Customer Reviews

Hail Columbia (IMAX)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I watched this movie about 50 times when I was a counselor at Space Camp years ago and it was always my favorite of the IMAX films. While The Dream Is Alive, Blue Planet, etc. have much more IMAX footage, none of them compare with the adrenaline rush of Hail Columbia. The other space-oriented IMAX films that I have seen are much more documentary, while Hail Columbia is telling the exciting story of the first Space Shuttle launch. That storytelling aspect alone makes the difference for me and keeps me on the edge of my seat each time I watch it.

This DVD won't make you stare in wonder at beautiful IMAX space vista's, as the later IMAX/space shuttle films do. Only a minority of the film is in actual IMAX 70 mm. That aside, the later offerings don't get my goosebumps going quite like this DVD! Don't buy this DVD for the IMAX "wow" factor, but instead buy it for the incredible story of America's first shuttle launch and landing. The ending has some very interesting film of the shuttle being transported on the back of a modified 747 as they take off from the runway. Also at the end is a very inspiring segment of shuttle lift-off's. The screen is divided into three vertical slices, while footage of different launches cycle simultaneously. Quite moving. Audio quality of the main launch are not quite up to the standards set by the later IMAX/shuttle offerings, with noticeable distortion in the recording.

"Hail Columbia!" is a 36-minute IMAX documentary program, narrated by actor James Whitmore, which chronicles the maiden launch (and landing) of America's reusable "Space Transportation System" (aka: the Space Shuttle).

Video on this DVD is Full-Frame (1.33:1); with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio provided.

I would have enjoyed a little more close-up footage of the Columbia orbiter during this IMAX program; and a few additional images of Earth as seen from Columbia would also have been a plus. But, overall, I enjoyed this IMAX presentation very much, and find myself re-visiting this disc quite often. The few pictures we do get from the Shuttle while in orbit are indeed spectacular. Freeze-frame comes in handy for these few short scenes. And they're crystal-clear as well.

A unique angle of Columbia's maiden liftoff on Sunday, April 12, 1981, is shown on the DVD, with impressive picture and sound quality. The very first Shuttle landing is also covered (sonic booms and all).

The youthful exuberance of Columbia's two-man crew (Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen) is visibly demonstrated in this film after their incredible spacecraft completed its two-day, one-million-mile journey around the Earth. Following their impressive landing on Runway 23 at California's Edwards Air Force Base on April 14, 1981, the astronauts did everything but kick the tires as they walked around the orbiter with an unrestrained enthusiasm which seemed similar in nature to a young boy's realization that his first roller-coaster ride was a truly fun experience after all. (Heck, maybe John and Bob DID actually kick the Shuttle tires after the landing, too.) :-)

Watching this very successful first Shuttle flight into space becomes a bittersweet viewing experience today when pondering the ultimate fate of the Columbia orbiter 22 years after this initial mission. The very same Columbia spacecraft was tragically lost on February 1, 2003 (as "STS-107"), when the vehicle broke apart in flight while travelling at 12,500 MPH (Mach 18.3) at an altitude of 207,135 feet over East Central Texas (just minutes before its scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida), resulting in the loss of the Shuttle vehicle and its seven-person crew.


Following are some interesting facts & figures & tidbits of Columbia info regarding the maiden Shuttle mission (designated "STS-1"):

LAUNCH --- April 12th, 1981. .... Liftoff from KSC (Kennedy Space Center) occurred at precisely three seconds past 7:00 AM (EST). .... Weight at Launch: 219,258 pounds.

ORBITING ALTITUDE --- 166 nautical miles.

NUMBER OF EARTH ORBITS ACHIEVED DURING FLIGHT --- 37.

DURATION OF MISSION --- 2 Days, 6 hours, 20 minutes, 53 seconds.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED --- 1,074,567 miles.

LANDING --- April 14th, 1981. .... Columbia touched down at Edwards AFB at 10:20:57 AM (PST). .... Rollout distance: 8,993 feet. .... Rollout time: 60 seconds. .... Landing Weight: 194,184 pounds.

The Columbia orbiter was returned to the Kennedy Space Center, from California, on April 28, 1981, atop its specially-modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft.

The reusability of the Space Transportation System was demonstrated successfully with the launch of the second mission of the Columbia orbiter vehicle on November 12, 1981.

The first two Shuttle flights were remarkably similar in total length (and miles travelled). In fact, very nearly identical in those two respects -- with STS-2 logging 1,074,757 miles, which was a mere 190 more miles than STS-1 travelled. And the overall duration of both flights differed by a scant 7 minutes, 41 seconds.

-----------------

Final Columbia Thought.......

If you're fascinated with the U.S. space program, then this well-produced IMAX DVD presentation of the very first Space Shuttle mission should be right up your alley. The program isn't a very long one, but still worth the price due to its historical content.

This is a great DVD and is certainly worth the money just for the story alone. However, I think calling this an IMAX movie is really stretching the truth. The first IMAX movie I saw and subsequntly purchased, was 'The Dream is Alive'. Although 'Hail Columbia' is no compairison in film and sound quality, the story it tells more than makes up for this and therefore it is a must have for anybody who loves the space shuttle program. Now if only the IMAX theaters would wake up and start showing the space series movies again!

Although "Hail Columbia" is a fine movie, it does suffer in comparison to later IMAX productions in that it has a lot less actual IMAX footage than following films, like "The Dream Is Alive".
I think they were just starting the concept when this film was made, as IMAX cameras weren't actually taken into space until later missions. As a result, much of the in-space and pre-flight training footage sourced here comes from 16mm film and T.V. The negative upshot of this is that on some TV screens, the footage will look a bit small and boxy.
But like I said: This film was the prelude before the "main event" IMAX space movies to come later. And it's worth the price alone to see Astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen confidently dismiss the nervous-nellies asking nagging questions about the Shuttle's troublesome heatshield tiles!

