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HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998)
Posted on 9/18/15 at 11:52 pm
Posted on 9/18/15 at 11:52 pm
It absolutely floors me that this miniseries never got the HD treatment or Blu-Ray release. I also don't understand how this isn't on HBO Go. As a fan of the space program and the history of the Space Race, I find this series to be a must watch for those who share this passion.
Tom Hanks poured his heart and soul into this miniseries and it is without a doubt one of the best things HBO has ever done. Many of those who worked on Apollo 13 ended up working on this jewel.
Some of my favorite moments from the series:
Freedom 7 - America's first flight into Space
Gemini IV - American's first space walk
Apollo 8 - Earth Rise
Apollo 11 - Lunar Landing
Apollo 17 - Final Voyage to the Moon
Tom Hanks poured his heart and soul into this miniseries and it is without a doubt one of the best things HBO has ever done. Many of those who worked on Apollo 13 ended up working on this jewel.
Some of my favorite moments from the series:
Freedom 7 - America's first flight into Space
Gemini IV - American's first space walk
Apollo 8 - Earth Rise
Apollo 11 - Lunar Landing
Apollo 17 - Final Voyage to the Moon
This post was edited on 9/18/15 at 11:52 pm
6
Posted on 9/19/15 at 12:37 am to RollTide1987
Never heard of it. Will check it out
Posted on 9/19/15 at 12:54 am to RidiculousHype
quote:wtf?
Never heard of it. Will check it out
Before Band of Brothers, this was the pinnacle of HBO.
Fantastic mini-series, although a couple of the episodes were clunkers. The good ones more than made up for a few missteps.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 7:02 am to TigerMyth36
It's a crime this isn't on HBOGO.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 7:58 am to RollTide1987
I think it was Tim Daly who said something to the extent:
"I've never been on a set this well researched. They have binders like you see in the old footage and pictures, next to the various mission control stations. And on our set, you would pick one up and it would be the actual NASA manual for that workstation. On most sets, it would just be a prop - it might have the correct cover page and would have blank pages or gibberish in it."
Hanks is the modern John Wayne. When asked what his dream roles would be, he said, "A cowboy, an astronaut and a soldier" - right before he became Woody, Lovell and Miller.
"I've never been on a set this well researched. They have binders like you see in the old footage and pictures, next to the various mission control stations. And on our set, you would pick one up and it would be the actual NASA manual for that workstation. On most sets, it would just be a prop - it might have the correct cover page and would have blank pages or gibberish in it."
Hanks is the modern John Wayne. When asked what his dream roles would be, he said, "A cowboy, an astronaut and a soldier" - right before he became Woody, Lovell and Miller.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 8:29 am to RollTide1987
I watched something like this series on Netflix about 5 years ago. I dont know if HBO would give stuff to Netflix but it was like 8 one hour episodes.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 8:36 am to RollTide1987
NASA, this subject (and beyond) would be ripe for a Ken Burn's documentary series. For some reason, to me at least, many dramatizations of huge real life events seem somewhat 'meh'. I would prefer documentaries for these subjects, and in this case, with so many participants still with us, the interviews interspersed with the archival film footage available could be epic.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:10 am to RollTide1987
The "When We Left Earth" series covered a lot that stuff and was done in HD. Great series (6 episodes), wish it was still on Netflix.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:30 am to flvelo12
quote:
NASA, this subject (and beyond) would be ripe for a Ken Burn's documentary series. For some reason, to me at least, many dramatizations of huge real life events seem somewhat 'meh'. I would prefer documentaries for these subjects, and in this case, with so many participants still with us, the interviews interspersed with the archival film footage available could be epic.
There are tons of documentary treatments of the subject - but, as far as dramatic portrayals, I believe that From the Earth to the Moon is one of the very finest - on par with Apollo 13 (and, effectively, that film is the genesis for the mini-series).
It quite consciously avoids too much Mercury program, as the production team felt that was more than adequately covered by the feature film, "The Right Stuff" (another excellent space program film).
