*APOLLO 13* First Time Watching MOVIE REACTION

[@jenmurrayxo]

FORREST GUMP: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2LZm6Fmp81sf7M THE MARTIAN: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoGsZGhtl9WrZpI

[@tomhoffman4330]

Note-to-Jen: if You Loved what Tom Hanks & Ron Howard did together here, then I do Hope You'll check-out "The Da Vinci Code" too!🤞

[@neptunusrex5195]

I was maybe like 7th grade? When I saw this movie. We were staying at my aunts for thanksgiving and in the room I sleeping in my aunt was showing me what movies they had and how to work the vcr. I saw the cover of this one and I was like OOOH SPACE! 🤠🚀 And now 20 years later I’m studying avionics and hoping to one day work at nasa 😅😎

[@neptunusrex5195]

Laaa-aaah-aaah…aaah-aaah-aaah….. -Oh wait wrong theme song 😂🖖

[@alanholck7995]

Another good space movie (also w/ Ed Harris) is The Right Stuff.

[@dernwine]

You should 100% watch the Right Stuff and From the Earth to the Moon if you enjoyed Apollo 13

[@joeb5316]

The pieces were ice. The engines' fuel was supercooled and ice formed on the outside of the tanks from condensation.

[@NefariousKoel]

This. It was normal. A piece of ice in a much later shuttle mission caused a severe problem, though.

[@afterhours21711]

​@@NefariousKoelColumbia. With the Saturn rockets, everything that they would be using to come home was protected from all outside elements being inside the enclosure up until almost time to use it. It's almost like they had foreseen debris of any kind hitting the heat shield could possibly be an issue but when the went to the reusable shuttle, became over confident it wouldn't or forgot or something and assumed all was good. Yeah it was only one time it happened that tragedy occured because of, but that was one time too many.

[@eurkedal]

Adding to that: The first stage uses kerosene as fuel, which was not that cold, but the oxidizer was liquid oxygen, which is around -185°C. A combination of fuel and oxidizer is referred to as propellant. The second and third stages however, they used liquid hydrogen as fuel. Keeping it liquid requires a temperature below -253°C (only 20°C above absolute 0). So yes, lots of ice forms in the humid Florida air, which is then shaken loose on ignition.

[@andreabindolini7452]

​@@NefariousKoelnot ice. Insulation foam.

[@NefariousKoel]

@@andreabindolini7452 Yes, but I recall the foam had accumulated ice in it.

[@meanfan6963]

Here‘s some trivia for you: 1) The real Jim Lovell has a cameo appearance in the movie: he‘s the captain of the aircraft carrier saluting Tom Hanks after their return. 2) As of today (December 2023), the real Jim Lovell is still alive, at the age of 95. Fred Haise is also still alive, aged 90. Jack Swigert died of cancer in 1982, aged 51. Ken Mattingly died just 2 months ago, aged 87. Gene Kranz is still alive, aged 90.

[@peterradsliff527]

GREAT reaction, Jen. It was VERY accurate to what really happened. The weightless scenes were real, not wires, using the “vomit comet” airplane with an Apollo set built inside. Over 600 parabolic maneuvers of less than 30 seconds each to experience true weightlessness. Something someone your age wouldn’t understand is when hearing the period TV footage of newscasters Walter Cronkite or Jules Bergman, someone my age realizes just how real this all was. Masterfully done by Ron Howard and the actors. I love this movie.

[@crairdin]

This is well-put. Most people will say that they "simulated" weightlessness, when in fact "weightlessness" in Earth orbit is just free-fall that lasts longer than you get in a carnival ride or In the vomit comet. This movie was filmed in actual weightlessness (as you described).

[@donsample1002]

@@crairdinThere was some real weightlessness, but they also did a lot of simulated weightlessness.

[@moyesboy1]

When an airplane flies a precisely deviated parabola, it is briefly in free fall, i.e. in weightlessness. The weightlessness scenes in this film were all filmed on board one of these airplanes, with only a few seconds of filming time available for each fall. Unbelievable ,From today's perspective Greetings from Germany

[@originalbadboy32]

I wouldn't say it was 'very' accurate. The whole co2 piece for example was worked out before apollo 11 even took off. Also it' didn't take over 4 minutes on re-entry.

[@niiling]

The movie is rather accurate but the crew never screamed at each other or seemed to panic. You can hear it in the orirginal recordings, that Lovel never lost his cool and always kept his cool. Also the story with the lost wedding ring is actually true. I love this movie for all it is. The music, the actors, the atmosphere and the beautifully told story. Thx for the reaction.

[@izzonj]

Very accurate, with some exceptions. The astronauts did not get mad at each other. They didn't panic at all. You can hear the archival audio from the mission and they were always businesslike and focused. You'd barely now anything was wrong from the time of their voice. Jack Schweigert was highly qualified. In fact he wrote the manuals on piloting the Apollo command module. Some of the emergency procedures had been worked out. Doing an engine burn guided by keeping the Earth in the window had been tested on Apollo 8, piloted by none other than Jim Lovell. Using the umbilical to squeeze all the remaining power from the LEM was standard procedure. I forgive all of these things because they made for a great movie! And Gene Kranz is an absolute legend at NASA. I know a NASA Project leader and he said his biggest thrill at NASA was meeting Kranz. Kranz never actually said, "Failure is not an option." But when he learned it was in the script he thought it was the perfect statement of how he saw his job at NASA and he even used the phrase as the title of his memoirs. Jen, I absolutely love how much you appreciate the scores of movies!

[@christophtoifl6848]

One of the things that is true is that Lovell did take of his biomed sensors. Allegedly he didn't want Mission Control know how scared he was. They all were probably scared shitless, they just worked through it and stayed extremely professional. Which is one of the most important character traits for an astronaut, stay cool, especially when the shit hits the fan...

