First off, if I could give this miniseries 10, 20, a zillion stars, I would. Amazon just didn’t let me count high enough.
So let me get ahold of myself long enough to tell you to run, run, run and get this DVD set now, if you haven’t already. “From the Earth to the Moon” is one of the most unique and engrossing (as well as gorgeously produced) miniseries I’ve ever seen — 12 hours of moving, dramatic, gripping, frightening, and ultimately completely inspiring entertainment. As a kid born in the late sixties, I missed the moon race (and I’m still ticked about it). But this literally perfect 12-episode miniseries makes me feel as if I’ve been there too — from the tragedy of Apollo 1 to the triumphs and near-misses of the ensuing missions, to the vastly underappreciated final Apollo 16 and 17 missions. (As one character in the film laments, “We stopped going up just when we were getting really good at it.”)
Those of you who might have avoided this because it’s “history” — let me reassure you right now that it’s as gripping as any drama you’ll see in or out of a theatre. This isn’t just history painstakingly created by some of those who were there — it’s also just plain incredible, suspenseful, joyful entertainment.
And for those of you who saw it on HBO, the DVD set is well worth the price, even if you’d already taped it. The DVD set offers not only crystal-clear viewing you’d expect (and the special effects hold up admirably under the discerning eye offered through DVD), but also special features including an enjoyable making-of featurette (emphasizing Tom Hanks’ huge role in bringing the project to the screen), plus behind-the-scenes studies of special effects, 3D ship models (which can be rotated or even viewed in wireframe), a transcript of Kennedy’s “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech, a follow-up quiz, and a virtual tour of the solar system. And that’s just for starters.
The writing, acting, music, direction and more are all simply superb — each hour out of the twelve having its own particular look and feel, while nevertheless meshing perfectly with the others. The introductions to each chapter in Apollo history are delivered quietly, but with eloquence and power, by the project’s producer, co-writer, actor (and driving force) Tom Hanks.
One of my favorite aspects of the project was the way it brought in so many actors who are often underused (or at least under-appreciated) in TV and film today — many of whom are cast against type to show what they can really do. Stephen Root, a guy I’d loved as Jimmy James on NewsRadio for years, does a terrific job in a serious role as Mission Control’s Chris Kraft, as does Nick Searcy in a quiet and often sensitive turn as the program’s father figure Deke Slayton. Meanwhile, Stephen Root’s former NewsRadio news director Dave Foley also gets in on the action, and gets to shed his “Kids in the Hall” cynicism with a surprisingly sweet and innocent portrayal of Al Bean.
Other favorites out of the dozens of amazing actors include Ted Levine’s wistful, complex (not to mention curmudgeonly) Alan Shepard, the criminally underused Jo Anderson’s sensitive and moving Pat White (wife of Gemini and Apollo I astronaut Ed White), and memorable appearances large and small by such gifted folks as Kevin Pollak, Elizabeth Perkins, Matt Craven, Tim Daly, Mark Harmon (returning for a few moments to his lighter roots), Paul McCrane, David Clennon, James Rebhorn, Mark Rolston, Jay Mohr, George Newbern, Brett Cullen and Steve Zahn.
The surprises are the best part. Before viewing this, I would never have guessed that the Apollo 13 (”We interrupt this Program”) segment, while unique and powerful, would be my least favorite of the group, while “Spider,” a look at the development of a *machine*, for goodness’ sake, would move me to tears. Other standouts (keeping in mind that they’re all terrific) include a quietly powerful look at Apollo I, the trials and surprising fates of the astronauts’ wives in an episode directed by Sally Field, and the bittersweet old-man-as-underdog battle of Alan Shepard to make it “up there” one last time — and for more than 15 minutes.
OK, I’ll shut up. But if you ever have a day when you’ve encountered a really stupid driver, or been detained in ridiculous meetings with half-brained bozos, or wondered if human beings aren’t actually DE-volving — then this miniseries is just the kind of thing to remind you of what human beings can be at their very best. And what wonders they are capable of.
