Customer Reviews

Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If your have never experienced the space program growing up, then this is a must-see. Heck, it should be mandatory viewing in high school History classes. Emotional, awe-inspiring, and fantastic! Gives me goose-bumps everytime I watch it.

One of the best documentaries I've ever seen. If you're a space buff, and haven't seen this, get it. Told by the people who actually lived the experience, "Apollo 13: To The Edge And Back" is very well written and presented. Originally produced during the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, this documentary was an influence on Ron Howard during the production of his movie "Apollo 13". "To The Edge And Back" also covers a little of the history of the U.S. space program and the causes and motivations for going to the moon. The technical aspects are clearly explained in terms the layman can easily understand. If you could only have one Apollo 13 documentary, let it be this one.

I grew up during the space program. When I first saw this documentary on PBS I was on the edge of my chair for the duration - it was really that exciting. The next day everyone at my office was talking about it (much like we used to as grade school children back when the actual events transpired). I later saw the Hollywood movie and wondered why they had bothered - not a bad movie, but cannot compare to the real deal.

Though I love the movie Apollo 13 to death, I have to express an appreciation for this documentary, which covers the mission gone awry without the overdramatization that occurs in spots in the movie and manages to be almost as thrilling. This is in fact a great companion piece to the film, to get a notion of both what they got right (a surprising amount) and what they got wrong. Any space geek should have both in their library.

Nothing in the tamer "Apollo 13" movie lives up to the extraordinary tension and power of this documentary. Many things not covered in the thatrical film are here, so much so that my wife and I kept looking at each other with open mouths, wondering, "How much ELSE could go wrong?!?" It was while watching this presentation that we realized how truly heroic and ingenious the NASA folk were. We were limp from excitement after watching, "To the Edge and Back".

I saw this when it first showed on public television and was so incredibly moved by it. The footage and interviews are great. VERY WELL done! Then when I saw the Ron Howard movie I was SOOOO disappointed...the movie doesn't do the actual story justice. Buy this documentary and learn a valuable life-lesson: No matter how many things go wrong, keep trying and never give up hope!

A 90-minute documentary telling the story of Apollo 13 from the point of view of those who experienced it; with testimony from Jim & Marilyn Lovell, Gene Kranz and others with a first-hand role.

Concentrating on events as they happened, the film does as much justice as possible to the story within the time allotted: more detail in the causes of the explosion would have been welcome, but difficult to squeeze in.

Overall, well worth seeing.

Yep, this is a 5-star. I'm usually very critical of documentaries, but this is a 5 star. Great to have all 3 NOVA episodes in one DVD! Very informative and enjoyable to watch.

Even after all these years, and knowing the outcome, it is still an hair-raising adventure which keeps you on the edge of your seat and holds your breath.

These guys were truly heroes. The story is quite compelling and unrivalled by any fantasy novel. This was real life real time, no BS, life threatening stuff. A hard to put down book. The composure of these guys was admirable. The intellect of all involved was something to aspire to.