3.5/4  Not a problem with this movie!
One of the most successful film of the 90s was this stunning recreation of the near-tragic flight of Apollo 13 to the Moon in April 1970. Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert were 200,000 miles from Earth at 9:15 PM on April 13, 1970 w... (read full)

4/4  "Houston, we have a problem"
When astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert signed up for the Apollo 13 space mission to the moon in 1970, little did all three suspect that their voyage (and lives) would become endangered by a series of technical disasters t... (read full)

3/4  Good movie, but lags frequently
I am not a fan of movies about actual events, but this is one of the best movies in my video collection.

The movie is slow at times, especially before the accident. However, the cast makes up for the slow pace this movie has way too fr... (read full)

3/4  Apollo 13 Quick Review
Although I respect the story its trying to tell, it can't save the fact that Apollo 13 is just kind of boring. It's a good film, but it's just not one I can find myself getting into all that much. To each his own.

4/4  Apollo 13 Quick Review
Just doesn't get old. A great space race movie with top notch performances by Tom Hanks and Ed Harris. The tension and emotions that build up as the mission goes on is why this movie is so great to watch every time.

3/4  Apollo 13 Quick Review
A good movie with good performances. The only problem I have with this movie is it's value...the second viewing didn't do anything for me. But what do you expect...it's a Howard movie...

4/4  Apollo 13 Quick Review
Just doesn't get old. A great space race movie with top notch performances by Tom Hanks and Ed Harris.

1/5 Unable to load
  by M. A. Lash (Utica, MI)
The DVD came in great condition. New in wrapper but we were unable to load on any of our DVD players.

3/5 Watch "From the Earth to the Moon" instead
  by D. J. Nardi (Washington, DC)
This is a long movie, and it certainly seems like it. Perhaps its Tom Hank's typically low-energy acting, or just that the movie doesn't recreate the suspense over 30 years after the incident, but I just find it heard to sit through this movie. At times, it starts to seem like the Tom Hanks show.

If there is any redeeming factor to the movie, it's the fact that it later led to Tom Hank's From the Earth to the Moon television series, which is excellent. That series focuses on the entire Apollo program and has a great set of actors [the series includes an episode on Apollo 13, but it also isn't very good]. I would actually give Apollo 13 an extra star just for leading to that series. On its own, the movie just isn't very satisfying.

4/5 Makes One Want To Study The Real Astronauts
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)

This was a very well-done true story of a space mission that came extremely close to being a disaster, but the astronauts miraculously made it home safely. It's good storytelling and so interesting that it led me to study the real Apollo 13 astronauts.

The movie is fairly long at 140 minutes and there is not much "action" but there is a lot of suspense and first-rating acting, both of which should keep anyone's interest. Knowing this was a true story makes one all the more involved with it.

For such a tense story, with these astronauts lives on the line, none of the astronauts or people at NASA or anyone's family members are ever seeing praying throughout this ordeal! You can bet, in real life, a lot of prayers were answered on this mission.


1/5 Apollo 13
  by surferdon (FL, USA)
Item arrived with NO DVD. I needed this to teach a college course and I had to pay for premium shipping for the replacement DVD which is not HD. Very disappointed in the deal.

5/5 Houston, we have a problem.
  by Bryan J. Peterson (Twin Falls, Idaho United States)
I first saw this movie in 1996 while vacationing in FLorida at my grandparents' winter home. I hadn't before had any particular interest in it, but once I watched it I was hooked. I was delighted therefore when my science teacher at that time announced that we would be watching it over a period of a few days in class. There were of course worksheets to go along with each viewing, assignments to see what details, sometimes having nothing at all to do with science, we could manage to remember. One such question asked for the name of both the artist and song playing at the moment when Jack Swigert answered the phone to receive the news that he would be on the Apollo 13 mission.
It wasn't until a few years later that my folks purchased me a copy for Christmas. At the time however, DVD's hadn't quite started to come into fashion, so it was still on VHS, complete with audio descriptions for blind folks like myself. These were extremely helpful, this being the visual film that it is. You were still left with a vivid picture of the scene and what the Apollo 13 spacecraft looked like.
Today, however, I managed to find this two-disk special edition at a local book, movie and gaming store and, after having a birthday, decided to treat myself. I'll say this much. You know the movie's good when one of the very astronauts from that mission, Jim Lovell along with his wife Marilyn, have their own commentary track, during which they discuss what a fine job Ron Howard did with the movie. And yes folks, Mrs. Lovel did in fact lose her wedding ring down a shower drain, though thankfully she did manage to retrieve it..
All that aside, I was really impressed with the film, even knowing almost nothing about the actual events myself. I knew it was based on a true story but that was about as far as it went. And let me tell you, the musical score only adds to the tention, particularly during certain moments which I won't reveal. All I can say is it was an amazing story, particularly given the limitations of technology and resources back in 1970, not to mention the extreme time deficit the astronauts and Mission Control were faced with. Even one simple mistake could have been fatal. The film's musical score captured the feeling perfectly and the cast probably couldn't have been more well-chosen. If you haven't seen this movie yet I wholeheartedly recommend it.