[@Dillpicks95]

Even though we know the story and how it ends because it really happened, this movie did a great job at building the suspense and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

[@llanitedave]

As for technical accuracy, the movie was about as close as you could expect from compressing the entire narrative into a single movie. A lot of stuff got left out, and a number of characters were merged into one. For example, the Flight Director, Gene Kranz,was the guy on duty when the explosion happened. But there were four flight directors working in shifts, and Gene Kranz's shift was nearly over when the emergency happened. His replacement was Glynn Lunney, who oversaw the actual transfer into the Lunar Module as a lifeboat. Gerald Griffin and Milton Windler were also leading their crews during critical events of the flight. The movie had Gene Kranz representing all of them. Also, as others have pointed out, there was never any friction or disputes between the astronauts. Jack Swigert was not some Jacky Come Lately, he was a bona fide expert in the Command Module systems. And a lot of the other "crises" such as the need to modify the the CO2 absorption canisters, were anticipated almost immediately when the nature of the accident became clear.

[@MWSin1]

And the crew were, for the most part, calm and confident. Or perhaps it was more like accepting that everything that can be done is being done, and recognizing there's no need or value to becoming emotional. They were even cracking jokes throughout the mission, such as Lovell saying that Swigert was bragging just before reentry about how efficient he had been at preserving maneuvering fuel in the CSM (which had, of course, been shut down most of the mission). "Some people will do anything to set a record." - Ken Mattingly, from Houston

[@jeffk1722]

Yeah I heard that most of those procedures were already in the manual in step-by-step instructions, but of course it's more exciting to have them scrambling to find a solution. Ironically, the ready-made manual is actually more impressive and smart, but quick thinking makes for movie fun. And your point about Gene Kranz is interesting, but again we gotta have Ed Harris throughout! Love his portrayal, even if dramatized.

[@Steve-gx9ot]

THERED WERE NO space shuttles in 1969!! The rockets were mostly fuel and it was unbelievably DANGEROUS

[@Steve-gx9ot]

One of the most important quas lities required for astronaut astronauts is calm demeanor and focus intelligents, strength, stamina

[@beaverhurl]

Not sure if "The Right Stuff" is or has been on your radar, but to understand how they got the astronauts for the space race, it is a fantastic movie.

[@minnesotajones261]

Heck yeah The Right Stuff!!!

[@GirlWithAnOpinion]

Absolutely must watch!!!!

[@Cherokeelion]

The Right Stuff is great for those who love space and our journey getting there!

[@libertyresearch-iu4fy]

Ed Harris is in that one too.

[@paulcollinsyoga]

What a great film!!!!! Anyone who watched that film as a kid dreamed of being an astronaut for weeks afterwards (or longer)!!!!

[@ChrisReise]

Ed Harris plays Gene at Mission Control and he does a phenomenal job at it. It's my personal opinion that ALL the main cast should have gotten Oscars for this film.

[@CharlesVanNoland]

The movie's technicals are dead-nuts accurate, but the actual happenings unfolding are much more dramatized. The astronauts had virtually zero panic in their voices when everything was happening, it's crazy. They just kept focusing on dealing with the problem instead of freaking out thinking that they're gonna die.

[@audiogarden21]

Well there just wasn't anything to freak out about in the first place. There was no explosion, just a slight shimmy in the modules and then the liquid O2 began to slowly ooze out of its housing.

[@TheWendybird123]

I think Ron Howard and the production team, etc., chose to dramatize the crew interactions more than how they really went down to make this experience more relatable to probably 98% of humanity!? If the actors played it calm and focused all the way through like the steely, unflinching fighter pilots they were, it wouldn't have the same effect on the audience. We *would* freak out. By having the astronauts react at points the way most of us would, we the audience get drawn into the story more, like we're right there with them, going through the ups and downs of dealing with such a serious crisis!

[@CharlesVanNoland]

​@@TheWendybird123My point was that having seen this movie a number of times in my life and then recently hearing the actual conversations between 13 and mission control it was very impressive how well they kept their cool. Of course Hollywood and TV dramatizes things, that goes without saying (but you said it anyway). I just never knew in this instance exactly how much they dramatized it - and they dramatized the bejeezies out of it. That's not to say the astronauts' lives weren't at risk, but just how they were able to keep their cool was inspiring to me. Real adults being real about the situation at hand.

[@StevenJShow]

@@audiogarden21 ... There was an explosion. It blew the entire panel off the service module, pushed the craft off course, and left so much metallic debris around the craft that none of the men could use visual navigation. No starfield. Was it a Michael Bay fireball? No. But the movie does a good job of depicting what it was like. The two sections of the craft did begin to shake. The astronauts did report banging and shimming. There was a concern that they had been hit by some kind of rock. There was a concern that the two parts of the craft could violently separate. The reality is that panicking about it wouldn't solve the problem. As Jim Lovell himself said many times "We didn't have time to panic. If we took the time we would have died."

[@paulhansen7667]

The best scene is Jim's mother expressing her confidence in her son. This makes me tear up every time I see it.

[@mako88sb]

That was Ron Howard’s mother in that role.

[@deeanna3335]

His dad was the clergyman sitting on the couch with the family awaiting the splash down. Of course his brother Clint was one of the mission control guys.

[@kevinlewallen4778]

I agree, Paul. Her confidence is really moving.

[@mako88sb]

@@deeanna3335 I knew about Clint but not about his father. Thanks for letting me know!

[@deeanna3335]

@@mako88sb Yes, if you blink you might miss him

[@kevindown1592]

I happened to stop at Boarders Books one evening and noticed they were setup for an author so I decided to stay and see who it was. Turns out it was Gene Kranz played by Ed Harris in this movie. Attending the talk & book signing was several NASA folks who worked at a nearby NASA facility. Because it was a friendly and knowledgeable audience he was asked some insider questions along with laymen’s questions. I learned each Flight Director, there were three, had a color - red, white, & blue. Gene was White Flight or the day shift flight director. Indeed his wife made him a vest for each mission just like in the movie. I also learned he had a habit of clicking a ball point pen to relieve stress. He said he went through a whole box of pens on the Apollo 13 flight. Needless to say it was an enjoyable night of behind the scenes stories and jokes.

[@TorgoLives]

Great reaction, Jen! Another space movie I would recommend is "The Right Stuff", which covers the space program up to just before the Apollo missions. Great dramatic movie with a terrific soundtrack, also starring Ed Harris!

[@lesnyk255]

Another might be the 12-part HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon", an overview of the Apollo program from the earliest days of Mercury, through Gemini, and to the moon flights. A lot of the faces seen in "Apollo 13" appear there as well.

