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From director J.J. Abrams comes the next installment in the Star Trek saga, Star Trek Into Darkness. See it at Cinemark theaters now and pre-order on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and the Exclusive Starfleet Phaser Gift Set. Shop Star Trek Into Darkness and more in the Star Trek Store. Learn more |
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Gregory Peck puts in another stellar performance as Chief of Manned Space Charles Keith, who is strong, decisive, and thoughtful; the conversation he has with the stranded crew about oxygen is memorable, and as the commander, Richard Crenna is terrific, and Gene Hackman, an astronaut with a high strung temperament, and James Franciscus are also excellent, as are their wives, Lee Grant, Mariette Hartley and Nancy Kovak, and David Janssen, as a fourth astronaut.
Four months and 2 days after this film was released, Apollo 13 was plagued with its problems, and went through a similar scenario; for those who believe in the powers of the mind, some could argue it was predictive, and others say life imitated art...at any rate, the coincidence is interesting, and one imagines that either the Apollo 13 crew or their families might have seen this film before their mission, and pondered the possibilities.
This film is classified as "sci-fi", though in spirit it is perhaps closer to the disaster films that would become so popular in the '70s. Panned by many critics, it is still alive and breathing well after all these years and the special effects, which won the film an Oscar, retain their freshness and are excellent. It received nominations for Best Cinematography (Daniel Fapp) and Best Sound.
Total running time is 134 minutes.
The film centers around the crew of the Apollo spacecraft IRONMAN 1, and how they are starnded in Earth orbit. While NASA and the Russians prepare a joint rescue operation, the astronauts learn that one or two of them must sacrifice themselves because of their limited oxygen supply. From that point on, it is a race against time to rescue the astronauts from a slow death.
Another cool thing about this movie was the actually filming in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the stock footage of the Apollo 11 mission taking off from the launch pad. It really captures the era it was set in. Marooned is an excellent film. More science fact than science fiction. If you are a follower of the space program, then you might want to consider checking this film out. It's worth watching.
MAROONED is, as I've said, not an unflawed film. The dialogue that the fine cast, which includes Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, and Gene Hackman, has to deal with is arguably quite banal. Another complication that arises is that the film's director, John Sturges, was better known for his work in the western genre (including THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN) and was thus not totally comfortable in the sci-fi genre. The third problem is that the special effects, which won a justly deserved Oscar in 1969, are obviously dated in ways in which those of "2001" aren't.
As a pre-cursor of things to come, however, MAROONED is unbelievably prescient. The film was released in December 1969. Four months later, in April 1970, the film's situation was echoed almost directly by the real-life saga of Apollo 13, whose three-man crew was almost stranded permanently in space when one of their oxygen tanks exploded on their way to the Moon. And like the 1995 film APOLLO 13, MAROONED shows NASA trying to come up with the right solutions to a very difficult situation. On that score alone, even though thirty years of cinematic advancements have rendered it dated to a certain degree, MAROONED still has considerable weight to it.
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