One month ago, as of this writing, I was saddened to hear that astronaut and pilot James Arthur “Jim” Lovell Jr. passed away at the age of 97. Jim was an impressive man in his military career, his career with NASA, and in his personal life, staying married and devoted to his wife, Marilyn, for over seventy years. He flew many manned space missions, including the Gemini 7, 12, and the Apollo 8 and 13 missions, the latter meant to take him to the lunar surface. When he died, the world mourned because we lost a great man, a great American.
I don’t choose the order that I watch the films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This is chosen at random to avoid too many similar films back-to-back. I could have gotten Apollo 13 a year ago or nine months from now. By cosmic coincidence, it came up just weeks after Jim Lovell’s passing, allowing me to look at this movie while still reminiscing on the recent loss. It also allowed me to go back and listen to a wonderful feature that is on the disc, a commentary by Jim and Marilyn where the two talk about what it was really like in comparison to the movie. I also read the novel he wrote, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13.
This true story and the heroics that saved his life and the others on his crew are far more impressive than any act of fiction put on screen. The events depicted happened before I was born, and so I have no direct recollections of the events as they unfolded, but I do remember other tragedies, specifically the Challenger and Columbia, both of which I witnessed live on television. I remember how upsetting those events were to the world and can only imagine the sense of dread the world felt over a much longer period of time when they all waited, believing that the worst could happen at any moment.
There are no dramatized films of the Challenger or Columbia that I am aware of. The simple reason for that is that those missions ended with the loss of all life on those ships. Apollo 13is different. We all know that the crew successfully managed to get safely back to Earth. This was not a simple endeavor, either. That kind of story is uplifting and celebrates the spirit of ingenuity and makes for good drama. That’s what made the book a success and made the film that followed the rousing crowd-pleaser that it was.
Those who were alive and old enough to remember the news broadcasts about Apollo 13 during its truncated mission in the spring of 1970 will already know how this story unfolds. The filmmakers understand that but also know that it needs to be a compelling drama, even if the outcome is already known. It opens on a house party where Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) has gathered guests to watch the televised Apollo 11 moonwalk. Lovell, who orbited the moon on Apollo 8, freely admits being envious of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and tells his wife that he will return to the Moon, this time to walk on the surface.
Three months later, due to a medical issue with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard, the crew of the Apollo 14 (Lovell, Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton)) swap places with Shepard’s team on Apollo 13. This will require a lot of prep in a short period of time, but Lovell is convinced that his team will be ready. Just weeks before launch, though, Mattingly is scratched from the team because he was exposed to German measles and, though he shows no symptoms, the flight surgeon demands he be replaced lest he get sick while orbiting the moon. Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), the backup astronaut, is brought in to replace him.
The launch is not without some glitches but more or less is successful in getting the astronauts into orbit and connected to their Lunar Module, Aquarius, but after several days on course to the Moon, a routine stirring of the liquid oxygen tanks leads to an electrical short that causes one of the tanks to explode. With oxygen leaking into space and debris all around them, the lunar landing is scrapped and it becomes a race against time to stop the leak, preserve as much energy as possible, and find a way to successfully get the astronauts home.
One would think with the final outcome being so well known that it would take away from the excitement of watching this drama. This can be a problem with these kinds of films, which is why it is important to have the right people working on this. Director Ron Howard had a handful of successful films under his belt by this time. He was primarily known for his mildly successful comedies like Gung Ho, Cocoon, and Parenthood as well as the FX-heavy drama Backdraft. Apollo 13 would be a high point in his career, surpassed only by his Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind a few years later.
In Apollo 13, not only does Ron Howard have to retell a familiar story but he has to make it entertaining as well. The drama has to feel real, and we have to be caught up in the moment rather than thinking about an ending we already know. To accomplish that, William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert were brought in to write up the screenplay based on the Jim Lovell book. This original draft of the script was penned with Kevin Costner in mind based solely on his resemblance to Lowell. Tom Hanks was already making it known that he was interested in making a film about the Apollo 13 flight and, when he found out a script was already in development, he reached out through his agent and got ahold of the script. From that point on, Costner’s name was no longer in consideration for the role. Hanks was an avid fan of the Space Program, and his knowledge and enthusiasm can be felt on screen.
Ron Howard made the interesting choice to avoid using any actual footage of the NASA missions, electing instead to utilize all original footage. The results were so realistic that some NASA officials asked him how he obtained some of the actual launch footage, believing they were seeing the real thing. A combination of miniatures and early CGI created the effect of the launch, and that effect still holds up over thirty years later. As for the weightlessness in space? Much of that footage came courtesy of the “vomit comet,” a plane that dives steeply so the passengers feel the effects of weightlessness. This eliminated the need for harnesses and costly effects to remove wires. The effect is perfect, aiding the feeling of actually being there.
Not all of the action takes place in space, though. Heroics happened on Earth, too, and we get extensive scenes of the ground crew, led by White Team Flight Director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris). Kranz’s team of operators, as well as Mattingly, who incidentally never got the measles, have the task of solving the problems of the leaking oxygen, a crisis of power, rising Carbon Dioxide levels, and getting a reentry plan in place that has to rely on a power level barely capable of running a coffee maker. All of this could come across as overly chaotic and undigestible jargon, but it is handled so deftly that we are never lost in the details.
On the personal side, we also have the story of the women left at home worried about their men in space. This is primarily personified by Lovell’s wife, Marilyn (Kathleen Quinlan), and their children, but we do get a scene or two from the others. Marilyn worries for her husband but never gives in to despair, knowing that her husband is an excellent pilot and bolstered by the words of her mother-in-law (Jean Speegle Howard), who confidently says that if they can get a washing machine to fly, her son could land it.
This is a film that champions the ingenuity of man as they tackle a seemingly impossible task and turn it into a fighting chance. If it were fictional, it would feel saccharine, but this is a real story about real people. It’s also very accurate to the actual events as told by Jim Lovell himself. When listening to the commentary, he rarely says something didn’t happen and praises the accuracy of what is on screen. The real events were exciting enough as is that there was very little dramatic license needed to make for a great film. This is a highlight of Ron Howard’s career and one that will uplift the spirit a little. None of the three men on Apollo 13 went to space again, and Jim Lovell never got to walk on the Moon. If he’s bitter about that, it doesn’t come through when listening to him. The important thing was he got to return home to his wife, and you can hear his gratitude to those who made that happen as he speaks about those events. It’s a testament to all involved in the making of this picture that that emotional core comes through loud and clear, even during all of the excitement and spectacle.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Brian Grazer
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Ed Harris
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Kathleen Quinlan
Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert
Best Art Direction: Michael Corenblith and Merideth Boswell
Best Film Editing: Mike Hill and Daniel Hanley (won)
Best Original Dramatic Score: James Horner
Best Sound: Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan, and David MacMillan (won)
Best Visual Effects: Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker, and Matt Sweeney
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Release Date: June 30, 1995
Running Time: 140 minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan
Directed By: Ron Howard
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