[@BedsitBob]

Astronauts didn't do all the jobs at mission control, but the Capcom (Capsule Communicator, the guy who actually speaks to the crew) was always an astronaut.

[@billb207]

The original Apollo mission audio tapes can be listened to on KZbin. One of the striking differences between the movie and the real Apollo 13 dialogue is how CALM everyone remains, even under the direst of circumstances.

[@suflanker45]

Correct there was no yelling or panic. Lovell and Kranz were consultants on the film and let Howard know that wasn't accurate. Howard said it was the only way to show tension the viewing audience so they reluctantly agreed.

[@Ravenforce3]

This is a major reason the first astronauts were test pilots. Calm when all hell is breaking loose around you. Look up what happened on Gemini VIII for another example.

[@MartinBeerbom]

There was the problem on Gemini 8 (when a thruster was stuck and it began spinning out of control). Armstrong was on this. He gave an interview later and extremely deadpan said: "I certainly was aware that I was approaching the limits of my physical capabilities." (paraphsed)

[@OldRod99]

If you enjoyed this one, Jen, you should watch "The Right Stuff". It's about the startup of the space program, and it's another great movie with a great cast

[@kosh6612]

My mom worked with NASA on both the Gemini and Apollo missions (admin). One thing she often mentions is how amazing it was to watch all those scientist and engineers kick into gear and focus to work a problem. AN amazing sight. She danced with Buzz Aldrin at the last function before the flight. A fun and very little known story (as she tells it), is that all the girls in the support team wrote personal good luck notes etc to the crew that were hidden in a compartment, unknown to them. NASA had to calculate for the extra weight.. as with everything they took and/or didn't bring back like moon rocks.

[@mako88sb]

Same thing with the LM’s. Apparently a lot of Grumman personnel wrote their names in areas that would be concealed while being built.

[@kosh6612]

@@mako88sbinteresting, and the first kind of confirmation I heard of the story. She was with McDonnell Douglas

[@bobogus7559]

12:38 That's ice. The upper stages of the rocket used liquid hydrogen fuel (which is between -434 and -423°F, only a little above absolute zero) and liquid oxygen oxidizer (which is -297°F or colder). Even though the tanks were insulated, the outside of the rocket still got extremely cold, and due to Florida's humidity, water vapor in the air would freeze into ice pretty much on contact. Then the intense vibrations when the engines were ignited caused the ice to be shaken off.

[@adarael]

I AM EXCITE. I've always loved this movie, because Jim Lovell was my grandparents' neighbor in Lake Forest, and when I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut... so he gave me a copy of his book (Lost Moon) which they based this on!

[@kevinlewallen4778]

His book is terrific.

[@madeincda]

I love that you're not just excited, but you've assumed the identity of the word "excite" itself. That's like a new level of excitement! It's like, "I'm not just angry. I AM anger!!" 😄

[@brucebieberly4166]

I got to hear Jim Lovell talk at the Smithsonian, and yes, he is just as nice a guy as you see in the movie.

[@billbabcock1833]

You may not have caught it, but in Forrest Gump there's a scene where Forrest and Lt. Dan are drinking in a bar on New Year's Eve. Forrest has just told Lt. Dan about his plans to buy a shrimping boat. Lt. Dan says, "The day you're a shrimp boat Captain I'll be your first mate". Then Dan says, "The day you're a shrimp boat Captain I'll be an astronaut." A year later the two actors were together in Apollo 13, as astronauts.

[@dankefurnichts]

that is no reference to the film it is a reference to the book where forest gump is also an astronaut. but sure a funny coincidence.

[@charlieeckert4321]

The reason why the scrubbers on the Command Module and the LEM were different shapes was because the two spacecrafts were made by two different companies.

[@stmcde1701]

Fun little trivia for you since you started working through Star Trek. There's a great speech in an OK episode of the original series where Kirk is giving a rousing speech about "risk is our business.." and has a line that goes: "Do you wish the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon? Or that we hadn't gone on to Mars or to the nearest star?" The episoded aired over a year before Apollo 11

[@pauld6967]

Jen, you definitely have to watch the miniseries _'From The Earth To The Moon.'_ It was hosted by Tom Hanks and when it comes to Apollo 13, don't worry, it won't be like watching this movie again. I won't say more to avoid spoilers but trust me, all of it is enjoyable & educational. I don't necessarily mean for the channel, you can just watch it for yourself.

[@steriopticon2687]

I'd watch her watch it.

[@pauld6967]

@@steriopticon2687 Somewhere buried in our boxes of treasures, either in the basement or the attic, should be a stereopticon. I remember playing with it as a child. Hmm, that might've been at an aunt's house,...anyway, a very cool device.

[@samjonna9488]

Yup, I cannot recommend "From the Earth to the Moon" enough. Story of the entire Apollo missions (not just the one or two most-well known ones), from multiple viewpoints, with context of the time, and with a star-studded cast. Just straight-up inspiring series!

[@JJ_W]

_From The Earth To The Moon_ is even more faithful to what really happened, than _Apollo 13_ was. But it still doesn't come off like some documentary. And since Jen wondered about the wives' experience, the next-to-last episode is all about the wives of the Apollo astronauts.

[@pauld6967]

@@samjonna9488 Plus Mercury and Gemini. My older sisters were around for Mercury but my following of space starts with the tail end of Gemini. So this miniseries did a great job filling in the blanks and the final episode,....a very good addition to the whole story.

[@zhubajie6940]

Growing up near Cape Canaveral, I was privileged to see in person Apollo 10 through 17 and many others. Yes, you felt the whole world united with Apollo 11 and 13. As Apollo 17 was the last trip and was a night launch, it was awesome in the old sense of the word.

[@poolhall9632]

we lived in Key West in the late 80s and I was able to catch a couple of lunches of the Space Shuttle. Totally Awesome

[@theairwaybat1830]

Thay had to be something else to see those beasts take off

[@alexsaunders352]

watch out for the real Jim Lovell at the end , he plays the part of the admiral who shakes Tom Hanks Hand on the ship. a true masterpiece so very well directed.

[@alanholck7995]

Actually they wanted to put him in an Admiral uniform, but he had them make him a Captain instead as he already had the uniform.

[@donsample1002]

And Marilyn Lovell is in the stands in front of Kathleen Quinlan during the launch sequence.

