Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition) | 
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Director: Ron Howard
Actors: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris
Studio: Universal Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $5.99 (46%)
New (46) Used (37) Collectible (1) from $6.52
Avg. Customer Rating:  302 reviews
Sales Rank: 1183
Format: Ac-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 140
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D20023D
ISBN: 0783219695
UPC: 025192002328
EAN: 9780783219691
ASIN: 0783219695
Theatrical Release Date: June 30, 1995
Release Date: March 29, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Amazon.com essential video
NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious filmmaking techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Nominated for nine Academy Awards , including Best Picture, Apollo 13 is now available in an incredible 2 -Disc Anniversary Edition with never-before-seen bonus materials. Produced by Academy Award winner Brian Grazer and directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard, Apollo 13 stars Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris in the inspiring and riveting story of the real-life space flight that gripped a nation and changed the world.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 297 more reviews...
 Great August 17, 2008
I love it. It came complete with different behind the scenes that i didnt expect
A peerless coverage of NASA's finest moment! July 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having worked at and retired from the Kennedy Space Center, this film most definitely satisfied my personal and professional needs for truth, accuracy, and realism in its creation. Ron Howard did a masterful job of directing, and there was an obvious quest for excellence by all who participated in all aspects producing this fine film.
I will not retell the story here, as it has been well-covered by dozens of excellent reviews. But from the perspective of someone who actually is a "rocket scientist," I can assure you of its veracity, which was enhanced by some of the filming locations, and most prominently by the actors who were cast in the various important roles. Tom Hanks was at his finest here - the perfect casting, if you will, As Jim Lovell. But even Tom was slightly upstaged by Kathleen Quinlan, a much under-rated and perhaps under-appreciated actress. Bill Paxton was outstanding, and Kevin Bacon's was low-key excellence. But the show may have been stolen by Ed Harris, whose casting in the role of Gene Kranz was a directorial coup-d'etat, as both his appearance and performance were flawless!
There was not a weak link in the entire film, and its realism was enough to send chills down the spines of those of us who have functioned at KSC. The entire story is graphic proof that truth is often much more impactful than the finest fiction. Absolutely a keeper!
One of Ron Howard's best, great performance by Tom Hanks July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the type of movie that you can watch over and over and not get sick of it. I always get a sense of mankind's achievement and a national pride when an entire mission control, their staff, and the manufacturers behind all the technology rally together to bring 3 men home in the deep span of space. That's why we never stop to explore both in distance and in our mind. Tom Hanks stated it in the movie, "Can you imagine if no one went back to the new world after Christopher Columbus came back?.. or something like that." It's an awesome movie.
An Incredible Journey of Courage and Survival... July 17, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Recently my wife and I sat down to watch a series of documentaries focusing on the various NASA missions from the beginning stages of Project Mercury all the way through some of the space shuttle missions. For people who aren't entirely familiar or were just somewhat familiar on the events, but were maybe lacking some of the details, these documentaries that aired on the Discovery Channel were most informative. As a result, the experience left my wife and I wanting to watch some space related movies, and first on our list was the 1995 box office hit "Apollo 13" from director Ron Howard ("Ransom"), starring Tom Hanks ("Forrest Gump"), Ed Harris ("National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets"), and Kevin Bacon ("Death Sentence").
"Apollo 13" chronicles the fateful mission that has been dubbed the "successful failure" by NASA, which had all of America holding its collective breath as it wondered if the mission would end in disaster or would it become one of our finest hours. When the space craft transporting Astronauts, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), to the moon suffers a catastrophic accident, the mission and the lives of the Astronauts are instantly changed. Now, the once moon-bound ship is left severely crippled, and what began as a seemingly routine mission to the moon has now become a rescue mission as the Houston-based members of NASA's Mission Control are racing against time and almost impossible odds to return these three men safely to Earth.
Director Ron Howard had established himself as a fairly solid director in the early 90's with hits such as "Backdraft" and "Far and Away" under his belt, but it wasn't until the release of "Apollo 13" that he was able to firmly cement himself as a much sought after, critically-acclaimed director. Relying on state-of-the-art (as of 1995) special effects and film tricks and techniques to simulate weightlessness, along with an incredibly emotional and compelling story written by William Broyles, Jr. ("Flags of Our Fathers") and Al Reinert, based on the book written by Astronaut Jim Lovell and co-writer Jeffrey Kluger; Ron Howard has crafted one of the best and completely realistic movies I have ever seen to focus on one of NASA's missions in space.
The cast of "Apollo 13" was an assortment of top-notch talent, such as; Tom Hanks, who made this film on the heels of his smash hit "Forrest Gump", Kevin Bacon ("Death Sentence"), Gary Sinise (who had co-starred alongside Hanks in "Forrest Gump"), Kathleen Quinlan ("Breakdown"), Bill Paxton ("Tombstone"), and Ed Harris. Each member of the cast portrayed these real life Astronauts, their wives, or the people in Mission Control perfectly, easily handling each emotional high and low throughout this inspiring story of survival.
The well-written screenplay, expert direction, and extremely talented cast brought to life not only this harrowing journey in space, but also gave audiences a glimpse into what NASA life is like for the Astronauts and the loved ones left behind on Earth awaiting their safe return. Thanks to the painstaking length to which Ron Howard and company went to in order to make this a movie that is so incredibly realistic on every level, "Apollo 13" serves as a fitting tribute to the brave men and women that endured the situation by overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, and also to the ingenuity and will power of man to set their sights on a goal and to never give up until it was achieved.
"Apollo 13" is rated PG for language and peril.
"Gentlemen, it's been a privilege flying with you" May 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
THE MOVIE: Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" is superb. It is also majestic, romantic, thrilling, adventurous, frightening, funny, dramatic, heartbreaking, heartwarming, heroic, and just plain wonderful.
Every single actor in the film delivers a phenomenal performance (although Chris Ellis as Deke Slayton isn't given much to work with by the script), and Howard's direction is the best it could possibly be. I need hardly rehash the information in other reviews about the absolutely authentic recreation of the historical visual elements of the movie, or the use of NASA's KC-135 "Vomit Comet" to film most of the scenes set in weightlessness.
Some may prefer "The Right Stuff" to "Apollo 13" as a movie because it's more imaginative, but "Apollo 13" is one of the most accurate and faithful docudramas ever made about space exploration.
THE DVD: "Apollo 13" has not one but two of the best DVD commentary tracks I have ever heard. Ron Howard's account of the making of the movie is full of fascinating anecdotes, but even better is the commentary by Jim and Marilyn Lovell, which is simply one of the coolest bonus features ever found on a Digital Video Disc.
The Lovells' commentary is the equivalent of hearing Scarlett and Rhett comment on "Gone With The Wind", or Frodo and Sam (as distinct from Wood and Astin) discuss Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings". Because the movie is so faithful to the historical record, Lovell is able to describe his own inner thoughts and feelings over big closeups of Tom Hanks (e.g., when he's watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon).
Among the other special features on the second disc is the condensed IMAX version of the movie, which is in a different aspect ratio (one which fills the whole screen of a widescreen TV, whereas the unedited movie fills the entire width of the screen but has black bars at the top and bottom). This version is mainly interesting as a demonstration of how an Academy Award-winning director goes about trimming one of his masterpieces. Some of the edits result in stronger scene transitions, but the shortening of the long take of Ken Mattingly's (Gary Sinise) reaction to learning he's been bumped from the mission is profoundly regrettable.
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