the men on the ground. Howard's taut direction, a solid ensemble of players, and eye-opening special effects all add to the overall impact of the film, which has been hailed as one of Hollywood's best historical dramas. In 2002, the movie was released in IMAX theaters as Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience, with a pared-down running time of 116 minutes in order to meet the technical requirements of the large-screen format. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Tom Hanks - Jim Lovell
Bill Paxton - Fred Haise
Kevin Bacon - Jack Swigert
Gary Sinise - Ken Mattingly
Ed Harris - Gene Kranz
Kathleen Quinlan - Marilyn Lovell

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. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide