I was 6 years old when Apollo 8 orbited the moon on Christmas eve, and Jim Lovell read from the book of Genesis, with the earth in the distance. A year and a half later, Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and I remember watching Neil & Buzz descending the ladder and stepping on the moon, on live TV (in very fuzzy black and white.) And I remember Apollo 13, and the way the entire world waited and wondered if the astronauts would make it home. Gene Kranz (played by Ed Harris in the movie) did an amazing job of directing the hoards of engineers to solving the problems until they were home. He later wrote an amazing book, "Failure is not an Option!"
I remember everyone was astronaut crazy after Apollo11. Mom got me astronaut food (chocolate sticks like extra-long Tootsie rolls). They weren’t very good, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be an astronaut until I found out how much math was involved.
I'm a generation too young to have seen these missions, but I'm a history nerd and listening to the Apollo 8 Genesis reading is a Christmas tradition of mine.
@@billolsen4360 I'm honestly kinda jealous of you for that. Not as jealous as I am of Bill Anders for taking the Earthrise photo on Apollo 8, but still fairly jealous.
It was Bill Anders who read that, actually. Also, in reality Glynn Lunney was the flight director the men looked to for answers, he was the head of Mission Control after the accident
In reality Jack Swigert literally wrote the manual on CM operations. He wasn't a "rookie." That, and the argument scenes were Hollywood enhancements. In the real world, the three astronauts were cool & collected the entire trip. Most folks would find that unrealistic, hence the arguments to humanize them. Mattingly was not single-handedly responsible for the power up solution; that was a dramatic choice, condensing several events for storytelling purposes. But the actual events are all true. One of my personal favorite lines is Lovell's mom's (played by Ron Howard's mom) line: "Don't worry honey, if they could make a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it." delivered with absolute certainty. To my mind one of the most powerful elements of the movie is the score, especially during the launch, but it was effective all through the movie.
It was another flight director, Glynn Lunney, who's crew got Apollo 13 through the most critical periods, not Gene Kranz. Also, Kranz never said the phrase, "Failure is not an option".
@@padfolio Yeah, and Kranz didn't tear up like that at the end. If memory serves, Ed Harris actually spoke with Kranz, or watched an interview with Kranz about the mission. While he was recollecting the final moments, Kranz broke down. Harris thought that was a powerful moment, and incorporated it into his performance at the end.
@@Caseytify I've seen Kranz in several interviews since, and even today, he still tears up about the sheer enormity of it. And let me tell anyone reading this, man or woman - it's OK to cry!
The craziest thing about this movie, it's almost all real. A few dramatic takes, but almost all of the information is accurate to how they got in to their situation, and how they got out of it. Insane.
My only real issue with the movie is it tends to boil down complex team efforts into single-man-solves problem. Only showing one Mission Director, instead of all four - suggesting that only Ken Mattingly was in the simulators working out how to do the power-on sequence without the rest of the backup crew. Same for John Aaron on the mission control side (though he did do exactly that during Apollo 12) .
@@Caseytify Oh yes, it's understandable why they did it, but its a disservice to those they leave out - hell, they even do it to the crew - suggesting that the mission would be scrubbed if Swiggert couldn't extract the LEM on first attempt when in reality any one of the three crew were qualified to do that procedure, and they would have tried it multiple times till they got it done - as happened in Apollo 14 - that was just straight up invention on the part of the scriptwriters.
@@DaveF. It was a bit unfair to Swigert, that's for sure. I understand that they were trying to go for an "earning his stripes" narrative, which works from a moviemaking standpoint,... it downplays how skilled of a pilot and astronaut he was. He'd never have been there if he weren't. The only real issue was the loss of team-cohesiveness in losing Ken. Its also why if something happens to one of the team, they swap out the ENTIRE crew for the backup crew.... but since Backup CMP Charlie Duke was the one who had the measles, this was impossible. All I can say is,... at least it wasn't the total hatchet job that "The Right Stuff" did to Gus Grissom. Easily one of the most respected and beloved astronauts in the corps by everyone involved, even before "The Fire"
I like the drama of them taking off the medical sensors, and the casual shrug and "medical mutiny" line. Succinctly stating that unless you can whip up a space cop, which we could really use right now to escort these gentlemen home, your team better go back to old school "How are you feeling today? Any unusual pain?". Then, I dunno, not a doctor, but I presume brief the recovery team on what their sick bay should have ready and make sure it's on the aircraft carrier.
I'm from West Virginia, if you watch October Sky, the gentleman who engineered the ability to shoot rockets upward, is from McDowell County about 12 miles from me. Homer Hickman and friends discovered the ability to travel upward back in the late 40's early 50's based on a true story.
THIS IS SUCH A GOOD MOVIE! This movie came out when I was 5 and I saw it a few years later. Top Gun made me want to be a fighter pilot. Apollo 13 made me want to be an astronaut.
its one of those films that just captured my soul the moment I saw it, and never let go. I went to see it in the theater for a FIFTH time, only for it to be removed from that theater at the time, so I only saw it four... but then watched my VHS copy to DEATH, a year later. This movie occupies a permanent #1 spot on my favorite movies list. I don't care what movie came before, or what other movies come after, that spot is not changing for me. And yes, I will die on this hill :P
This is the most accurate space movie of all time. It's basically exactly how space operations are done. They give too big of a role to the astronauts in finding and solving problems (especially Ken), but it is a small quibble.
It's a team effort. The astronauts are the public face of the Space Program, and they undergo very intensive training those folks sitting in the chairs at Ground Control don't have to. Plus, there are things that can only be done from inside the CM or LEM.
No the role of the astronauts is pretty accurate. If you listen all they really do throughout the movie is confirm what the comp says and the manual burn, which was done by the astronauts. Also astronauts also work mission control when they are not flying so Ken's role was pretty accurate as well.
Documentaries featuring mission control staff confirm the accuracy of the movie. If anything, they simplified it some; for example, the final computations that they conveyed to the crew, who wrote them out and verbally repeated them-- this was hundreds of calculations, not the few seen in the film. Also, General Motors offered a new car to the astronauts, who were American heroes. They all chose Corvettes. You can see Mattingly's in the background as he watches the launch.
Gene Kranz said the only thing in the movie that he didn't like was when Ed Harris shouts at the other men. I can't remember what he said exactly, but something to the effect of the flight director would never lose their cool, and let any doubt creep in to the rest of the team. Or something like that, anyway.
This is a great film. Even a space nerd like me that knows the outcome, they did an awesome job building the suspense and tension. Addie: "I'm not crying" Us: yes you are, and so are we. Another awesome react. We watch for you, not just to see... a few pieces of a movie. This movie, and you really hit the feels. 💖
From one fellow space nerd to another 😂 I tear up everytime I watch this movie. Ironically... It was this movie that lit the fuse for my inner space nerd to come out. I saw it in theaters with my dad and I was just blown away... I think I was 7 years old
@@craigory87 Interestingly, it was The Right Stuff that lit the fuse for young me, but it was Apollo 13 that captured my soul. I can appreciate The Right Stuff for all it tried to do, while at the same time complaining about everything it got wrong (some things deliberately so). But Apollo 13, no matter what flaws exist (probably fewer than any other historical movie one could name, even), will forever occupy the #1 spot on my favorite movies list. I don't care what comes after, till the day I die, that spot will never change. It remains the only movie I have ever tried to see in the theater for a FIFTH time (unfortunately, it was removed by then, so I only saw it four, tying with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. But the point is I WENT for that fifth time). And even after literally well over 100 viewings,... yes, I still cry at several points in the film. "If they could get a washin' machine to fly... my Jimmy could land it" certainly ranks up at the top ... its probably my most listened-to Soundtrack as well, especially that ending suite. RIP James Horner, you utter legend
This was not just a movie, it was absolutely a true story. The entire world was holding its breath during those six days. If there was ever a movie where it was okay to cry, it was this one.
What a perfect movie to react to after reading today about NASA releasing new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. It shows the deepest images of the universe our eyes have ever witnessed. Perfect timing Addie. 🌕🌜⭐🌍
Addie, it was good to see you learn about this significant mission. Yes, they took a little dramatic license but by Hollywood standards, it is exceedingly faithful to the actual people and how things happened.
One of my favorite scenes was the checking of the gimbal angles by the ground crew. Even the flight surgeon was proficient in math. Computers are great, but sometimes it feels like we lost something.
@@terrylandess6072 I agree. Too much reliance on the machine. It results in both mental and physical atrophy compared to the generations that built this nation. I once took a look at some high school textbooks from the late 1920s and the math, mechanical and chemical science material & homework/practice tests are on par with what we classify as junior/senior level college classwork.
This is part of why the commentary track with Jim and Marilyn Lovell is so interesting if you get the chance to watch the movie with that switched on. Jim tells you what in the movie is faithfully recreated and what is dramatic license. Then he admits a bit of drama doesn't hurt the movie. The only creative license he may not have been too happy with was the team arguing amongst themselves even the minor amount that they do. He stated his team was professional the whole mission.