[@dave2059]

@@alanholck7995 Him having the uniform wasn't the reason why he wanted to wear a Captain's uniform. I'm sure he didn't actually wear his own uniform. I'm guessing the made him a new one as his would have been decades old. He was only willing to be a Captain because that was the highest rank he earned, and he didn't want to wear the uniform of a rank he never earned or had in real life.

[@Brett33]

My favorite part of the movie was having Jim Lovell make an appearance . Having the actual person who was involved in the actual event makes it a historical treasure .

[@BigJoeEspo]

Like most of Ron Howards' films, this one was a family affair for him. The actress playing Jim Lovell's mother was Ron Howards' mother. Also, the actor playing the priest in the Lovell home was Ron Howards' father. And, of course, the character in Mission Control who talks about how a quadruple failure can't happen was Ron Howards' brother.

[@sofajockeyUK]

I love this film. I watched the Apollo 11 landing live on TV. I was 4 and it's my first formed memory. Apollo 13 was shocking and I remember it, but as there was no 'rolling news' in those days, all you had to rely on the TV news showing you something or waiting for what a newspaper said (I didn't listen to radio at that age). I was 'space mad' and made all the model kits.

[@BouillaBased]

"Does she make him a new vest, every time?" Yes, indeed she did. Every single mission, he had a new vest with the mission insignia patch. "What are all the pieces?" Chunks of ice. Cryogenic fuels (liquid hydrogen and oxygen) are very cold, water condenses from the atmosphere and freezes onto the side of the tanks and forms ice. "How did they shoot this, wires?" Nope, actual zero gravity care of a special aircraft known as "The Vomit Comet". It flies a series of parabolas; after cresting, the inside is a low-gravity environment. So they would do takes when it was diving, and would take breaks as it was climbing again. "How many g's should they feel?" Peak, about 6.3 g's.

[@leftcoaster67]

The fuel is liquid oxygen cooled to a low temperature so there's ice that coats the Saturn V, and it falls off from the vibration from launch. This was a brilliant movie. Ron did an amazing job with a crazy good cast.

[@JJ_W]

And the liquid hydrogen (in the 2nd and 3rd stages) was even colder (-250°C/-420°F). And the fuel tanks were relatively thin metal. So one side was exposed to -250°C, and the other side was exposed to what's probably the most humid area in North America. Frozen humidity, and lots of it.

[@leftcoaster67]

@@JJ_W Thanks for the addendum. :)

[@brendangrimace]

“It’s so wild that humans do this!” Jen, that moment is exactly why I watch your channel and will keep on doing so

[@bobwallace1880]

The lady in the wheel chair is Ron Howard's mother. Her husband Lance Howard was also an actor. Great movie !!!

[@mako88sb]

Just found out from someone else here that he played the pastor waiting with the others for the reentry.

[@TheDemonicPenguin]

James Horner was king of film scores in the 90s and this was one of his best. 😊

[@Rastafaustian]

Khan's theme from Star Trek II is also one of my favorites.

[@ariochiv]

@@RastafaustianThat's also my personal favorite (as it introduced me to Horner), but I think this one tops it.

[@claymccoy]

My favorite score of his was for the film Glory.

[@johnaskew4718]

While Gene Kranz was Flight Director on Apollo his wife made him a new vest for each launch

[@tommiller4895]

1969 was an incredible year in my life. I watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing and I went to Woodstock (and heard Janis Joplin amd Jimi Hendrix).

[@HowardDaniels-uw8tj]

Great memories

[@jamesalexander5623]

I'm 72 and watched all this live. It was like the "Earth Stood Still"! Years later I had the honour to meet Ed Mitchell the Lunar Modular Pilot on Apollo XIV the Next Moon Mission. Was lucky to talk to him for Half an Hour one on one!

[@maxducoudray]

What a great movie. It’s very unique in its combination of drama, disaster, terror, inspiration and true story. And it has an amazing cast. It’s hard to imagine any way it could be improved.

[@Keyboardje]

Of course it could be "improved"! If it had to be made now in 2023, one of the crew would be portrayed as gay, one would be black and one would be a lesbian trans woman. O yes, and one of the three would also be disabled in some way.

[@maxducoudray]

@@Keyboardje Calm down. We’re all loving the movie here.

[@thomashiggins9320]

​​@@KeyboardjeNobody gives a ***k about your political angst, but you.

[@BogeyDopeYT]

That is actual weightlessness. They filmed those scenes in the Vomit Comet, a training plane that flies parabolic arcs to give astronauts real weightlessness to train in.

[@namechamps]

Watching you fangirl during the launch sequence was great. Never lose that enthusiasm about space. The "stuff" falling off at the launch was ice. The rocket has cryogenic fuel so the skin of the rocket gets very cold. Water vapor and even oxygen from the air condenses and freezes on the surface of the rocket and falls off in sheets at launch.

[@Cerridwen7777]

The score for this film is one of my all time favorites (been a nerd for film score since I was a kid back in the dark ages of the 1980s). The best scores can make you cry, and this one gets me every time. Glad to see somebody else appreciate it!

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

The capsule's electronics are pretty accurate. The original was run by a computer that barely would run a calculator today. The computers that ran the launch was in a ring. They managed pitch and direction and control engines. The programming code for that when printed out was taller than Margaret Hamilton (the ring was bigger also). The programming in the LEM had a bug that gave an emergency collision alarm as it approached the moon's surface, which later had to be removed from the code. Apollo one, as described was essentially correct - the fire started and they were unable to evacuate the astronauts quickly enough. Although things were simplified, this is pretty accurate as movies go. At NASA in Florida, there is an actual Saturn V laying outside for visitors to see, and the operations launch center is inside and automated to show a moon launch.

[@kylespeirs6510]

Kathleen Quinlan looks good…a great cast! Jen fire reaction!

[@yorkhawk3223]

Jen's editor: good job flipping the video to avoid copywrite. All of that stuff was essential. Jen: I'm dying to know about your musical background. From one musician to another, you have an excellent ear!

[@jenmurrayxo]

Just an orchestra kid! 🎵

[@JJ_W]

@@jenmurrayxoDon't sell yourself short. I was in school band too, but my ears can't "hear" the individual parts like you can, or identify "that clarinet!" or "that piano!" like you can. That's a great skill, that adds to your reactions.