And I can’t believe I missed it all. We just better go back. Darn it.
NOTE: For those of you inspired by the miniseries, I strongly urge you to go pick up Andrew Chaikin’s wonderful “A Man on the Moon,” the history of Apollo that provided much of the backbone for the miniseries. And for an even closer look at the moon, don’t miss “Full Moon” (Michael Light and Andrew Chaikin) — a truly stunning, beautiful, even eerie compilation of lunar photographs, many of which had never before been seen.
From the Earth to the Moon: Signature Edition (2005)
Buy,Download, Or Stream From the Earth to the Moon - The Signature Edition! Click Here
I don’t intend to review the content of this DVD set as it has been covered in great detail by many hundreds already. If you love top-class historical drama and enjoyed Apollo 13, you probably know about the quality of this miniseries already. My rating for the miniseries itself is 9.5 out of 10.
This is a short review to point out the differences between the 2000 4-Disc box set and the 2005 Signature Edition 5-disc box set.
Buy,Download, Or Stream From the Earth to the Moon - The Signature Edition! Click Here
In case you have already got the 2000 DVD set in your collection and are wondering whether to update it to the 2005 edition, here are the differences:
Firstly, there are 5 discs instead of 4, but NO difference in content. No extra scenes, documentaries or commentary. The original DVD-Rom Disc 4 has been re-authored to play on your DVD player in the lounge room. This makes a lot of the content immediately accessible instead of having to search for it on the net, but the interactivity is gone. For me that’s small loss as I didn’t get much out of the games etc anyway.
Secondly, the entire set has been remastered in DTS and Widescreen (1.85:1). Now this sounds like manna from heaven, but unfortunately only the audio remastering is really worth spending any extra dollars on. The sound is crisp, clear and beautifully mixed and the liftoffs etc come booming out of your home theatre system like you were there at the Cape.
But the widescreen - well, sadly it just doesn’t enhance the original viewing experience. It’s evident that HBO produced the original series in 1.33:1 for tv and have merely re-jigged and adapted that ratio for the modern proliferation of widescreen plasma television sets. There is no extra data. You will find some scenes are better cut in the frame, but others suffer. For example, in Disc 1, when the Gemini 8/Agena assembly is tumbling around the sky with a stuck thruster, you don’t see the thruster in the new widescreen version as it is cut off by the top of the frame. Some captions have also been compromised.
As the series was created for the 1.33:1 ratio, all the crucial information is positioned inside the frame for that ratio anyway. The only advantage of the widescreen ratio is that it now fits your new plasma widescreen without the black bars. Also the video quality is not as crisp as I expected it to be, possibly from the re-sizing process.
Each chapter now gets its own play and audio options menu and there are 3 chapters per disc, which is tidier. However there are still those weird groupings of episodes where some contain the titles and some don’t. Nothing has changed here.
The box looks impressive with the silver signature cover and Tom’s moniker on it and there is a nice holo of the Earth and the Moon which alternates as you tilt it this way and that.
But, in a major disappointment to this buyer, the original cardboard foldout format is identical to its 2000 counterpart. My box broke apart after about a year due to excessive wear and tear and sadly I fear this box will succumb to the same fate. Two of my discs had already broken free from their moorings in transit and were sliding all round the inside of the box, picking up scratches and marks in the process. Poor packaging.
How I wish they’d used the Battlestar Galactica Season 1 format where all discs sit securely in plastic pages like the leaves of a book. Sturdier, simpler and more durable.
In summary, if you don’t have From the Earth to the Moon, then buy this 2005 set. If you have it already and are wondering whether to spend $100 on a better version, think twice. You may think it’s worth it to get better sound, but unless you are an audiophile with a top home theater surround system and DTS, you probably won’t notice. You may be better off spending your money on other titles.
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