I can understand the dramatic license, but as a space dork, it still bugs me that they didn't get the color of the second stage exhaust right. :) Those J-2s are hydrolox engines with regenerative cooling and no ablative material in the nozzles, guys--they're supposed to glow blue! And where are the thermal blankets around the first stage F-1 nozzles? Huh? HUH? ;)
17:19 Whenever you rewatch this movie, you keep an eye on that guy right there. In real life, that’s John Aaron, a legend in NASA Mission Control. By this time, he’d already made a call that saved the Apollo 12 mission and been dubbed “a steely-eyed missile man,” a high compliment at NASA. In a room full of smart people, he was quite possibly the smartest, and one with rock-solid judgment. That’s why, even though he’s the only one saying to shut down, the guy in charge goes with it.
Yeah the movie kinda did him dirty by then making him the naysayer to Mattinglys determinator during the attempts to come up with the re-entry plan. Watching this as a kid then seeing it after learning about thst stuff was a weird gut punch. Like, still love the movie but they really didn't have to do that much truth finagling around certain things, especially in the Aaron case since he wasn't just reduced but made to look worse so Mattingly looks better.
If you're talking to me, the guy with glasses is Aaron, and Young is the other guy who comes and gets him at the motel and at one point says "you're gonna lose a lot in the transfer, Ken." They're both named John so that's fun, and it's almost like after the "turn the power off now" scene Aaron goes from being Aaron to a weird composite character (he's even credited as EECOM Arthur)which is kinda what I mean about how the movie does the actual man a bit dirty.
@@inarar5334 They wanted the astronaut to be the hero, and not the Mission Control geek. I feel like the bit with Rich Parnell in The Martian is payback.
There really is a Mount Marilyn on the moon. Jim Lovell was given the opportunity to name it, and he named it after his wife...which I think is incredibly sweet
11:14 Just a fun fact, This guy is Ron Howard's brother Clint Howard & has a long history of being involved in space shows as he was in the 1966 Star Trek S01E10 episode 'The Corbomite Maneuver' when he was only 7 years old & has appeared in 17 movies directed by Ron.
One of the best space movies out there. I would highly recommend watching Apollo 11 if you are interested in the subject matter. It's a movie entirely cut together from real footage of the Apollo 11 mission, all fully remastered, to the moon and it is done in a stunningly impressive manner.
I would also recommend the HBO miniseries "From The Earth to the Moon" for which my only real complaint is omitting the vast majority of Gemini, without which there would be no Apollo. Well... and of course basing the Apollo 13 episode around a fictional newsroom... but its not like there was anything more they could do after the movie already covered virtually everything, lol.
Great reaction! Back around 1970 or 71 my mom was out to lunch with some friends, and a guy at a neighboring table was getting the celebrity treatment. My mom went over to his table for an autograph, with the only thing she had in her purse to write on, so that's why I have Buzz Aldrin's autograph on the back of my First Grade class photo.
Addie, I want you to know that I was having the worst day, but you really made me happy, thank you, absolutely fantastic reaction!!!! I don't think you realize how much joy you bring to the world.... Have an excellent day!!!
Fun fact: there is a middle school and high school Competition called Science Olympiad. One of the events is called write it do it which was inspired indirectly by the scene where they have to fit a round filter into the square hole, then explain the procedure to the astronauts. One student has 20 minutes to write down directions on how to build a thing with a pile of provided materials and a model. Then, their partner has 25 minutes to build the model with just the materials and the written directions without anything else to refer to. They are graded on how close the built model is to the original
@@SergioArellano-yd7ik actually, the girls who competed this event played this as a game even outside formal competition. They could read each others’ handwriting just fine.
@@SergioArellano-yd7ik you're on a website where every day, people younger and smarter than you learn foreign languages, history, programming, science, etc but you're using it to... what? watch people watch movies? while trying to feel superior to "kids nowadays" because in your mind, they don't know how to make the loopy swoopy letters you learned in second grade? you realize that someone could learn cursive off youtube in a couple of hours, right? sorry you peaked when you were 8 years old bro
The reason it took well over the normal three minutes to regain communications during reentry was because they entered the atmosphere shallower than normal. It took them longer to get through the ionizing layer that blocks radio communications. Also, there really was a tropical storm in the Pacific when they splashed down but it was far enough away that it had no effect on the recovery.
I am curious (one of the rare space facts I do not know), did the shallower angle allow them to bypass the storm and land behind it, or was their angle always gonna side-swipe it far enough away?
Highly recommend the companion piece to Apollo 13 called "From the Earth to the Moon" (1995) an historical drama miniseries produced and hosted by Tom Hanks that's all about the Apollo missions. They show a couple earlier missions from Mercury and Gemini for reference, the Apollo One fire, and you'll learn a lot about the moon project in general. And Tom Hanks stars in the last episode! 🖖😎
I remember this. My family watched it unfolding as it happened. That little toy lunar module that he hands his son at 2:52 ? I actually had one of those, and later the toy of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, and of course, a toy Astronaut! The Apollo 11 that landed first on the Moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, both my grandmothers were with us to watch it - they were born in the late 1800's, no cars, no phones, no TVs, no radio...and they watched in wonder as mankind walked on the Moon! When will we go back? If all goes well, Artemis III is slated to land on the Moon in 2025, and stay for about 1 week. Among the crew, there will be women and persons of color, which will be a mighty first in the history of space exploration! I feel so blessed to live in such a time in history!
Right you are Cameron5043. I remember watching the first steps on the Moon on our family's black & white television set. I am now happily watching the progress of Artemis/SLS and it's companion (yes, companion not competition) craft, "Starship" by SpaceX.
Tom Hanks would go on to make the epic HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. Well worth watching... even if the bluray edition added horrible CGI effects to it.
And that was the edition that was kept for streaming on HBO Max too. Those of us who want the original version will have to fight for the VHS Box Sets on eBay.
I was 11 when these events unfolded. Our country stood still for days on end, It felt like an eternity. There were a lot of behind-the-scenes guys that lived in our neighborhood that worked at Goddard Space flight. My father was a high-end government worker, though he had no direct affiliation with NASA other than the money end of it. I only witnessed my dad cry 3 times. When my brother died, and when his mother passed and the successful return of Apollo 13.
All perfectly appropriate times to have a safety valve of letting emotions out. People who spread the crap that "real men don't cry" are lonely joyless people who go on to do mass shootings.
The technical consultant on this film was Dave Scott, the commander of Apollo 15, who had not only walked on the moon, but driven a car on it. Scott had a very close call of his own on his very first space mission, Gemini 8. After completing the first ever docking of two spacecraft (the other craft was an unmanned target vehicle), a faulty thruster caused the Gemini 8 spacecraft suddenly start spinning wildly out of control. Eventually, the two astronauts were spinning at one revolution per second, which is extremely dangerous (at such speeds, you can get tunnel vision and eventually pass out). Fortunately, Scott's commander managed to get the spacecraft under control. The commander's name was Neil Armstrong.
Love your reaction, Addie. As a space nerd who remembers the real Apollo 13, I love this movie. But it's also my wife's favorite movie. While the movie fabricates some human drama (like the astronauts arguing), it actually ignores a later, ominous failure on the real flight. Once the main ship (the Command Module) was out of power, everything depended on six batteries in the lander (the Lunar Module), and those batteries would have to run much longer than they were meant to. On the way home, one of those batteries _exploded_. That explosion didn't damage anything else, but it meant that they were down to just five batteries. The other five picked up the load-but NASA knew that three of those remaining batteries had the same design flaw that caused the one to explode. Fortunately, none of the rest exploded, and they made it home.
I worked at video production house here in Chicago and one day the wife of Jim came in with a ton of 8mm film of 7 days of this event and transferred it to tape and did big edit of it all. She was giving it to him as a surprise.
about Jack Swigert no being "up to speed." he was on the backup crew. ALL backup crews had the exact same amount of training as the prime crew so any one of them could replace a prime crewmember in an instant and they always, (as seen in the first simulator scene), train right after the prime crew so when Jack Swigert replaced Ken Mattingly he had the same training and was at the same level of preparedness as Mattingly.
The biggest reaction I had was realizing how AMAZING humans can be when they work together and rely on each other as a collective team. This was one of the high points in human history, and for America -- demonstrating what a incredible generation looks like. Those who ran the space and moon landing programs -- they are so Inspirational. Amazing. and Loved. I place them with the generation of 1776, 1941-1945 and 1969-73 -some of the best years for America. Dare we ever forget.
What's amazing is how stressful and suspensful this movie is, even for those of us who were alive when this happened and already knew how this turned out. A credit to the actors, director, and everyone involved in producing this movie.
As another dude named Ken, really appreciate all the praises. Although I am fairly certain no one has ever said any of those lines to me. But it was nice to hear.
I'm such a NASA kid. I grew up in Houston. Growing up I went to NASA on field trips and family trips so many times. I've even been to parts of the Space Center that visitors aren't normally allowed to go in, and I've been inside duplicates of the original International Space Station modules. NASA, and NASA history was genuinely integral to me growing up. I grew up with a real life decommissioned Mission Control control panel in my classroom. I talked to astronauts in elementary school. We would have whole classes stop to focus on Mars rovers landing on Mars. We had posters and patches and model NASA ships in our classrooms. To me, the story of Apollo 13 is such a given. Like it's as fundamental to American history in the way I was raised as the American Revolution or the Civil War or the first Moon landing itself. "Houston, we have a problem." is such an iconic saying that anyone and everyone has heard. It never really occurs to me that anyone could watch Apollo 13 without knowing what it's about. It's so interesting.
Oh, and fun facts: The actress playing Lovell's mother was actually Ron Howard's mother. The actor playing the pastor during re-entry at the Lovell home was Rance Howard,, Ron Howard's father. And playing the Captain of the aircraft carrier that greets the crew? That was the real Jim Lovell.
No Addie, get emotional, if that's what you feel. That is why we are here. We come to reaction channels to feel with you, as well as the other viewers. We come to get a sense of human connection which was terribly disrupted during the past few years. It is amazing how you reactors put yourselves out there and help us get some of that connection back, even if it is just a little bit, even if it is through a screen. But, you must be vulnerable, honest and genuine for it to work. Thank you, and keep up the good content.
Saw this in a packed theater back when it came out. When Lovell said, "It's good to see you again," we started cheering right along with Mission Control. It was just that good. They don't make movies like this anymore.
I love the early comments not captured in the movie. That the Saturn V rocket was a V2 on drugs. That going into space was essentially strapping yourself into an intercontinental ballistic missile and you're riding up on top of enough explosive power to level a small city.
You may also enjoy ... The Right Stuff, October Sky, Hidden Figures and First Man. If you weren't alive when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, you missed it! The whole world stood behind this first time.
Addie, great reaction. I remember watching this IRL, just like I remember watching the first moon landing live. Three decades later at the university at which I worked, I learned that one of my fellow professors in the Computer Science department, Warren, was part of the mission control team in Houston for this flight (he was also on the Apollo 11 and 12 mission control teams). I’ve had a lot of forgettable lunches and coffees with colleagues over the years, but I won’t forget those that I had one-on-one with Warren when he talked about his experiences at NASA. The portion of the film where they mentioned that the major networks opted not to broadcast the crew’s messages understated how apathetic the world/US had become to space flight. It remained that way until the Challenger disaster. That was another day that I’ll never forget. I was stationed in Germany at the time and my First Sergeant literally pulled me out of my office and dragged me to the Day Room. I didn’t see the explosion live, but saw it played over and over on the AFN coverage for at least the next hour. I thought then that things could not get worse. 90 days later Chernobyl happened.
I live near Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, headquarters for NASA. My hubs and I saw this on opening night. There were probably 30 or 40 guys who had worked on the Apollo program there, and were actually at Mission Control, or working backup in Huntsville during Apollo 13. They came out of the theater saying, "Yeah, they got it right. That's how it was. They got it right. Living where I do, I grew up knowing a lot about the space program and it's always been part of the background of my life. A little searching will turn up the actual photos of the service module damage the astronauts took. It's really incredible when you see the pics. Great reaction! Don't ever be ashamed to cry at a movie. It's OK.
I'm 76 and remember watching it as it happened. I followed the space program from the original Mercury 7 astronauts starting when I was in the 5th grade. Tom Boyte, GySgt. USMC, retired Vietnam 65-66/70-71
I remember huddling around a TV set in my fifth grade classroom watching Apollo 13 land. I’ve got a commemorative juice glass calling the mission “ a triumph of courage, ingenuity, and teamwork.” I love this movie. They did such a good job with it.
the big orchestra once they get back to earth gets me every time. What a great film. I remember watching this in the theater and being in total awe because I had never heard of this mission. Fantastic reaction and well done.
I was in highschool and remember watching it live when they came back. Our family followed the space program starting with the Mercury program. During those scary days, people around the world were united in praying for the Apollo 13 astronauts. No one knew if they would make it back, and there was such relief when they did! This movie captures the spirit perfectly.
Great film, wonderful reaction. I love this film and remember when it happened, I hadn't started school at the time but heard the news updates. Gene Kranz is an amazing character, involved in space program from the very start (Mercury) he helped write the procedures NASA used. Deke Slaton was a mercury astronaut but after his flying career he became Director of Flight Crew Operations. Also the CAPCOM were actual astronauts (Charles Duke, Ken Mattingly and others) John Young (The guy that told Ken about the accident had a long career and flew the first Space Shuttle) The Apollo 1 fire killed Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffe. Gus was involved from the Mercury program and was tipped to be the first man on the moon. Ed White was the first american to do a space walk. Roger Chaffee was a newbie. Tragic loss of brave men. Frank Borman (Gemini astronaut) handled the investigation. Buzz (Gemini) helped with the neutral bouyancy training tank, he was a scuba diver and proved it was a effective means to prepare from space operations. I highly recommend a series called "Moon Machines" and "When we left Earth" both are very interesting and informative if you like this. sorry for waffling on, thank you for making it this far. Edit: I am just in awe of what the engineers achieved in this, from the jury rigged CO2 cannister "adaptor" and the line "You sir are a steely eyed missile man" from an astronaut to a "nerd" is just a huge mark of respect in my book.
The only issue with this movie I have is how it gives the impression that Swigert was rushed to get prepared for the flight. He was not, he was 100% ready and capable of stepping in for Mattingly. Both crews were ready to fly .
Addie, I would highly recommend getting the DVD of this movie and watching it with the commentary on from the real Jim and Marilyn Lovell. It is such a great commentary.
17:04 That was his tribute to Bubba. Even those who knew the outcome that they all made it were in suspense in the movie theaters. That's a tribute to the great work of Ron Howard and his partner Brian Grazer. BTW: Jim Lovell's mom in the movie was played by Ron Howard's mom, Blanch (Jean Speegle Howard). Rance Howard (his father) appears as the Lovell family minister. Cheryl Howard (his wife) and Bryce Dallas Howard (his famous actress daughter when she was a little girl/star of the Jurassic World franchise) appear as uncredited background performers in the scene where the astronauts wave goodbye to their families. That scene reminds people of the real tragedy that occurred for the families of the Challenger disaster who watched their loved ones blow up. Clint Howard- Ron's brother - played flight controller Seymour Liebergot. Clint always got a big supporting role in his brother's movies including Ron's first full-length feature, Grand Theft Auto, John Dexter in Cocoon (1985), Paul in Gung Ho (both film and TV series), pathologist Ricco in Backdraft (1991), Lou in Parenthood, Flynn in Far and Away (1992), Ken in EDtv (1999), Whobris in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and also was in Ron Howard's Star Wars movie: Solo. I love every one of your reactions, Addie. You are adorable!
I adore this movie, not just because its true, but because it demonstrates just how much humanity can accomplish despite the odds, if we just go in with a positive attitude. There are so many times this mission could have failed, but it didn't because of human ingenuity. It exemplifies what we are capable of when we choose to come together and strive for the impossible. It shows that hope really can lead us to success against the odds, if we're willing to put our all into it. This is a story where smarts wins the day and I wish there were more like it.
Two fun filming facts, one of which has likely already been mentioned several times, but I'll mention it again just because its that awesome: All of the zero G scenes were filmed inside a modified airplane that would fly in giant arcs so for periods of 20-30 seconds, everything inside would be in freefall, accurately simulating zero-gravity in the enclosed mockup sets. Astronaut Jim Lovell is on record as saying the Apollo 13 actors spent more time in the "vomit comet" than he himself would ever care to, during all of his training. Secondly, NASA had agreed to let Director Ron Howard use the actual MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room) which still exists (but is not used, as current operations are in a different more modern and upgraded room). However, several shots that Howard wanted to make would require the removal of certain walls to get the necessary crane camera shots, which was understandably not possible with the real facility. So instead he had a recreation made that was so accurate in every detail that actual astronauts and flight controllers (namely Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott, who was one of the technical directors on the film) were actually fooled. After a certain day of shooting, he would go to leave what would have normally been an exit in the real MOCR... only to find it was either a false door, or went to a sound stage rather than the expected hallway, totally tricking him out as he forgot he was even on a set LOL
Ken Mattingly was moved to Apollo 16 which was nearly another failed mission. After releasing the LEM for their descent he tested the backup systems for the SM thruster and had a shimmy come through the ship. He realized it was a problem with the gimbal cables being too short, something he remembered happened in the testing phase a few years before. After review it was agreed to continue the flight and the mission went off without further hitch. When he got back he asked how they could let them continue the mission when the controls for both the main and backup gimbals went though the same cable, in short the risk wasn't changed at all. It still could have failed. This surprised the operations guy who said "you're the only one who knew. You're right, we wouldn't have let you land."
I have a tie to the Apollo 13 mission and one to the Apollo 1 fire. As a child of eight I attended Church with the brother of Astronaut Ed White who perished in the Apollo 1 fire. As a Sailor in the Navy Reserves for the last eight years of my career I preformed Military Funeral Honors for my fallen Shipmates. At one funeral in the chapel of the funeral home there were two large pictures of the Sailor back in the late 60's and 70. He was a rescue swimmer and one of the two large pictures had the helicopter with the Sailor having jumped out of the Helicopter. He was in the air about half way between the helicopter and the water. In the water was the Apollo 13 command module with the USS Iwo Jima in the background. Just an old Sailor's thoughts on what a small world we actually live in.
Hello Addie, wonderful reaction. I can watch this move over and over. I was 12 years old in 1970. A few months from turning 13. I remember when this happened. The whole world was watching. It was one of just a few times the world was focused and united in hopes they would return safely. Thank you for a wonderful 33:07 minutes🥰
When Hanks is walking across the deck of the recovery ship shaking hands, the old officer who appears on the left during that scene is the actual Jim Lovell.
My favorite movie! Other commentators have already beat me to the trivia: the astronauts never really "bounced off the walls," the shallow entry they mentioned was why they were out of radio contact so long, etc. Some reviewers of this film complained that Marilyn losing her wedding ring down the drain was a corny "omen", but she always claimed it really happened. I found it unbelievable that the Lovells went to see "Marooned" just before the flight -- a movie about astronauts being stuck in orbit. I was a nut for the Apollo Program as a kid, but when I heard Apollo 13 wasn't going to land on the moon, I just scowled like the brat I was and ignored the rest of the mission. I remember Apollo 8's Christmas greetings, Armstrong's descent down the ladder, the Moon Buggy in later missions -- but I have no memory of Apollo 13. :( And before I forget, you certainly put yourself in this reaction! I saw tears aplenty -- and I'm not crying, so YOU must be crying!
at the start of this movie, they were watching the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. Apollo 11 landed on the Moon just a few days before my 5th birthday. of course I didn't understand the significance of that day, but I still remember my family gathered around the black and white TV and holding our collective breaths!
I didn't go back to check, but I'm pretty sure that what they were watching at the start of the movie was Apollo 11. That's the one with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first to land on the moon. Apollo 12 came a little bit later, and there wasn't much in the way of pictures coming back from that one because the camera got accidentally pointed at the sun very early on and didn't really work after that. So now I'm curious - was Apollo 11 just a few days before your birthday, or Apollo 12?
That was certainly one of Mankind's finest moments. The entire world; BILLIONS of people.. rapt attention, in some cases praying... FOR THREE (3) MEN. THREE. And that is what is best in Mankind, imo.
Great reaction, Addie. I remember watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on television as it happened. I think back now and remember seeing Neil Armstrong in 1970 when he was a grand marshall at a parade in Dallas. And I remember touching moon rocks twice, once at the Smithsonian in D.C. and once at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. And I remember the news coverage of this Apollo mission as it was happening. But I think most people really weren't aware of all the challenges the astronauts and NASA faced in getting them back home safely until this movie came out. We knew it took several days, but not about all the extraordinary problems that arose during that time.
Movie was directed by Ron Howard, whose Hollywood career began playing an 8-year old lisping Winthrop (singing Gary, Indiana in the Music Man). He was Opie Taylor in the Andy Griffith show, then Richie Cunningham in Happy Days, before turning his attention to directing. (It is hard to think of him in any of these roles contrasted to the other roles he would play and of course his successful directorship.)
Loved your reaction to this. This is my favorite movie. I experienced it in real time back in the day and it was so impactful to all of us. The entire world was emotionally invested in this event. It was truly a human triumph!
in my opinion, this is the best space movie ever made. Possibly, a few hollywood exaggerations (hayes' has said he was not as ill as depicted), but the archive footage of the news coverage used in the film confirmed those guys were in real peril. I appreciated how the film portrayed the will and stress it caused both for the crew and the NASA staff on Earth to get them home safely. One bit of trivia, the director and producers did their best to make everything as authentic as possible--even to the point of reminding the actors who were on the ship as the capsule landed in the sea, not to do high-fives or man hugs since those were not in vogue during that time period.
What blows my mind that the greatest departure from real life is the intensity of the acting. The astronauts are so well trained and cool that you wouldn't even know they were in an unprecedented scenario where death was likely imminent. Cool as cucumbers! But the right choice for the movie because you are immediately held the whole was through but the cast.
The scenes of the astronauts in space were actually filmed in zero-gravity, not using obviously fake special effects like older movies. There is a special plane that NASA flies to train astronauts. It flies steeply up and then down, over and over again, which gives the passengers about 30 seconds of zero-gravity each time. The plane is nicknamed the "Vomit Comet." For this movie, they built the set of the spacecraft inside the plane, and then the actors and the film crew spent days on board flying hundreds of up-and-down cycles. That's why each scene of the astronauts in space is relatively short. Just imagine, every time one of the actors flubbed his line, they had to wait a few minutes for the zero-gravity to return. The actors had to brace themselves every time the zero-gravity ended. They even hired Apollo astronaut Dave Scott, one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon, as a technical adviser. I don't know how many millions of dollars renting that plane added to the film's cost, but they made it back and then some.
The entire team that made this movie is to be commended for their dedication to as much realism as they could pack in. This will always make movies better! Another bit of realism in the movie that you might not know about is that the actor's space suits were actually airtight, just like the real ones! So when you see them fully suited carrying the briefcase things, that's real. Those things they carried provided oxygen until they could (in the case of a real mission) either take off the suits, or connect up to the ship's supply lines. Also, Ron Howard was offered the use of the real NASA MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room) used during the Apollo missions, but it was a bit too small to accommodate the filming equipment plus all the cast, so they built a replica room that was so accurate that not only did the headsets that each controller wore actually work, but that Dave Scott, the Apollo 15 commander who was hired as a technical advisor, more than once tried going for the elevator after leaving the Mission Control set, since in rel life, the MOCR was on the third floor!
Apollo 13 is about as close to a perfect movie as you'll get. Has everything, thrills, laughs, scares, moments of anger, and moments of awe. It really is Ron Howard's masterpiece (and he's directed some other stellar movies, too)
Very accurate movie. Some might think the end of the movie was embellished for dramatic purposes, but it actually happened that way. Much like almost everything else in that mission, the instrumentation that records the time of arrival malfunctioned, and was a minute off. It showed four minutes when it was actually three. So they did arrive in the expected time they were supposed to.
31:20 the ship's captain shaking Tom Hanks' hand is the real Jim Lovell who dusted off his old captain's uniform for this cameo in the movie.
I was 6 years old when Apollo 8 orbited the moon on Christmas eve, and Jim Lovell read from the book of Genesis, with the earth in the distance. A year and a half later, Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and I remember watching Neil & Buzz descending the ladder and stepping on the moon, on live TV (in very fuzzy black and white.) And I remember Apollo 13, and the way the entire world waited and wondered if the astronauts would make it home. Gene Kranz (played by Ed Harris in the movie) did an amazing job of directing the hoards of engineers to solving the problems until they were home. He later wrote an amazing book, "Failure is not an Option!"
I remember everyone was astronaut crazy after Apollo11. Mom got me astronaut food (chocolate sticks like extra-long Tootsie rolls). They weren’t very good, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be an astronaut until I found out how much math was involved.
I'm a generation too young to have seen these missions, but I'm a history nerd and listening to the Apollo 8 Genesis reading is a Christmas tradition of mine.
@@jordanpeterson5140 I remember the Apollo 8 Bible reading like it was yesterday.
@@billolsen4360 I'm honestly kinda jealous of you for that. Not as jealous as I am of Bill Anders for taking the Earthrise photo on Apollo 8, but still fairly jealous.
It was Bill Anders who read that, actually. Also, in reality Glynn Lunney was the flight director the men looked to for answers, he was the head of Mission Control after the accident
In reality Jack Swigert literally wrote the manual on CM operations. He wasn't a "rookie." That, and the argument scenes were Hollywood enhancements. In the real world, the three astronauts were cool & collected the entire trip. Most folks would find that unrealistic, hence the arguments to humanize them.
Mattingly was not single-handedly responsible for the power up solution; that was a dramatic choice, condensing several events for storytelling purposes. But the actual events are all true.
One of my personal favorite lines is Lovell's mom's (played by Ron Howard's mom) line: "Don't worry honey, if they could make a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it." delivered with absolute certainty.
To my mind one of the most powerful elements of the movie is the score, especially during the launch, but it was effective all through the movie.
It was another flight director, Glynn Lunney, who's crew got Apollo 13 through the most critical periods, not Gene Kranz. Also, Kranz never said the phrase, "Failure is not an option".
@@padfolio Yeah, and Kranz didn't tear up like that at the end. If memory serves, Ed Harris actually spoke with Kranz, or watched an interview with Kranz about the mission. While he was recollecting the final moments, Kranz broke down. Harris thought that was a powerful moment, and incorporated it into his performance at the end.
@@Caseytify I've seen Kranz in several interviews since, and even today, he still tears up about the sheer enormity of it. And let me tell anyone reading this, man or woman - it's OK to cry!
The craziest thing about this movie, it's almost all real. A few dramatic takes, but almost all of the information is accurate to how they got in to their situation, and how they got out of it. Insane.