[@deeanna3335]

And excellent taste in music

[@perrinyone1596]

You have to see "The Right Stuff" (1983), that will answer so many of your questions, it is about the birth of the space program (it's a great book as well), "Apollo 13" is very much in the style of "The Right Stuff" (watered down, in my opinion; Ron Howard's a solid director but nothing in the league of Philip Kaufman, who had just done "Invasion Of The body Snatchers". Plus, just in terms of the story of nasa, watching The Right Stuff, then Apollo 13 is the way to do it. They even cast Ed Harris in this one as a sort of homage to "Right Stuff" (Right Stuff is what put Ed Harris on the map). PLEASE put "The Right Stuff" on your list. You will LOVE it.

[@mako88sb]

Excellent movie for the most part but who’s decision was it to make a mockery of Gus Grissom and portray him as a some kind of panicky buffoon? How would such a incapable astronaut they showed him to be end up being selected as the Commander of the first manned Gemini mission? He did so well that he was again selected to be the Commander of what should have been the first manned Apollo mission but for that tragic fire. Deke Slayton made it clear that in his opinion, Grissom should have gotten the first crack at landing on the moon. Yet anyone who watches The Right Stuff and doesn’t know any better would think that Grissom should never have been selected as an astronaut. Very disappointed with that part of the movie especially when the rest of it was so well done.

[@perrinyone1596]

@@mako88sb The same folks who took liberties in Apollo 13 and virtually every other film made from a real event, is this your first movie? lol. Actually the answer is Tom Wolfe, it's part of the original book which was certainly thoroughly researched. There was probably some whispering from someone at nasa , true or not. Sorry, Mako, I'm not a little boy looking for a haiography of Gus Grissom, especially when you can hero worship Chuck Yeager and John Glenn and Alan Shepherd (et al) in the same movie. Past all that, I really have no interest discussing the specifics of a movie Jen hasn't seen it yet, nor should you. It's a great movie that should be seen, that's all you have to say about it, especially if she likes this one which could easily be called "Right Stuff Part 2". Hilarious how you don't have a bug up your ass about the historical inaccuracies about "Apollo 13".

[@Kodos13]

Hey Jen, The accident was traced to 2 issues. The insulation on the oxygen tank's heater wires had been cracked due to an overvoltage between the spacecraft's power and power from the ground. They had to use ground power because a valve used to empty the oxygen tank after tests had been sticking, and they decided to use the heater to "boil off" the tank to empty it. They left it on too long. The next time the exposed wires were turned on during flight, they arced.

[@mgordon1100]

What's the second issue?

[@amitychief3061]

and the guy he said to shut the fuel cells down was Clint Howard, Ron's brother, and he was Balok at the end of the Star Trek TOS episode "The Corbomite Maneuver".

[@OmegaSoypreme]

I've seen this film countless times and I tear up every time when they come out of blackout. It's an absolutely masterful scene. The music, the acting. It's amazing.

[@Garryck-1]

Something I only learned recently about that blackout.. the crew were so worried about the batteries having enough power to fire the main parachutes, that they decided to not use the radio until after the parachutes were successfully deployed. Of course, they didn't tell Houston of this decision, so from Houston's perspective, it was a much longer blackout than usual.

[@RealBLAlley]

I tear up at the launch.

[@captwrecked]

Grandma is the best character in this film. And we are going back next year on Artemis 2. My old boss is the Canadian Astronaut assigned

[@grumpysocks]

Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise.. whenever they're in a movie together it's a hit 👌👏

[@qbasicmichael]

America's manned missions started with the mercury and gemeni misssions, and then the apollo missions. After that, they used the shuttles, of which challenger blew up on takeoff, and columbia disintegrated on reentry. After the shuttle was retired, america had to rely on russian soyuz to get people to and from space, and now space-x. All except the shuttle are capsules on rockets. The shuttle was more like an airplane. There are tons of cool launch videos, as well as some cool rocket explosions on youtube. Just a few days ago, one of the coolest videos i've ever seen was uploaded to youtube. It is called "real time - artemis 1 orion re-entry".

[@Jamessir_Bensonmum]

As others have mentioned, The Right Stuff (movie, not the series version), Hidden Figures and the mini-series From the Earth to the Moon are all excellent stories about the moon program. I add to that the comedy entitled The Dish about a small town in Australia and their part in the Apollo 11 moon landing.

[@dave2059]

Yes, all of those are fantastic. All of those and Apollo 13 are all very different from each other but all fantastic. They would be a great binge "Space" weekend. Might need a three-day weekend though. 🙂

[@LaBlueStateGirl]

Yes, please do Hidden Figures! I would love to see your response to this one! It is such an important move for women and it's really good too!

[@whawaii]

Definitely "The Dish". I loved finding out how it was a significant component of the Apollo space program.

[@paulhammond6978]

The Dish is a lot of fun. But then, I think I could just watch Sam Neill read out the phone book and not get bored.

[@MrGpschmidt]

In case no one mentioned this - Ron Howard's family has 3 roles - his mom is Lovell's mother, his dad is the silent clergymen sitting with the Lovells for support and his brother Clint is the NASA nerd who cracks wise about the IRS.

[@Billinois78]

Historical tie-in: Remember how the older daughter was upset that The Beatles broke up? On the day before the Apollo 13 launch, Paul McCartney announced that he had left the Beatles, effectively ending the band. Global heartbreak for the youth of the time.

[@JJ_W]

Hence Barbara's line "I hate Paul!"

[@tomstanziola1982]

39:30 - To those of us watching this on TV, this was the LONGEST 4 minutes we ever experienced!!!! 😲😲😲😲😲

[@terryv2006]

For every person in Mission Control, there were 100-200 people behind the scenes supporting them. That’s why Jim Lovell thanked the “Thousands of people that helped get them home.” Space Cowboys is a fun space movie with Tommy Lee Jones , James Garner and Clint Eastwood, to name a few.

[@noswonky]

Marilyn got her ring back and lived to be 93, passing away in August this year. Ken Mattingly also died this year aged 87. Jim is now 95 and Fred is 90.