I first saw this one on the big screen in Huntsville when I was attending Space Camp as a camper (maybe Edward was one of my camp instructors) and it left a pretty lasting impression on me. This DVD doesn't have the flash of later IMAX titles, but that is mainly due to the fact that IMAX was still a young science back then. As such, they didn't have the IMAX camera for use on the mission itself ("The Dream Is Alive" first made use of it) and its use is a bit limited.

The story it tells is a good one and it provides a glimpse back to the time when the shuttle was a new thing and there was a lot of uncertainty about it. The questions by the press give you some idea, especially John Young's frank response to the repeated questions about the shuttle tiles. History proved him right for the most part (as it was RCC damage that doomed Columbia on STS-107, not HRSI tile damage) but back then nobody exactly knew what was going to happen. That is what test pilots fly the machines for.

Now I have often wondered just what witnessing a real launch of a shuttle might be like. Thankfully I was able to achieve that milestone this past year. As a result, I can say that Hail Columbia comes as close as it can. The camera placements are much closer then one could even get at the press site which is about four miles away from the pads (or in some cases they seem to be at least). When this movie was shown at the OMNIMAX dome in Hutchinson (OMNIMAX was a term used for the dome theaters back in the 1980s while most IMAX theaters were flat screens) the audio of the liftoff literally shook the seats! It truely did feel like you were sitting less then a mile from the pad almost. A real shuttle liftoff doesn't quite sound THAT intense from four miles away, but it is still most certainly loud as one has to shout to be heard over it.

So if you have a big screen TV and a good audio package, and if you really want to get an idea of how loud a shuttle launch can be from close up, pop this DVD in and crank it up a bit. You'll get a pretty accurate demonstration IMHO. There are other liftoff shots in later IMAX titles, but they don't hold a candle audio wise to this one, probably because they didn't want to scare the audience in the theater. At the same time, if a local IMAX theater happens to show Hail Columbia again (rare, but possible), pay them a visit and watch it on the big screen for the full affect (and literally hang on to your seats).

BTW, from a technical standpoint I am only giving this one four stars instead of five since it lacks chapter stops. So it plays more like a tape then a DVD and one can't skip forward to watch just the launch itself. Its not a big thing here though as it is a relatively short film compared to others.

Just bought this for my kids and was very disappointed. The video and audio quality overall is poor. Very little footage of the the shuttle itself. During the launch a lot of camera shots of spectators watching the shuttle but not of the shuttle itself. Also very annoying much of the movie is shown in a small box which covers about 1/4 of the your tv screen. very little narration or information on what is going on. There has to be better.....

As one who was involved with the Shuttle program, this video was "as good as it can get".
Great footage, good perspective, and the right perspective. Very few people realize that this was a major step in National 'exploration'.

In many ways, the first launch of the new Space Shuttle was one of the riskiest things NASA did. Unlike earlier manned spacecraft, the Space Shuttle had no prior unmanned test flights. Everything had to work right the first time or it could mean the loss of the vehicle and crew.

In Hail Columbia!, we are taken back in time to the first Shuttle mission, that of Columbia on STS-1. Or at least back in time from today's perspective.

We start out with some footage of the Shuttle being assembled, some press footage of the crew, John Young and Robert Crippen, the launch itself, and the landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. There is very little material from on-orbit. Although not stated in the movie, both astronauts were very busy on this flight and had little time to take photographs and shoot film.

This is not an IMAX film as you might expect to see today. All of the footage was shot in 1981 and released as this film in 1982. It is definitely a product of the times. Footage shows how thousands of people gathered to witness the launch and landing, people who were proud of the accomplishments of the space program and American ingenuity. (Unlike today when most people complain that space exploration is a waste of money and no one should care.)

The film does not really stand up to later NASA IMAX films such as The Dream is Alive. I was not keeping track, but I am sure around half, if not more, of the footage in the film was not true IMAX film. Because of this, I do feel the film is a bit dated.

One thing I liked about it is how it showed the optimism of the period. People expected the Shuttle to do great things and make spaceflight more routine and cheaper. The Challenger disaster five years later would change that. Again, this is because of the time the film was made, not a fault on its own, but adds to the dated feel of it.

Now the Shuttle Program is nearing its end. With the true star of this film having been tragically lost and the money on the program already spent, films like this with amazing footage can be enjoyed in retrospect. The Space Shuttle may not have been the best option NASA could have pursued in the post-Apollo era, but it truly is a beautiful machine and a technological marvel.

Space junkies (like myself) will love this film. If you can buy it at a good price there is no good reason not to add this to your collection. For the more casual movie-goer, you might want to pass this up and instead look for later NASA IMAX films.

I bought this DVD because ever since the mid 80's when Challenger's flights began to take the spotlight, I realized that Columbia was something special. I wanted to add this to my Columbia library.
This DVD is very well done, with lots of great footage. It brought me back to the days when the general public still got excited about space shuttle launches.

The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of unique footage. Many of the scenes were ones I've seen over and over again. I had hoped for some detailed exterior views of Columbia or maybe some rare behind-the-scenes processing work, but it was mostly well-worn, and in many cases, faded views.

For the most part though, "Hail Columbia" hit the spot for me, and allowed me to relive the days when the space shuttle Columbia was a "celebrity."