My only real issue with the movie is it tends to boil down complex team efforts into single-man-solves problem. Only showing one Mission Director, instead of all four - suggesting that only Ken Mattingly was in the simulators working out how to do the power-on sequence without the rest of the backup crew. Same for John Aaron on the mission control side (though he did do exactly that during Apollo 12) .
@@DaveF. condensation for storytelling purposes. If they tried to make a documentary of events, they'd end up with a 6 hour film.
@@Caseytify Oh yes, it's understandable why they did it, but its a disservice to those they leave out - hell, they even do it to the crew - suggesting that the mission would be scrubbed if Swiggert couldn't extract the LEM on first attempt when in reality any one of the three crew were qualified to do that procedure, and they would have tried it multiple times till they got it done - as happened in Apollo 14 - that was just straight up invention on the part of the scriptwriters.
@@DaveF. It was a bit unfair to Swigert, that's for sure. I understand that they were trying to go for an "earning his stripes" narrative, which works from a moviemaking standpoint,... it downplays how skilled of a pilot and astronaut he was. He'd never have been there if he weren't. The only real issue was the loss of team-cohesiveness in losing Ken. Its also why if something happens to one of the team, they swap out the ENTIRE crew for the backup crew.... but since Backup CMP Charlie Duke was the one who had the measles, this was impossible.
All I can say is,... at least it wasn't the total hatchet job that "The Right Stuff" did to Gus Grissom. Easily one of the most respected and beloved astronauts in the corps by everyone involved, even before "The Fire"
I like the drama of them taking off the medical sensors, and the casual shrug and "medical mutiny" line. Succinctly stating that unless you can whip up a space cop, which we could really use right now to escort these gentlemen home, your team better go back to old school "How are you feeling today? Any unusual pain?". Then, I dunno, not a doctor, but I presume brief the recovery team on what their sick bay should have ready and make sure it's on the aircraft carrier.
Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise are also in The Green Mile, another great Tom Hanks movie!
They're also in Forrest Gump
and let's not forget Forest Gump, my first experience with Gary Sinise!
@@karlsmith2570 She indirectly acknowledged Forrest Gump.
Prepare the tissues though... :D
Yes, Green Mile is not as sad as Apollo 13... No need for tissues Addie.
I'm from West Virginia, if you watch October Sky, the gentleman who engineered the ability to shoot rockets upward, is from McDowell County about 12 miles from me. Homer Hickman and friends discovered the ability to travel upward back in the late 40's early 50's based on a true story.
THIS IS SUCH A GOOD MOVIE! This movie came out when I was 5 and I saw it a few years later. Top Gun made me want to be a fighter pilot. Apollo 13 made me want to be an astronaut.
its one of those films that just captured my soul the moment I saw it, and never let go. I went to see it in the theater for a FIFTH time, only for it to be removed from that theater at the time, so I only saw it four... but then watched my VHS copy to DEATH, a year later. This movie occupies a permanent #1 spot on my favorite movies list. I don't care what movie came before, or what other movies come after, that spot is not changing for me. And yes, I will die on this hill :P
I remember 5, you can grow up to be anything at that age.
And what did you wind up being when you grew up?
That line "Gentlemen, it's been a privilege flying with you", gives me a shiver down my spine.
This is the most accurate space movie of all time. It's basically exactly how space operations are done. They give too big of a role to the astronauts in finding and solving problems (especially Ken), but it is a small quibble.
It's a team effort. The astronauts are the public face of the Space Program, and they undergo very intensive training those folks sitting in the chairs at Ground Control don't have to. Plus, there are things that can only be done from inside the CM or LEM.
No the role of the astronauts is pretty accurate. If you listen all they really do throughout the movie is confirm what the comp says and the manual burn, which was done by the astronauts. Also astronauts also work mission control when they are not flying so Ken's role was pretty accurate as well.
Documentaries featuring mission control staff confirm the accuracy of the movie. If anything, they simplified it some; for example, the final computations that they conveyed to the crew, who wrote them out and verbally repeated them-- this was hundreds of calculations, not the few seen in the film. Also, General Motors offered a new car to the astronauts, who were American heroes. They all chose Corvettes. You can see Mattingly's in the background as he watches the launch.
Well because it actually happened IRL ... some Hollywood in this but they stood on actual fact
Gene Kranz said the only thing in the movie that he didn't like was when Ed Harris shouts at the other men. I can't remember what he said exactly, but something to the effect of the flight director would never lose their cool, and let any doubt creep in to the rest of the team. Or something like that, anyway.
The Right Stuff is another great space docudrama about NASA's earlier Mercury program. Ed Harris is in it as well.
This is a great film. Even a space nerd like me that knows the outcome, they did an awesome job building the suspense and tension.
Addie: "I'm not crying"
Us: yes you are, and so are we.
Another awesome react. We watch for you, not just to see... a few pieces of a movie.
This movie, and you really hit the feels. 💖
From one fellow space nerd to another 😂 I tear up everytime I watch this movie. Ironically... It was this movie that lit the fuse for my inner space nerd to come out. I saw it in theaters with my dad and I was just blown away... I think I was 7 years old
@@craigory87 Interestingly, it was The Right Stuff that lit the fuse for young me, but it was Apollo 13 that captured my soul. I can appreciate The Right Stuff for all it tried to do, while at the same time complaining about everything it got wrong (some things deliberately so). But Apollo 13, no matter what flaws exist (probably fewer than any other historical movie one could name, even), will forever occupy the #1 spot on my favorite movies list. I don't care what comes after, till the day I die, that spot will never change. It remains the only movie I have ever tried to see in the theater for a FIFTH time (unfortunately, it was removed by then, so I only saw it four, tying with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. But the point is I WENT for that fifth time). And even after literally well over 100 viewings,... yes, I still cry at several points in the film. "If they could get a washin' machine to fly... my Jimmy could land it" certainly ranks up at the top
... its probably my most listened-to Soundtrack as well, especially that ending suite. RIP James Horner, you utter legend
@@k1productions87 who's the best pilot you ever saw?
Opie sure knows how to make a movie!
This was not just a movie, it was absolutely a true story. The entire world was holding its breath during those six days. If there was ever a movie where it was okay to cry, it was this one.
What a perfect movie to react to after reading today about NASA releasing new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. It shows the deepest images of the universe our eyes have ever witnessed. Perfect timing Addie. 🌕🌜⭐🌍
The perfect companion movie to this is "The Right Stuff".
#TheRightStuffForAddieCounts
And the perfect companion to those 2 movies is the HBO series "From The Earth To The Moon".
Addie, it was good to see you learn about this significant mission.
Yes, they took a little dramatic license but by Hollywood standards, it is exceedingly faithful to the actual people and how things happened.
One of my favorite scenes was the checking of the gimbal angles by the ground crew. Even the flight surgeon was proficient in math. Computers are great, but sometimes it feels like we lost something.
@@terrylandess6072 I agree. Too much reliance on the machine. It results in both mental and physical atrophy compared to the generations that built this nation.
I once took a look at some high school textbooks from the late 1920s and the math, mechanical and chemical science material & homework/practice tests are on par with what we classify as junior/senior level college classwork.
This is part of why the commentary track with Jim and Marilyn Lovell is so interesting if you get the chance to watch the movie with that switched on. Jim tells you what in the movie is faithfully recreated and what is dramatic license. Then he admits a bit of drama doesn't hurt the movie. The only creative license he may not have been too happy with was the team arguing amongst themselves even the minor amount that they do. He stated his team was professional the whole mission.
@@mattp6089 Yes, I heard that Jim wasn't on board for the 'fight' as these guys were total professionals and picked for their coolness under pressure.
I can understand the dramatic license, but as a space dork, it still bugs me that they didn't get the color of the second stage exhaust right. :) Those J-2s are hydrolox engines with regenerative cooling and no ablative material in the nozzles, guys--they're supposed to glow blue! And where are the thermal blankets around the first stage F-1 nozzles? Huh? HUH? ;)
You are so sweet. Don't be ashamed to cry! This movie hits all of us.
17:19 Whenever you rewatch this movie, you keep an eye on that guy right there. In real life, that’s John Aaron, a legend in NASA Mission Control. By this time, he’d already made a call that saved the Apollo 12 mission and been dubbed “a steely-eyed missile man,” a high compliment at NASA. In a room full of smart people, he was quite possibly the smartest, and one with rock-solid judgment. That’s why, even though he’s the only one saying to shut down, the guy in charge goes with it.
Yeah the movie kinda did him dirty by then making him the naysayer to Mattinglys determinator during the attempts to come up with the re-entry plan. Watching this as a kid then seeing it after learning about thst stuff was a weird gut punch. Like, still love the movie but they really didn't have to do that much truth finagling around certain things, especially in the Aaron case since he wasn't just reduced but made to look worse so Mattingly looks better.
That's Astronaut John Young, not John Aaron.
If you're talking to me, the guy with glasses is Aaron, and Young is the other guy who comes and gets him at the motel and at one point says "you're gonna lose a lot in the transfer, Ken." They're both named John so that's fun, and it's almost like after the "turn the power off now" scene Aaron goes from being Aaron to a weird composite character (he's even credited as EECOM Arthur)which is kinda what I mean about how the movie does the actual man a bit dirty.