It gives treatment to the "forgotten" program (Gemini) that had not previously been given much attention in cinema. And the film-quality acting/directing/writing (before The Sopranos, The Wire, etc., elevated cable television and HBO was the leader in these efforts - to above that of feature film in quality, IMHO) - really make this a treat. This is one of the few "historical" series that Mrs. Midnight enjoys watching with me - and I watch it approximately every year or so.
This post was edited on 9/19/15 at 9:31 am
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:35 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
"The Right Stuff" (another excellent space program film).
a favorite.
quote:
Apollo 13
to me, one of those 'meh' dramatizations.
This post was edited on 9/19/15 at 9:45 am
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:36 am to 417longhorn
quote:
The "When We Left Earth" series covered a lot that stuff and was done in HD. Great series (6 episodes), wish it was still on Netflix.
Will have to check it out, along with the HBO series.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:52 am to flvelo12
Moon Shot (The Real Stuff) - 1994 is pretty entertaining, as well, with the inimitable Barry Corbin reading the narration.
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007) gets excellent reviews, but I haven't seen it yet.
(In case you can't tell, I'm an absolute nut about this subject.)
(ETA: This thread has inspired me to watch - "When We Left Earth - on my Columbus Day - "staycation" next month.
)
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007) gets excellent reviews, but I haven't seen it yet.
(In case you can't tell, I'm an absolute nut about this subject.)
(ETA: This thread has inspired me to watch - "When We Left Earth - on my Columbus Day - "staycation" next month.
) This post was edited on 9/19/15 at 9:54 am
Posted on 9/19/15 at 9:55 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
In case you can't tell, I'm an absolute nut about this subject
Agree, that's why I want a 26-hour series by Burns with Sam Shepard (Yeager!!) narrating.
This post was edited on 9/19/15 at 9:57 am
Posted on 9/19/15 at 10:01 am to flvelo12
quote:
to me, one of those 'meh' dramatizations.
I wouldn't use your opinion of Apollo 13 to dissuade you from watching From the Earth to the Moon if you haven't seen it. I know all about the space program, the astronauts, the missions, and this show is one of the best mini-series - it is Band of Brothers quality.
"Apollo One" gets me in the feels every time. Baton Rouge native David Andrews plays Frank Borman and the scene of his testimony to Congress is one of the best moments in television history.
He also gets to do the biblical quote from lunar orbit for Apollo 8 - and the series is filled with great performances. Hanks' friend Peter Scolari plays Pete Conrad in the pilot and would have been fine as Conrad, but was replaced by Paul McCrane for the Apollo 12 episode (Is that all there is?) - and he was outstanding - just as another example I can remember.
It has my highest recommendation for a mini-series based on a historical event - co-equal with Band of Brothers.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 10:27 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
From the Earth to the Moon
Definitely going to give it a view.
Feel very fortunate that when I want to get my space fix, Cape Canaveral is only 3 hours away. Been a few times, but last trip was too short - one day just doesn't do it justice.
Posted on 9/19/15 at 6:11 pm to flvelo12
It is definitely worth your while. There are 12 episodes and 10 of them are very solid. The worst ones, IMO, are "We Have Cleared the Tower" and "The Original Wives' Club."
Posted on 9/19/15 at 6:43 pm to RollTide1987
Yeah it's a great miniseries. I actually have it on my computer at the moment stuck on episode 8. I always remembered the episode covering the fire in Apollo 1.
For anyone else into this subject there's a good documentary on YouTube that you can watch that covers the early space program, focusing mainly on Wernher von Braun's involvement in our program as well as looking at his Soviet rival. It's a dramatization, not a straight documentary, and is worth checking out especially since you can watch it on YouTube.
Here's the first part:
A Race for Rockets
For anyone else into this subject there's a good documentary on YouTube that you can watch that covers the early space program, focusing mainly on Wernher von Braun's involvement in our program as well as looking at his Soviet rival. It's a dramatization, not a straight documentary, and is worth checking out especially since you can watch it on YouTube.
Here's the first part:
A Race for Rockets
Posted on 9/25/15 at 8:04 pm to TigerMyth36
I was in HS then, we didn't have HBO, it just wasn't on my radar
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