[@IggyStardust1967]

I was in the "low single digit" age range when this happened, but I remember it being on the news at the time. I was just 2 1/2 years old when Apollo 11 put the first men on the moon, and it is my earliest memory because my family kept telling me how historic of an event it was. So, from a very early age, I was fascinated by space and our place in it. My grandmother (who raised me) always encouraged me to learn about stuff like this. That is probably because she herself was highly discouraged from learning when she was very young (the 1920s and 1930s). This stuff always piqued my interest, and while I was not "highly verbal" (due to trauma at a very, very young age), I was quite the reader. I would read pretty much anything I could get my hands on, and more importantly, comprehend what I was reading. Anything I couldn't work out for myself, I would ask questions and get answers I could understand. Of course, everyone was hoping and praying for those men to make it back to Earth alive. It didn't matter what country you were from. Space travel has always been highly dangerous, and should never be taken lightly. A lesson learned again in the 1980s when the Challenger exploded during launch. I was in high school when that happened (Senior year). Edit: Also, Jen, another great movie to check out is "Apollo 11", which uses restored footage of the actual moon landing. I mean, not only is it based on a true story, but uses film footage from the actual event itself.

[@jornspirit]

OMG - this was so good, so good to watch again... how can I get so emotional about it, even knowing how it will end?? So lovely to watch with you, Jen - I guess we both (and all others of course) were sheer nervous wrecks in between... yes, you are a hero, when you make it on the moon, but you are the same hero, if something goes wrong, and you actually make it back alive... its one of the best failure-success stories during my life, that I can recall... 💖

[@mlong1958]

Most of it was pretty accurate. Some of the characters were combined, like Ken Mattingly. He was instrumental, but his character was combined to represent the entire team that worked on the problems. Watching this unfold on TV when it happened was pretty stressful, even as a kid, so I can't imagine the kind of stress they were going through.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

You were asking how historically accurate this was: For most things technical it was spot-on, but on drama they took some creative license. For example, the astronauts did not at any time yell at each other, nor did Gene the flight director blow up "God Dammit I don't want another ESTIMATE!". But overall, they strived for accuracy, even going so far as to filming most of the zero-G scenes in a "Vomit Comet" that can simulate zero gravity for about twenty seconds at a time. They built a replica of the ship interior inside and did over 200 flights. [edit: Actually they did between 500 and 600 flights!]

[@leftorright04]

One of my favorite movies of all time. The score, the acting, and the effects (that totally hold up after all this time). The ending 4min blackout gets me everytime even though I KNOW they make it. I had the privilege of having lunch with Cmdr. Lovell and I am still on the edge of my seat each time. They make you feel every second of that 4 minutes with them. Incredible. Amazing reaction!

[@seregrian5675]

I was seven years old when Apollo 8 flew around the Moon on Christmas. Seven months later, Apollo 11 landed. And nine months later, at age eight, I was a foot away from the TV when Apollo 13 was struggling to get home. That much drama in a year and a half. Almost every astronaut during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs were military aviators, either Navy or Air Force. Mattingly was scrubbed from the flight seven days out - Swigert was cleared for the mission at T minus 48 hours. Fred Haise was going to command Apollo 19, but 17 was the last moon shot. I absolutely LOVE the movie, and I'm glad you did too, Jen!

[@dereknolin5986]

RIP James Horner! He was taken from us too soon. One of my favorite scores of his was for the movie Glory, which is a magnificent film that you should totally watch if you haven't seen it yet! Definitely keep some Kleenex nearby for that one.

[@victorsixtythree]

18:54 - If you're thinking the balding guy with the glasses looks like a grown up version of the alien child at the end of the Star Trek episode "The Carbonite Maneuver"...you'd be absolutely right! Clint Howard, Ron Howard's brother, was a child actor just like Ron. (Over the years he has appeared in various episodes of the Star Trek franchise, most recently this past year in an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.) Something fun to think about..."The Carbonite Maneuver" was filmed in 1967 when Clint Howard was about 8 years old and the Apollo 13 mission took place only a few years later in 1970.

[@dharmajanitor]

I love your appreciation for the music in all your videos. Such an integral part of so many of the best movies! Thank you for all that you do and happy holidays :)

[@artboymoy]

One of my favorite Horner scores, for sure.

[@wildcat1032]

One of the neatest Easter eggs I this movie is that the real Jim Lovell played the senior naval officer who shakes Tom Hanks hand welcoming back the crew on the aircraft . The real Apollo 13 command module Odyssey can be seen at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. They are the second largest space museum after the Smithsonian. Many of the models used in the movie were built by the technicians at the museum. The Cosmosphere has artifacts or replicas from Robert Goddard, German V 2 rockets, Soviet era spacecraft, American Mercury (including Liberty Bell 7 that located and recovered at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and restored at the Cosmosphere.), Gemini and Space Shuttle artifacts. They also have the most extensive collection of Russian and American space suits in the world. Check it out online.

[@jamielandis4308]

You should watch the HBO 10 episode series: “From The Earth To The Moon.” Tom Hanks did it after this movie, similar to “Band of Brothers.” This movie is pretty accurate, though there were some characters that were combined, similarly to what they did for “Chernobyl.” Also, Kevin Bacon’s character was totally qualified to do the mission. They emphasized his being the odd man out to build tension. I remember, like with “Chernobyl,” reading the book and watching the show at the same time. Most of the Astronauts were military pilots, etc. Yes, they did math. There were no pocket calculators; it was all pencils and sliderules. I remember getting my first calculator for Christmas in 1977. To use a tired comparison, your car has more computing power than their onboard computer. Fun fact: Lovell’s mom is played by Ron Howard’s mother. His brother played the NASA guy that made the IRS comment.

[@mlegion7898]

Oh dang. This is one of those movies that if I stumble upon on tv, I sit down and watch to the end. Guess Im going to watch this review ;)

[@alexcastillo8892]

Great reaction Jen! Yes the world was watching the 1st man walk on the moon. I was 8 years old, and my family and I were watching it while visiting our family in Mexico City. Believe it or not, Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon was NOT - a military man but a civilian engineer who could fly better than any NASA test pilot at the time. Using his mind, intuition, and instincts he did what current day pilots depend on technology to do. Watch the movie "First Man" to see Neil Armstrong's story. It's a great film from 2019, I believe whicj was the 50th anniversary. NASA was willing to let civilians try out for the program, and he did it Merry Christmas!