@@inarar5334 They wanted the astronaut to be the hero, and not the Mission Control geek. I feel like the bit with Rich Parnell in The Martian is payback.
"Flight, try SCE to Aux"
There really is a Mount Marilyn on the moon. Jim Lovell was given the opportunity to name it, and he named it after his wife...which I think is incredibly sweet
11:14 Just a fun fact, This guy is Ron Howard's brother Clint Howard & has a long history of being involved in space shows as he was in the 1966 Star Trek S01E10 episode 'The Corbomite Maneuver' when he was only 7 years old & has appeared in 17 movies directed by Ron.
Ron stared in the title role in Stowaway to the Moon
Watching this after seeing Artemis 1 light up the sky on launch, amps me up another degree, we are going back!
Another Tom Hanks gem!
If you enjoyed the rocketry, and intense emotions, you should check out OCTOBER SKY.
I'll Second that! October Sky is great.
@@SkeederBC right. Great film, tons of emotionally charged moments about the budding American space program and hisrorical time period.
One of the best space movies out there.
I would highly recommend watching Apollo 11 if you are interested in the subject matter. It's a movie entirely cut together from real footage of the Apollo 11 mission, all fully remastered, to the moon and it is done in a stunningly impressive manner.
I would also recommend the HBO miniseries "From The Earth to the Moon" for which my only real complaint is omitting the vast majority of Gemini, without which there would be no Apollo. Well... and of course basing the Apollo 13 episode around a fictional newsroom... but its not like there was anything more they could do after the movie already covered virtually everything, lol.
Great reaction! Back around 1970 or 71 my mom was out to lunch with some friends, and a guy at a neighboring table was getting the celebrity treatment. My mom went over to his table for an autograph, with the only thing she had in her purse to write on, so that's why I have Buzz Aldrin's autograph on the back of my First Grade class photo.
Addie, I want you to know that I was having the worst day, but you really made me happy, thank you, absolutely fantastic reaction!!!! I don't think you realize how much joy you bring to the world.... Have an excellent day!!!
Fun fact: there is a middle school and high school Competition called Science Olympiad. One of the events is called write it do it which was inspired indirectly by the scene where they have to fit a round filter into the square hole, then explain the procedure to the astronauts. One student has 20 minutes to write down directions on how to build a thing with a pile of provided materials and a model. Then, their partner has 25 minutes to build the model with just the materials and the written directions without anything else to refer to. They are graded on how close the built model is to the original
If they wrote it in cursive then they probably All failed
@@SergioArellano-yd7ik actually, the girls who competed this event played this as a game even outside formal competition. They could read each others’ handwriting just fine.
@@SergioArellano-yd7ik you're on a website where every day, people younger and smarter than you learn foreign languages, history, programming, science, etc
but you're using it to... what? watch people watch movies? while trying to feel superior to "kids nowadays" because in your mind, they don't know how to make the loopy swoopy letters you learned in second grade?
you realize that someone could learn cursive off youtube in a couple of hours, right?
sorry you peaked when you were 8 years old bro
The reason it took well over the normal three minutes to regain communications during reentry was because they entered the atmosphere shallower than normal. It took them longer to get through the ionizing layer that blocks radio communications. Also, there really was a tropical storm in the Pacific when they splashed down but it was far enough away that it had no effect on the recovery.
I am curious (one of the rare space facts I do not know), did the shallower angle allow them to bypass the storm and land behind it, or was their angle always gonna side-swipe it far enough away?
True story, i remember when it happened!
Oh man! You gott share that experience!
Highly recommend the companion piece to Apollo 13 called "From the Earth to the Moon" (1995) an historical drama miniseries produced and hosted by Tom Hanks that's all about the Apollo missions. They show a couple earlier missions from Mercury and Gemini for reference, the Apollo One fire, and you'll learn a lot about the moon project in general. And Tom Hanks stars in the last episode! 🖖😎
Your eyes speak volumes. You feel this. This makes you special in my eyes.
The Admiral on the Aircraft Carrier was the real Jim Lovell. So that was a beautiful moment.
He wasn't an admiral he was a captain. Lovel refused to play an admiral because he retired as a captain
@@SergioArellano-yd7ikSorry I stand corrected.
I remember this.
My family watched it unfolding as it happened. That little toy lunar module that he hands his son at 2:52 ? I actually had one of those, and later the toy of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, and of course, a toy Astronaut!
The Apollo 11 that landed first on the Moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, both my grandmothers were with us to watch it - they were born in the late 1800's, no cars, no phones, no TVs, no radio...and they watched in wonder as mankind walked on the Moon!
When will we go back?
If all goes well, Artemis III is slated to land on the Moon in 2025, and stay for about 1 week. Among the crew, there will be women and persons of color, which will be a mighty first in the history of space exploration!
I feel so blessed to live in such a time in history!
Right you are Cameron5043.
I remember watching the first steps on the Moon on our family's black & white television set.
I am now happily watching the progress of Artemis/SLS and it's companion (yes, companion not competition) craft, "Starship" by SpaceX.
FYI, the program has been delayed at least one year (i.e. no earlier than 2026) -- due to space suit development, if I remember correctly.
Marilyn got her ring back, btw. The motel called a plumber and they tore the pipes apart until they found it. 🙂
Tom Hanks would go on to make the epic HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. Well worth watching... even if the bluray edition added horrible CGI effects to it.
And that was the edition that was kept for streaming on HBO Max too.
Those of us who want the original version will have to fight for the VHS Box Sets on eBay.
@@Ryan_Christopher the DVD version is original, although I think it was recropped in 16:9
Horrible? I wouldn't say that. The original effects weren't all that great either. But the effects are not what we watch it for.
I was 11 when these events unfolded. Our country stood still for days on end, It felt like an eternity.
There were a lot of behind-the-scenes guys that lived in our neighborhood that worked at Goddard Space flight.
My father was a high-end government worker, though he had no direct affiliation with NASA other than the money end of it.
I only witnessed my dad cry 3 times. When my brother died, and when his mother passed and the successful return of Apollo 13.
All perfectly appropriate times to have a safety valve of letting emotions out. People who spread the crap that "real men don't cry" are lonely joyless people who go on to do mass shootings.
The technical consultant on this film was Dave Scott, the commander of Apollo 15, who had not only walked on the moon, but driven a car on it.
Scott had a very close call of his own on his very first space mission, Gemini 8. After completing the first ever docking of two spacecraft (the other craft was an unmanned target vehicle), a faulty thruster caused the Gemini 8 spacecraft suddenly start spinning wildly out of control. Eventually, the two astronauts were spinning at one revolution per second, which is extremely dangerous (at such speeds, you can get tunnel vision and eventually pass out). Fortunately, Scott's commander managed to get the spacecraft under control.
The commander's name was Neil Armstrong.
Was he in the space program too?
Love your reaction, Addie. As a space nerd who remembers the real Apollo 13, I love this movie. But it's also my wife's favorite movie.
While the movie fabricates some human drama (like the astronauts arguing), it actually ignores a later, ominous failure on the real flight. Once the main ship (the Command Module) was out of power, everything depended on six batteries in the lander (the Lunar Module), and those batteries would have to run much longer than they were meant to. On the way home, one of those batteries _exploded_. That explosion didn't damage anything else, but it meant that they were down to just five batteries. The other five picked up the load-but NASA knew that three of those remaining batteries had the same design flaw that caused the one to explode. Fortunately, none of the rest exploded, and they made it home.
Your reactions and emotions were beautiful. This was really an intense movie to watch. I look forward to your next one.
I worked at video production house here in Chicago and one day the wife of Jim came in with a ton of 8mm film of 7 days of this event and transferred it to tape and did big edit of it all. She was giving it to him as a surprise.
Great movie, and amazing it’s so suspenseful given that most who watched knew the outcome.
about Jack Swigert no being "up to speed." he was on the backup crew. ALL backup crews had the exact same amount of training as the prime crew so any one of them could replace a prime crewmember in an instant and they always, (as seen in the first simulator scene), train right after the prime crew so when Jack Swigert replaced Ken Mattingly he had the same training and was at the same level of preparedness as Mattingly.
The biggest reaction I had was realizing how AMAZING humans can be when they work together and rely on each other as a collective team. This was one of the high points in human history, and for America -- demonstrating what a incredible generation looks like. Those who ran the space and moon landing programs -- they are so Inspirational. Amazing. and Loved. I place them with the generation of 1776, 1941-1945 and 1969-73 -some of the best years for America. Dare we ever forget.
If you want more. Tom Hanks produced a mini-series called "From the Earth to the Moon". You will laugh and cry all the way through all 12 Episodes.
I really enjoy the sincerity in your reactions beautiful
It's ok to cry. MEN cry watching this movie. I watched the original events... and it still got me. Almost a perfect movie.
What's amazing is how stressful and suspensful this movie is, even for those of us who were alive when this happened and already knew how this turned out. A credit to the actors, director, and everyone involved in producing this movie.
Just before the end credits, Tom Hanks shakes hands with the real Jim Lovell.
