From the Earth to the Moon (Tom Hanks HBO Signature Edition)

Customer Reviews:

Well acted drama and documentary.......2008-02-26

All of the episodes are acted all the way through with some actual footage sliced in, so that you can get truly involved in the drama. The style of some of the episodes is very different and take an interesting view point. For example the one concerning Apollo 13 focuses on the media coverage rather than the actual mission. Part 10: 'Galileo was right', is about the geological training the astronauts received and I found this one of the best episodes.

Brilliant.......2007-11-16

Having read several books about this project including Gene Krantz's and Chris Craft's i aproached this series a bit sceptically but my scepticism was soon blown away. It is a very good series. Some episodes are better than other (Beano is my favourite :) ) but all in all it is a thrilling series and very faithfull. Personally i loved the episode about how they developed the moon lander, that was truly engineering at it's best and also the episode about the geologic training of the astronauts.
This series should be compulsory wieving in scools since it deals with both politics-history-science and human efforts.
I now own the signature version and it is just Brilliant...

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled..........2007-10-27

MAN MUST EXPLORE! And, yes indeed, Galileo was right.

This tiny piece of docudrama, as someone else said in these pages, should not just belong on shelves of any American Family, but rather be part of anyone's Movie Collection in the world.

Although I agree with somebody else's opinion that this could have been more space-oriented and less politics-oriented, we have to remind ourselves that in those years we were in the midst of the Cold War, as well as been entangled in a tragic war in Vietnam.

This is why this story retelling of the conquest of the Moon, and yes, also of space, sends us a message that even in such bleak times, there was a light. A light that shone very bright in the darkness of our world, and brought us us a sparkle of hope for the entire human race.

Despite its political and even military implications, as it was in the beginning, this project, to land a man, or men, on the Moon, developed into something totally different, Something noble, something useful and something creative.

In fact, my favorite episode of the 12 in this collection, is most poignantly "Galileo Was Right", dealing with the first of the three "J"-step Missions of the Apollo, or as commonly known, the Apollo 15 Mission.

This, in my view, is the very best episode of them all, because it truly expresses and resumes why we went to the Moon in the first place.

Also, it is a great, and very short lesson, on how to learn to open our own eyes, look around us and truly "explore", not just the Moon, but rather Nature and Space as such.

It teaches us to "read" the great book that Nature has opened for us and never to shut our minds. In fact, best of all, there is even an original quote by Plutarch in it, with which I opened this review and closes the circle.

How many teachers are out there doing exactly this? Lighting a fire in their student's souls and minds?

It takes just a sparkle, a tiny bit of curiosity and a decent dose of passion to turn a simple student into an explorer, a scholar, a motivated and driven scientist.

What is more important, is that the subtext to this episode seems to be that there are simply not "lousy students", but rather "very bad teachers" out there. And if this applied to Astronauts, which were already very bright and open minds, just imagine what this would entice, if you had your own child being taught by a "blank-minded" teacher.

The entire series deals with very human emotions and concerns. It is a journey through the minds of those who traveled and landed on the Moon, and it is also the exploration of those that stood next to these men, supporting them in every step to reach their goals.

In my view, this is a mini-series that should be screened in every school on this Planet, at least once a year.

This journey takes the viewer far beyond Space and the Moon, it takes him through the thoughts, the worries, the grief and the emotions of true men, not heroes, not action figures, but true living and breathing people, who decided to sacrifice their lives in an adventure to benefit, and yes, for a brief moment even unite All Mankind in a noble endeavor.

At first, to be very honest, when I watched this series the first time, I started nagging with the fact that the actors did not resemble one bit to their historic counterparts (to me, a greater effort could have been made to cast actors who even just slightly, could "pinpoint" who they played).

But after repeated viewings, this nag slowly disappeared, being replaced with an admiration for its contents and the messages these episodes tried to convey, proving me totally out of place in criticizing such a work of art.

Yes indeed, I learned to bridle my prejudices and in fact started to use and open my mind to the experience that is "From the Earth to the Moon".
Because it is far more than your usual Mini-Series. It is a school of thought and beyond that, it is a class on human ethics.

If you, like me, were "captured" by the so-called "conquest of space" and beyond, the "conquest of the Moon", you will certainly don't want to miss out on this addition to your space collection in your video file.

I also want to thank all those involved in the production of this, in my humble view, tiny masterpiece of story-telling, with a particular reference to Tom Hanks, who also appeared in it and was executive producer of the series, who in my view has refreshed a tiny bit the stuffy air that one usually breaths from Hollywood.

Tom Hanks, joins the ranks of visionaries like Selznick, Zanuck, Mankiewicz, Welles and Spielberg in acting upon his ideas and passions and sharing them with us in such a vivid way.

Also a great many thanks to the excellent cast who makes it all so believable on screen. There is no moment in which someone overacted or tried his Hollywood bit. They all come through (including Tom Hanks himself, and also Sally Field) as very natural and truly "feeling" characters.
This should also be considered as a school for good acting.

The transfer on DVD is simply excellent, at least for my LCD HD-Ready Widescreen TV and my Sony DVD-Player. The sound is outstanding in 5.1 Surround Sound, never too invasive or too bombastic, just well calibrated.

I repeat myself, but I wished I had been there with those guys, in those years filled with new hopes and new adventures. I think I would have had a ball with them, even if in the end, I would never have actually participated on a Lunar Mission, just being there would have been an experience and a half.

This is intended for a screening with the entire family present. I think that mamas and papas would enjoy it as much as their kids, and even more so when they all group together to have some evenings of true quality entertainment...

Take this first leap for Mankind, it's just a small step away... and remember it is not "what you pour in", but rather "what gets ignited" that is important in life...

Not Just Apollo.......2007-07-24

This was a truly superb series made at the same time as Tom Hanks was involved in making "Apollo 13" and uses the same directorial team. It even uses some of the sets. Having said that it also recreates the period of the early days of the space race in great detail, right down to the feelings at the time. Each episode uses a different style and approach from the others which keeps the interest and tells the story from many different viewpoints by the participants at the time.

For space history buffs it's a must in your collection.

I think it's time we went back to the Moon.

Great History Lesson.......2007-07-15

I really liked his miniseries....as a teenager growing up in the Apollo years it was a really fantastic time to live through, never since repeated in my view. This series brings it all together with some great acting and insights into the steps needed to be taken to put a man the moon.

From the Earth to the Moon: The Signature Edition (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Average customer rating:

From the Earth to the Moon: The Signature Edition (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Director: Tom Hanks
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video

DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video

Box Set | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: 0783128428
Release Date: 2005-09-20

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