[@aryanbhuta3382]

Armstrong absolutely did serve in the military! He was a pilot in the Korean war.

[@alexcastillo8892]

@@aryanbhuta3382 Yes he served in Korea but Armstrong was not on active duty military when he tried out for the Apollo space program - according to the movie "First Man".

[@johnsinclair4448]

On a KZbin channel called Vintage Space, a very bright lady named Amy Teitel effectively explains G- lock or Gumball Lock.

[@mscheese000]

I first saw this movie as a child and it has been one of my favorites ever since! I must have seen it at least a dozen times now.

[@mgordon1100]

I first saw it as an adult. Now that I'm a child again, it excites me even more.

[@andreabindolini7452]

This movie is widely regarded as a one of the most accurate ever realized, both historically and technically. It is the gold standard. Some things simplified for the general audience, some others slightly bended for drama (the discussion among the crew) but for the most part is the closest thing you can find on this matter apart from a history lesson.

[@lethaldose2000]

Hey Jen, The cryogenic fuel to get the rocket into space is at minus 184 degrees Celcius or (-300 F) and the humidity at the launch site condenses on the cold outer surface of the rocket. ------- It subsequently freezes the moisture on the outer part of the rocket creating a shell of ice. ------- At launch, the vibration and acceleration cause the ice to shed and fall away from the launch vehicle.

[@jodonnell64]

Technically (yes, I'm being pedantic) the fuel was normal temperature, since it was RP-1, a more refined version of kerosene. Same stuff used nowadays on SpaceX's Falcon rockets. It's the oxidizer - liquid oxygen - that is at cryogenic temps. KeroLOX was used for the first and second stages of the Saturn V, whereas the third stage used HydroLOX - liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The space shuttle (and Delta IV) also used HydroLOX. SpaceX's Superheavy booster and Starship use MethaLOX, liquid methane and liquid oxygen. If you really want to see crap fall off a launch vehicle, check out some videos of Chinese launches. They cover most of the upper portions of their rockets with foam insulation, basically styrofoam, that is intended to come off in big chunks during liftoff. It's for keeping the cold fuels/oxidizers from boiling off too much, requiring more constant filling. It's cheaper and easier to do that than to keep topping up the tanks.

[@TimTheTuner]

The older Naval Officer in the white uniform on the deck of the recovery carrier who shakes hands with Tom Hanks at the end of the movie is the real Jim Lovell. Director Ron Howard's mother, Jean Speegle Howard, played the part of Jim Lovell's mother in the nursing home. Ron's brother Clint Howard played the part of EECOM who conversed with Gene Krantz about having to shut down the fuel cells in order for the astronauts to survive. Ron's father, Rance Howard, played the priest who tended to the families at the Lovell's home during the crisis.

[@philmakris8507]

Tom Hanks: worst travel partner ever! Crashed two planes, broke a spaceship, got stranded on a deserted island and in an airport terminal. Tom Hanks is a damn jinx.

[@c7042]

The Navy Captain in the last scene that Tom Hanks shook hands with is the real Jim Lovell. His wife Marilyn died recently Aug 27, 2023 at 93. Jim Lovell is still alive at this time.

[@rbrtck]

The spacecraft was actually over-designed for this type of mission (there were historical reasons for this), so it could have turned around and headed for home any time the crew wanted/needed to. But everyone was worried that the explosion had damaged the main engine, so that option was no longer available. It might have worked or it might have killed the crew almost instantly.

[@livingandthriving]

That engine had, in fact, been damaged, so it's a good thing they didn't try to use it.

[@rbrtck]

@@livingandthriving Well, yes, the nozzle looks deformed in their photos, so we can imagine what had happened to the rest of the engine inside the Service Module. At the time, they were purely guessing, though, and weren't sure about either option. Thank goodness they chose not to chance it, and put their faith in themselves to help get the crew home safely the long, hard way instead. There was never any guarantee of success either way, but they chose the way that put everything in their own hands rather than pure chance.

[@hkpew]

Just a quick science note: The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth so that we only ever see one side of it, but the side facing away from us isn't always dark. The Moon has a day that lasts about 4 weeks, as it goes around the Earth it makes one rotation relative to the Sun. So calling the side we don't see "the dark side" is incorrect, it's only dark when the Moon is full as seen from Earth. A better term would be "the far side" since it's always farthest from us. I'm pretty sure Gary Larsen won't sue.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

I loved your reaction to this, Jen. Space films that I recommend are: "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Capricorn One", "Outland", and great Sci-Fi film is, "Gattaca". See you on Sunday, Jen 🖖.

[@jamesgardner2101]

Gattaca- good choice, and I don't think I've seen anyone react to it! I would also add the classic "Silent Running".

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

@@jamesgardner2101 Another good choice, I have that on DVD.

[@e.d.2096]

All top tier recommendations Adam 👌 of course my first vote would be for 2001.😊

[@e.d.2096]

​@@jamesgardner2101Silent running! Bruce Dern at his finest!

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

@@e.d.2096 Me too, Eric, great to see you here. I thought that I'd missed you. I was just about to go to bed as I'm tired and it's almost 1.20am here, and I want to be up early-ish tomorrow to do a little Christmas shopping before it's too late.

[@kelaarin]

After this film, Tom Hanks made a 12-part miniseries called "From the Earth to the Moon", covering all the Apollo missions. I HIGHLY recommend it. Also, the "square peg in a round hole" scene inspired an entire genre of TV shows about building and fabricating things, including "Junkyard Wars", "Monster Garage", and "Battlebots".

[@mrwidget42]

"Houston, we have a problem..." another instance where pop culture trumps history. What the mission log said was "Houston, we've had a problem...".

[@daltonmoore8971]

We were moving from Va. to Md. Stuck in a huge traffic jam. Playing on the side of the road. Our parents called us to the car to listen on the radio. Then went back to playing.

[@kevinlewallen4778]

I love this movie! I'm so eager to see your reaction, Jen, and happy you'll be chatting with us in a premiere. Can't wait!

[@neptunusrex5195]

I really need to get twitch or discord or whatever the live chats are on. 😅

[@kevinlewallen4778]

@@neptunusrex5195 Chats happen on your browser, no additional app required.