As another dude named Ken, really appreciate all the praises. Although I am fairly certain no one has ever said any of those lines to me. But it was nice to hear.
The captain of the aircraft carrier shaking hands with Tom Hanks at the end is the real Jim Lovell
"I'm not crying. I'm not crying. 😭"
Why not? I am!
I had the privilege of meeting Jim Lovell and hear him give a talk about this mission. Spellbinding even when you know how it turns out!
I'm such a NASA kid.
I grew up in Houston. Growing up I went to NASA on field trips and family trips so many times.
I've even been to parts of the Space Center that visitors aren't normally allowed to go in, and I've been inside duplicates of the original International Space Station modules.
NASA, and NASA history was genuinely integral to me growing up.
I grew up with a real life decommissioned Mission Control control panel in my classroom.
I talked to astronauts in elementary school.
We would have whole classes stop to focus on Mars rovers landing on Mars.
We had posters and patches and model NASA ships in our classrooms.
To me, the story of Apollo 13 is such a given.
Like it's as fundamental to American history in the way I was raised as the American Revolution or the Civil War or the first Moon landing itself.
"Houston, we have a problem." is such an iconic saying that anyone and everyone has heard.
It never really occurs to me that anyone could watch Apollo 13 without knowing what it's about.
It's so interesting.
My grandparents were at high school at the time and they watched the Apollo 13 mission on TV, they got married one year later.
Oh, and fun facts: The actress playing Lovell's mother was actually Ron Howard's mother. The actor playing the pastor during re-entry at the Lovell home was Rance Howard,, Ron Howard's father.
And playing the Captain of the aircraft carrier that greets the crew? That was the real Jim Lovell.
Ron's brother was also in the film..
He was the EECOM "from my seat this is their last option" guy. .. Clint Howard.
@@peterdemkiw3280 Yes, I know that.
Ron Howard's mother, Jean Speegle Howard (RIP), was also Mrs. Phelps, the librarian, in Matilda (1996).
No Addie, get emotional, if that's what you feel. That is why we are here. We come to reaction channels to feel with you, as well as the other viewers. We come to get a sense of human connection which was terribly disrupted during the past few years. It is amazing how you reactors put yourselves out there and help us get some of that connection back, even if it is just a little bit, even if it is through a screen. But, you must be vulnerable, honest and genuine for it to work. Thank you, and keep up the good content.
My grandfather was one of the engineers that worked on the filter issue.
The wife actually did lose her wedding ring in the shower that day; they didn't make that up for the story.
It happened on a different mission
Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture but won for
Best Sound Editing
Best Film Editing.
Saw this in a packed theater back when it came out. When Lovell said, "It's good to see you again," we started cheering right along with Mission Control. It was just that good.
They don't make movies like this anymore.
Fun fact: 28:26 when Swiggart said "Farewell Aquarius, we thank you!" that was the actual audio from the recording of the mission.
I love the early comments not captured in the movie. That the Saturn V rocket was a V2 on drugs. That going into space was essentially strapping yourself into an intercontinental ballistic missile and you're riding up on top of enough explosive power to level a small city.
You may also enjoy ... The Right Stuff, October Sky, Hidden Figures and First Man. If you weren't alive when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, you missed it! The whole world stood behind this first time.
Addie, great reaction. I remember watching this IRL, just like I remember watching the first moon landing live. Three decades later at the university at which I worked, I learned that one of my fellow professors in the Computer Science department, Warren, was part of the mission control team in Houston for this flight (he was also on the Apollo 11 and 12 mission control teams). I’ve had a lot of forgettable lunches and coffees with colleagues over the years, but I won’t forget those that I had one-on-one with Warren when he talked about his experiences at NASA.
The portion of the film where they mentioned that the major networks opted not to broadcast the crew’s messages understated how apathetic the world/US had become to space flight. It remained that way until the Challenger disaster. That was another day that I’ll never forget. I was stationed in Germany at the time and my First Sergeant literally pulled me out of my office and dragged me to the Day Room. I didn’t see the explosion live, but saw it played over and over on the AFN coverage for at least the next hour. I thought then that things could not get worse. 90 days later Chernobyl happened.
I live near Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, headquarters for NASA. My hubs and I saw this on opening night. There were probably 30 or 40 guys who had worked on the Apollo program there, and were actually at Mission Control, or working backup in Huntsville during Apollo 13. They came out of the theater saying, "Yeah, they got it right. That's how it was. They got it right. Living where I do, I grew up knowing a lot about the space program and it's always been part of the background of my life. A little searching will turn up the actual photos of the service module damage the astronauts took. It's really incredible when you see the pics. Great reaction! Don't ever be ashamed to cry at a movie. It's OK.
I'm 76 and remember watching it as it happened. I followed the space program from the original Mercury 7 astronauts starting when I was in the 5th grade.
Tom Boyte,
GySgt. USMC, retired
Vietnam 65-66/70-71
Thank you for your service Gunny.
The best thing about this story is that it's a true story where the heroes who saved the day were the science nerds and the math geeks.
I remember huddling around a TV set in my fifth grade classroom watching Apollo 13 land. I’ve got a commemorative juice glass calling the mission “ a triumph of courage, ingenuity, and teamwork.” I love this movie. They did such a good job with it.
Another great choice Addie keep it up. Like others have said you have to do the green mile soon.
Another great reaction Addie. I really enjoy your reactions. Your energy, heart, and enthusiasm really make the experience. Keep up the great work!
the big orchestra once they get back to earth gets me every time. What a great film. I remember watching this in the theater and being in total awe because I had never heard of this mission. Fantastic reaction and well done.
I was in highschool and remember watching it live when they came back. Our family followed the space program starting with the Mercury program. During those scary days, people around the world were united in praying for the Apollo 13 astronauts. No one knew if they would make it back, and there was such relief when they did! This movie captures the spirit perfectly.
Great film, wonderful reaction. I love this film and remember when it happened, I hadn't started school at the time but heard the news updates.
Gene Kranz is an amazing character, involved in space program from the very start (Mercury) he helped write the procedures NASA used.
Deke Slaton was a mercury astronaut but after his flying career he became Director of Flight Crew Operations.
Also the CAPCOM were actual astronauts (Charles Duke, Ken Mattingly and others)
John Young (The guy that told Ken about the accident had a long career and flew the first Space Shuttle)
The Apollo 1 fire killed Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffe. Gus was involved from the Mercury program and was tipped to be the first man on the moon. Ed White was the first american to do a space walk. Roger Chaffee was a newbie. Tragic loss of brave men. Frank Borman (Gemini astronaut) handled the investigation. Buzz (Gemini) helped with the neutral bouyancy training tank, he was a scuba diver and proved it was a effective means to prepare from space operations.
I highly recommend a series called "Moon Machines" and "When we left Earth" both are very interesting and informative if you like this. sorry for waffling on, thank you for making it this far.
Edit: I am just in awe of what the engineers achieved in this, from the jury rigged CO2 cannister "adaptor" and the line "You sir are a steely eyed missile man" from an astronaut to a "nerd" is just a huge mark of respect in my book.
The only issue with this movie I have is how it gives the impression that Swigert was rushed to get prepared for the flight. He was not, he was 100% ready and capable of stepping in for Mattingly. Both crews were ready to fly .
Addie, I would highly recommend getting the DVD of this movie and watching it with the commentary on from the real Jim and Marilyn Lovell. It is such a great commentary.
17:04 That was his tribute to Bubba. Even those who knew the outcome that they all made it were in suspense in the movie theaters. That's a tribute to the great work of Ron Howard and his partner Brian Grazer. BTW: Jim Lovell's mom in the movie was played by Ron Howard's mom, Blanch (Jean Speegle Howard). Rance Howard (his father) appears as the Lovell family minister. Cheryl Howard (his wife) and Bryce Dallas Howard (his famous actress daughter when she was a little girl/star of the Jurassic World franchise) appear as uncredited background performers in the scene where the astronauts wave goodbye to their families. That scene reminds people of the real tragedy that occurred for the families of the Challenger disaster who watched their loved ones blow up. Clint Howard- Ron's brother - played flight controller Seymour Liebergot. Clint always got a big supporting role in his brother's movies including Ron's first full-length feature, Grand Theft Auto, John Dexter in Cocoon (1985), Paul in Gung Ho (both film and TV series), pathologist Ricco in Backdraft (1991), Lou in Parenthood, Flynn in Far and Away (1992), Ken in EDtv (1999), Whobris in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and also was in Ron Howard's Star Wars movie: Solo. I love every one of your reactions, Addie. You are adorable!
I adore this movie, not just because its true, but because it demonstrates just how much humanity can accomplish despite the odds, if we just go in with a positive attitude.
There are so many times this mission could have failed, but it didn't because of human ingenuity. It exemplifies what we are capable of when we choose to come together and strive for the impossible. It shows that hope really can lead us to success against the odds, if we're willing to put our all into it.
This is a story where smarts wins the day and I wish there were more like it.
The admiral that shakes Tom Hank's hand at the end of the movie was played by the real Jim Lovell.
