All this week, I have been reviewing my top five favorite films and explained how each came to be on the list. I may, at some future point, move to the top ten, but for now these will suffice. To recap;
#2
Apollo 13 (1995)
Among my friends, there are a number of films that we
sometimes find ourselves quoting depending on a given situation, usually in an
attempt to be funny. Whether it’s a scene from Twister, Office Space, or
SuperTroopers, there is usually one line that fits in a given situation. The
same can be said for Apollo 13.
It’s only been recently that I decided that this film is my
second favorite film of all time. In a way, it’s something I’ve always known,
but I never really wanted to admit to myself. The fact remains that I’ve seen
this particular film more times than any other film. When I was younger, and we
would visit my grandparents, we would watch this film. They owned it, and it
seemed like it was the thing we would do each and every time. Through the years
since it was released, I have viewed it on each available format, and owned
each available format. I can quote the film at length, if not the entire film
itself. But given all of that, it isn’t enough to place it on this list,
especially at this position, so why?
Well, simply put, the film contains many of the things I
look for in a great film. It has a great story, rich characters, tension,
amazing effects, awesome score, a historical film, and above all, it is highly
entertaining and fun to watch.
Apollo 13 is the story of the ill-fated mission to the moon
back in April 1970. Apollo 11 lands on the moon in July 1969 and Neil Armstrong
makes the first steps, thereby wining the so called Space Race, and fulfilling the
goal of President Kennedy to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. NASA has many
future missions planned, but public confidence in the program has waned and
people have moved onto other matters.
The film centers on the participants of the mission. Jim
Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), and
Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon). Additionally, the astronaut’s families, primarily
Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan), are featured as well as those in Mission
Control, which is led by Eugene Kranz (Ed Harris).
The superstition around the number 13 comes into play a bit
as the mission suffers some setbacks. Lovell and Co. were originally supposed
to fly on Apollo 14 but the crew led by America’s first astronaut, Alan
Shepherd, is grounded. Then a few days before launch, Mattingly, is exposed to
the measles by backup, Charlie Duke, and the backup, Swigert, is brought in to
replace him. Then while enroute and close to the moon, suffers an explosion in
its oxygen tanks. The mission to the moon is over, and the crew must now use
their brains and available resources to get back to Earth. Mission Control is
then moved into action, tasked with providing the astronauts with all the
support it can from the ground, and the pain and anguish that the families
suffered while not knowing what happened or if their loved ones will return.
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| And when compared to real photos of the time, you can see the filmmakers captured the essence completely |
Apollo 13 is an epic film, told through the lens of history
and through the voices of all the participants. The film flashes between the
space ship itself, Mission Control, and the home front, keeping tabs on what
was happening in each. It is through this narrative structure that the real story
lies. We see how all of these factors played significant parts in order to have
these men return to Earth alive, and a bit of the true cost of exploration and
discovery.
What makes Apollo 13 a bit better than many other films set
in space as well is the fact that it was actually shot in space, in a manner of
speaking. While doing research for the film, the producers liked the idea of
using the weightlessness in the film itself and had the sets built inside the
cargo plane that is used for that training. Then, in a series of flights, were
able to shoot many of the scenes that take place in space. As opposed to other
films which would simulate such an environment, the film opts for the real
thing.
However, I believe that the best moments in the film belong
to the Mission Control. Here are the brightest minds in the world all in one
room and are tasked with determining courses of action which can be helpful or
fatal to the crew. They have no ability to see any more than the readings on
their consoles and have to rely on information and educated guesses in order to
make life or death decisions. And Harris captures the essence of Kranz
completely.
Gene Kranz is a bulldog general, who demands as much out of
his crew as he does himself. He keeps everyone in check with reality and drives
the team to find solutions that would otherwise not be considered, and he
refuses to accept anything but total victory. One of my favorite lines, ever
spoken on film is spoken by Kranz as he assembles his team.
KRANZ: “We’ve never lost and American in space and we’re
sure as hell not going to lose one on my watch. Failure is NOT an option!”
It’s a great mantra to adopt and one which I try to take to
heart and live by. Truth is I have always been a fan of Kranz and largely due
to Harris performance in this film, I once wrote to him, thanking him for his
service. He sent me back an autographed copy of the Mission Control mission
statement, which remains today one of my most prized possessions.
In spite of its virtues, the film does contain two moments
which have never set well with me, one, involving Lovell’s young son. Early in
the film, while talking with his son about the Apollo 1 fire, which killed three
fellow astronauts, Lovell tells him that the door malfunctioned and failed to
open which led to their deaths. After the accident, when Marilyn tells this
young boy about the accident, he innocently asks “Was it the door?” The moment,
in and of itself isn’t much but, for some reason, it always sounds like nails
on a chalkboard to me each time I view the movie.
The other scene is shortly before the accident, when the
Lovell family is at Mission Control to watch a closed circuit broadcast from
the spaceship. None of the networks had an interest in carrying this broadcast
so the families came to Mission Control to view it. As they go to leave, the
fictional NASA Press Officer, Henry Hurt (played by Xander Berkeley) leans in
to Lovell’s 16 year old daughter and says “hey” much as a creep would do while
hitting on women at a bar. It’s not much, and doesn't add anything to the
story, nor is it a long moment, but I always found it to be a bit out of place
and unsettling.
In spite of those moments, the film remains my second favorite
film of all time. As I noted above, I have owned this film in just about every
format that it exists in. Just looking at my iTunes log, I have viewed it
ninety-four times as of this writing, and that’s just one format. Any film viewed
as much would have to resonate with the viewer and Apollo 13 does. It is a
gripping epic of survival and a showcase of the talent, wisdom, and attitude
that makes America great. It is a story of all of us. Frankly, as said by Gene
Kranz himself, in response to all the factors going against the mission right
before reentry:
And, it was.
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