[@houdin654jeff]

The Apollo 1 fire is a tragedy similar to the Space Shuttle Challenger in that it made NASA re evaluate everything about their system and find the flaws. The three astronauts killed, Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee, weren’t even preparing to launch, they were simply performing a test to make sure the space craft could function on its own power called a “plugs out test,” since it was completely disconnected from ground power. The cabin was pressurized with pure oxygen, which ignited, causing them to asphyxiate while trying to open the hatch. Alan Shepard didn’t have an ear infection, he was suffering from a condition called Meniere’s disease. It caused him to lose flight status for nearly a decade due to dizzy spells and nausea. He was treated for it in the early 70s which restored him to enough good health to command Apollo 14, he was the fifth man to walk on the Moon. A lot of these stories are ones I learned watching the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, produced by Hanks and the team who made this movie, I highly recommend it if you want to learn more about the Apollo era.

[@davewhitehead5116]

You’re a hellava reactioner Jen. 👏🏻 I was driving around Tacoma, Washington looking for a television to watch the moon landing. A sign at an A&W drive-in said they would be televising the landing. I pulled in, ordered a root beer and watched the whole thing.

[@cam70ds]

I remember it vividly. It was amazing. I also met Gene Kranz and Fred Haise 5 years ago it was surreal.

[@samhenry7020]

Hey Jen 😁Loving the content and how much energy you bring to your videos. Not sure if you have seen it, but I think the movie Flight of the Navigator (1986) would be right up your alley. It's a fun sci-fi adventure film with cool music (Alan Silvestri - Forrest Gump, Back To The Future), really cool vfx and an appearance from a young Sarah Jessica Parker.

[@mateofernandez4398]

39:35 To answer your question jen The capsule falls into the atmosphere at a speed of more than 25,000 kilometers/hour. Friction produces temperatures of 1,600 degrees in the hull. During a ballistic reentry, an astronaut can experience more than 8 Gs.

[@crairdin]

Did you catch the "steely-eyed missile man" quote that you also heard in The Martian? Also in your reaction to "The Martian" you said "oh, master alarm - you never want to see one of those" and that's just what you saw in this movie. :-)

[@dpiland2]

I love the term and more so because it's a real term of endearment. John Aaron who was the guy who talked about power consumption earned the title when he helped save Apollo 12 when it was struck by lightening.

[@TedLittle-yp7uj]

I watched all the space flights that were televised from Mercury to Apollo. In Canada the CBC would take the feed from CBS in the States and, when the U.S. network broke for a commercial, the CBC would fill in more details from the Toronto studio.

[@kevinL5425]

Another great realistic space disaster movie is the 1969 “Marooned” with Gregory Peck and Gene Hackman.

[@rbrtck]

"The steely-eyed missile man" line was stolen from the real-life Apollo 12 mission, which almost had to be aborted even before reaching space, due to the spacecraft's electronics going crazy after a double lightning strike near the ground. The rocket's computer was OK, so they stayed on course, but the spacecraft was rendered useless. They couldn't safely go to space that way, so they had little time to fix the problem. One guy in Mission Control, John Aaron, figured out the solution from something he vaguely remembered from his training, and just in time, too. He told the astronauts to set the SCE switch (which controls power conditioning) to "AUX", which immediately cleared up the problem. It was an obscure little switch at the bottom right corner of the panel, but fortunately one of the astronauts, Alan Bean, knew where it was (well, it was his section of the big panel) and set it to "AUX". Aaron and Bean were probably the only two people on duty who even knew or remembered that this switch existed, and thanks to them, mission commander Pete Conrad didn't have to abort the mission. If he had, the spacecraft would have been forcibly pulled off the rocket by a smaller rocket, and then it would have parachuted into the ocean to be picked up by the US Navy. The astronauts would have been alright, but the mission would have been a failure. But instead, Apollo 12 ended up being a successful Moon landing mission. In fact, all were successful except for Apollo 13. But Apollo 12 came very close to failing (with no deaths), while Apollo 13 did fail (with no deaths). Someone called John Aaron a "steely-eyed missile man", and the line was stolen for this movie about Apollo 13.

[@pricemoore2022]

Awesome reaction of my favorite movie!!!!!😊😊😊😊

[@NickRedstar]

Fun fact. The real Jim and Marilyn Lovell were in the movie. Marilyn was in the bleachers during the rocket launch. Jim was on the navy ship that picked up the astronauts.

[@johnpittsii7524]

Hi Jen hope you are having an great and awesome day ❤

[@jenmurrayxo]

Thanks John you too! 👍

[@StephenRansom47]

😭 This is my FAVORITE MOVIE … even after dozens of views. Once again you’ve earned my subscription, dear … I was born March of ‘69 so I was just an infant when this happened, BUT my dad told his story to us … it goes: We were all in tears, and I looked around for grandma Veltri … she was heading upstairs, “Grandma, where are you going?” Neal Armstrong was standing on the Moon. She replied, “I’ve lived to long.” She’d gone back and forth to California in a covered wagon, was attacked by Indians- now this! She died just a few months later.

[@tizzy789]

Jen can almost promise enyoyed this film so much. soon will find out :)

[@scapevelocity]

My favorite inaccuracy in the movie is Jim Lovell saying, "Houston, we have a problem." In reality, he said, "Houston, we had a problem." A small but significant difference.

[@jrobwoo688]

This is such a phenomenal film. Such a thrilling story with a triumphant ending. Please watch Gary Sinise make it to space in Mission To Mars.

[@tomhoffman4330]

I'd Ride Right-Seat for that Reaction!👌

[@Dayboot33]

Mission to Mars is one of my go-to 'so bad it's fun' films. Profoundly irritating score. Jaw-droppingly hamfisted ending. Fabulous.

[@thomastimlin1724]

I was a band director, and the next year after the movie was lreased we did a spaces movie /TV show mjusic hafltime, and the Apollo 13 theme was our slow number...a beautiful piece of music, very stirring...

[@TheNeonRabbit]

I was 7 years old and very into in the space program when the Apollo 1 tragedy happened. I remember being horrified at the thought that they were incinerated while wearing their suits and helmets, meaning they wouldn't even pass out from smoke inhalation. Horrible

[@ianbuckley2347]

Great reaction Jen. Thanks.👍