Two fun filming facts, one of which has likely already been mentioned several times, but I'll mention it again just because its that awesome:
All of the zero G scenes were filmed inside a modified airplane that would fly in giant arcs so for periods of 20-30 seconds, everything inside would be in freefall, accurately simulating zero-gravity in the enclosed mockup sets. Astronaut Jim Lovell is on record as saying the Apollo 13 actors spent more time in the "vomit comet" than he himself would ever care to, during all of his training.
Secondly, NASA had agreed to let Director Ron Howard use the actual MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room) which still exists (but is not used, as current operations are in a different more modern and upgraded room). However, several shots that Howard wanted to make would require the removal of certain walls to get the necessary crane camera shots, which was understandably not possible with the real facility. So instead he had a recreation made that was so accurate in every detail that actual astronauts and flight controllers (namely Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott, who was one of the technical directors on the film) were actually fooled. After a certain day of shooting, he would go to leave what would have normally been an exit in the real MOCR... only to find it was either a false door, or went to a sound stage rather than the expected hallway, totally tricking him out as he forgot he was even on a set LOL
Ken Mattingly was moved to Apollo 16 which was nearly another failed mission. After releasing the LEM for their descent he tested the backup systems for the SM thruster and had a shimmy come through the ship. He realized it was a problem with the gimbal cables being too short, something he remembered happened in the testing phase a few years before. After review it was agreed to continue the flight and the mission went off without further hitch. When he got back he asked how they could let them continue the mission when the controls for both the main and backup gimbals went though the same cable, in short the risk wasn't changed at all. It still could have failed. This surprised the operations guy who said "you're the only one who knew. You're right, we wouldn't have let you land."
I have a tie to the Apollo 13 mission and one to the Apollo 1 fire. As a child of eight I attended Church with the brother of Astronaut Ed White who perished in the Apollo 1 fire. As a Sailor in the Navy Reserves for the last eight years of my career I preformed Military Funeral Honors for my fallen Shipmates. At one funeral in the chapel of the funeral home there were two large pictures of the Sailor back in the late 60's and 70. He was a rescue swimmer and one of the two large pictures had the helicopter with the Sailor having jumped out of the Helicopter. He was in the air about half way between the helicopter and the water. In the water was the Apollo 13 command module with the USS Iwo Jima in the background. Just an old Sailor's thoughts on what a small world we actually live in.
Hello Addie, wonderful reaction. I can watch this move over and over. I was 12 years old in 1970. A few months from turning 13. I remember when this happened. The whole world was watching. It was one of just a few times the world was focused and united in hopes they would return safely. Thank you for a wonderful 33:07 minutes🥰
Same here. Always watched the live launches. Seen the good and bad. Brave group of people.
“A million things could have gone wrong. One did.” Even the tagline of this movie was great 😄👍🏽
When Hanks is walking across the deck of the recovery ship shaking hands, the old officer who appears on the left during that scene is the actual Jim Lovell.
My favorite movie! Other commentators have already beat me to the trivia: the astronauts never really "bounced off the walls," the shallow entry they mentioned was why they were out of radio contact so long, etc. Some reviewers of this film complained that Marilyn losing her wedding ring down the drain was a corny "omen", but she always claimed it really happened. I found it unbelievable that the Lovells went to see "Marooned" just before the flight -- a movie about astronauts being stuck in orbit.
I was a nut for the Apollo Program as a kid, but when I heard Apollo 13 wasn't going to land on the moon, I just scowled like the brat I was and ignored the rest of the mission. I remember Apollo 8's Christmas greetings, Armstrong's descent down the ladder, the Moon Buggy in later missions -- but I have no memory of Apollo 13. :(
And before I forget, you certainly put yourself in this reaction! I saw tears aplenty -- and I'm not crying, so YOU must be crying!
Great reaction. I dunno if anyone mentioned this, but the blackout was actually 6 minutes- the longest ever recorded blackout for NASA.
at the start of this movie, they were watching the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. Apollo 11 landed on the Moon just a few days before my 5th birthday. of course I didn't understand the significance of that day, but I still remember my family gathered around the black and white TV and holding our collective breaths!
I didn't go back to check, but I'm pretty sure that what they were watching at the start of the movie was Apollo 11. That's the one with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first to land on the moon. Apollo 12 came a little bit later, and there wasn't much in the way of pictures coming back from that one because the camera got accidentally pointed at the sun very early on and didn't really work after that. So now I'm curious - was Apollo 11 just a few days before your birthday, or Apollo 12?
@@hkpew thank you for correcting me! I sometimes get them wrong, thinking the 12 was the 11. I'll fix it. old age, you know how it is.... do you?😁
That was certainly one of Mankind's finest moments.
The entire world; BILLIONS of people.. rapt attention, in some cases praying...
FOR THREE (3) MEN.
THREE.
And that is what is best in Mankind, imo.
Great reaction, Addie. I remember watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on television as it happened. I think back now and remember seeing Neil Armstrong in 1970 when he was a grand marshall at a parade in Dallas. And I remember touching moon rocks twice, once at the Smithsonian in D.C. and once at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. And I remember the news coverage of this Apollo mission as it was happening. But I think most people really weren't aware of all the challenges the astronauts and NASA faced in getting them back home safely until this movie came out. We knew it took several days, but not about all the extraordinary problems that arose during that time.
Movie was directed by Ron Howard, whose Hollywood career began playing an 8-year old lisping Winthrop (singing Gary, Indiana in the Music Man). He was Opie Taylor in the Andy Griffith show, then Richie Cunningham in Happy Days, before turning his attention to directing. (It is hard to think of him in any of these roles contrasted to the other roles he would play and of course his successful directorship.)
Loved your reaction to this. This is my favorite movie. I experienced it in real time back in the day and it was so impactful to all of us. The entire world was emotionally invested in this event. It was truly a human triumph!
The thing to remember about space flight is simply this: Things can always go wrong! But the good news is they can go right too.
The naval officer in the dress whites on the carrier was the real James Lovell
in my opinion, this is the best space movie ever made. Possibly, a few hollywood exaggerations (hayes' has said he was not as ill as depicted), but the archive footage of the news coverage used in the film confirmed those guys were in real peril. I appreciated how the film portrayed the will and stress it caused both for the crew and the NASA staff on Earth to get them home safely. One bit of trivia, the director and producers did their best to make everything as authentic as possible--even to the point of reminding the actors who were on the ship as the capsule landed in the sea, not to do high-fives or man hugs since those were not in vogue during that time period.
What blows my mind that the greatest departure from real life is the intensity of the acting. The astronauts are so well trained and cool that you wouldn't even know they were in an unprecedented scenario where death was likely imminent. Cool as cucumbers! But the right choice for the movie because you are immediately held the whole was through but the cast.
The scenes of the astronauts in space were actually filmed in zero-gravity, not using obviously fake special effects like older movies. There is a special plane that NASA flies to train astronauts. It flies steeply up and then down, over and over again, which gives the passengers about 30 seconds of zero-gravity each time. The plane is nicknamed the "Vomit Comet." For this movie, they built the set of the spacecraft inside the plane, and then the actors and the film crew spent days on board flying hundreds of up-and-down cycles. That's why each scene of the astronauts in space is relatively short. Just imagine, every time one of the actors flubbed his line, they had to wait a few minutes for the zero-gravity to return. The actors had to brace themselves every time the zero-gravity ended. They even hired Apollo astronaut Dave Scott, one of the twelve people to walk on the Moon, as a technical adviser. I don't know how many millions of dollars renting that plane added to the film's cost, but they made it back and then some.
The entire team that made this movie is to be commended for their dedication to as much realism as they could pack in. This will always make movies better! Another bit of realism in the movie that you might not know about is that the actor's space suits were actually airtight, just like the real ones! So when you see them fully suited carrying the briefcase things, that's real. Those things they carried provided oxygen until they could (in the case of a real mission) either take off the suits, or connect up to the ship's supply lines. Also, Ron Howard was offered the use of the real NASA MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room) used during the Apollo missions, but it was a bit too small to accommodate the filming equipment plus all the cast, so they built a replica room that was so accurate that not only did the headsets that each controller wore actually work, but that Dave Scott, the Apollo 15 commander who was hired as a technical advisor, more than once tried going for the elevator after leaving the Mission Control set, since in rel life, the MOCR was on the third floor!
You might like to try 'The Right Stuff' - it's about the early manned space missions. It's beautifully shot and has an amazing cast...
Apollo 13 is about as close to a perfect movie as you'll get. Has everything, thrills, laughs, scares, moments of anger, and moments of awe.
It really is Ron Howard's masterpiece (and he's directed some other stellar movies, too)
Seen this movie more times than I can count and it keeps me on the edge of my seat every time
The wedding ring going down the drain looks like artistic license. It actually happened.
"I have never appreciated parachutes more than I have this second". Imagine how the Apollo 13 crew felt.
Very accurate movie. Some might think the end of the movie was embellished for dramatic purposes, but it actually happened that way. Much like almost everything else in that mission, the instrumentation that records the time of arrival malfunctioned, and was a minute off. It showed four minutes when it was actually three. So they did arrive in the expected time they were supposed to.