Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)
by Mark Cowen
List Price:
Our Price: $9.99
You Save: $9.99 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $5.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Bryan Cranston, John Corbett, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Tom HanksDirector: Mark Cowen
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 40 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-06
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Hbo Home Video
DVD Reviews of Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)
DVD Review: Good, but "In the Shadow of The Moon" was much better
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with this one. The photography and effects are spectacular, which is what you would expect from an IMAX film anyway, but it falls down pretty badly as a historical document of the Apollo program. In the Shadow of the Moon was just so much better in this regard. I think the mission of this movie was more to inspire the younger generation and it certainly deserves to be praised if it succeeds in this aim. Obviously I'm not in the target audience.
Part of the problem I guess is that the 40 minutes of an IMAX documentary just isn't long enough to give the subject proper treatment. "Fragmented" is probably an adequate one word description of this movie. Having said that, I did enjoy some of the sequences though, with the spectacular Apollo 15 landing being the best part in my view.
The DVD extras are nothing to write home about, being mainly just a collection of Apollo mission photographs. Once again, In the Shadow of the Moon provided much more.
I think this is still worth three stars though. One has to respect Tom Hanks for the work he does in promoting human spaceflight.
DVD Review: Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX) (2005)-Beautiful Film
Summary: 4 Stars
Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX) (2005) Starring: Tom Hanks, John Corbett: was an exceptionally fine IMAX film production which I rate at four stars. Made for IMAX using a skillful combination of computer animation, live actors and sets offered a very credible simulation of the missions on the lunar surface. As such, it was totally unhampered by poor quality on location film so typical of the 60's and 70's, but still offered snippets of actual NASA footage and audio transmissions recorded during the Apollo Program.
Although the 40 minute film was too short to satisfy my ravenous taste for space documentaries, the current price of under $15.00 from Amazon makes this movie a good buy. The LA Times comment on this move was "Enthralling", while the NY Daily News stated it was "Inspirational". When this level of effort is made to produce a realistic representation of the true scope and grandeur of our Apollo Moon Program it is bound to produce the kind of emotional and objective reactions I read in Amazon reviews. All space enthusiasts and historians are advised to purchase this film for their collection. The NY Post also said that this film was "Patriotic", which being a product made with the help of Tom Hanks does not surprise me. It was indeed, patriotic and scientifically accurate.
One comment made by Commander Allan Shepard played for the audience while he stepped onto the lunar surface (and I paraphrase) was "We are here at last". I think this little repeated comment was a reference to the countries first group of seven Mercury astronauts finally reaching the Moon as represented by Commander Sheppard, America's first man to fly in space on May 5, 1961. Lots of additional historical material has been provided as well.
DVD Review: Short. Meant to be seen in IMAX not on TV
Summary: 3 Stars
Most of the show is actors and computer work showing what it is like on the Moon. Ok. However it is so very short that it is worth about half what they are asking. The special features are terrible. Buy "For All Mankind" instead on Criterion dvd. It is much, much better.DVD Review: Worst "Film" Ever
Summary: 1 Stars
Usually, IMAX films are a disappointing (and expensive) 40 minutes of droning narration interspersed with a few spectacular wide-angle shots of stunning scenery and spacious vistas. This film is even WORSE than most because all of the wide-frame scenery is CGI. The few clips of actual moon footage are framed and superimposed on less than 1/4 of the full screen, and total less than 15% of the entire film.
The production values and voice-over work are excellent, of course. But this DVD should be restricted by law to be shown only for elementary-school science class. I would have been happier with just narration and dialog over some stock NASA stills. If I could rate it lower than one star, I would. Not only did I waste 40 minutes of my life, I'm out $12 bucks. Which is about what I would have paid to see it in an IMAX theater. At least I got to watch it at home, and my shoes didn't get sticky.
Here's my imatation of Tom Hanks narrating this film:
Producer (handing the script to Hanks): Here, read this into the microphone.
Hanks: Am I getting paid? Okay!
DVD Review: Cursory, IMAX-Formatted Look at the Apollo Lunar Missions Designed to Inspire the Next Generation
Summary: 3 Stars
If you saw the superb 2007 documentary, In the Shadow of the Moon, I am not certain what the point would be in viewing this forty-minute 2005 IMAX film - at least if you are old enough to remember the television coverage of the Apollo missions. The former film includes spectacular archival footage of those missions and insightful on-camera interviews with ten of the surviving astronauts. This one is aimed more directly as a motivational film for a youthful audience as it seeks to reignite the pioneering spirit that sparked the first space flights. NASA aficionado Tom Hanks wrote and produced (along with director Mark Cowen) this enthralling if somewhat cursory look at what it took to get to the moon and what it will take to continue the legacy. The film not only recreates some of the actual Apollo lunar missions but also posits what could have happened had disaster struck. The result adds a suspenseful element obviously designed to engage younger viewers.
Hanks applies his storytelling skills to full dramatic effect during these fictitious interludes. They are intertwined with a whirlwind of facts presented in a breezy manner, an especially effective tactic in chronicling mankind's fascination with the moon since this film is meant to inspire as well as to educate. To reinforce the approach, there is a series of quick interviews with youngsters that bookend the featurette showing how the space race has completely preceded them and how it could be resuscitated for the next generation of lunar exploration which targets us back on the moon by 2016. A number of famous actors provide the voices of the astronauts - Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Paul Newman - but few are recognizable. The 3-D visual effects are lost on the 2007 DVD, though I think not as much as the elongated dimensions provided by an IMAX theater. Even more than the technical elements, what really brings the film together is Hanks' obvious enthusiasm for the subject. The DVD includes additional video footage and photographs from the Apollo 11 mission plus a trivia game.
Description of Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)
Only 12 have walked on the moon. You're next! Presented and narrated by Tom Hanks, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is an IMAX documentary film that transports the viewer to lunar surface, where they can walk alongside the 12 extraordinary astronauts who have been there, experiencing what they saw, heard, and felt.DVD Features:
Other
Photo gallery
Tom Hanks continues his love affair with space that began with Apollo 13 and his miniseries From Earth to the Moon with this compelling IMAX adventure, Magnificent Desolation. Fans of space fact and fantasy will not want to miss this engaging docudrama, which combines actual footage of lunar walks and interviews of the few men who've trod there with dramatizations of scenarios both exciting and terrifying.
The true way to experience this film, of course, is in its IMAX splendor, but home-theater buffs won't be disappointed. The footage takes the "lunar visitor" along moon's craters and potholes, with nothing but the vastness of space all around. Unseen film shows close-ups of terrain as well as technical infrastructure that may well be models for future moon-living. One particularly scary scene thankfully has never happened on a moon mission, and involves the sudden loss of breathing apparatus. Scuba divers will recognize the "buddy system" of sharing a single air source--and viewers with any kind of claustrophobic issues may want to fast-forward. But overall, the thrills of space travel are made as real as possible for us mere mortals who will only experience it from our comfy chairs. Roger that.--A.T. Hurley
General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Man on WireRelease date: 2008-12-09; DVD
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops:
Blue Planet: Seas of Life (Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-10-02; DVD
Best price: $17.59
Price in other shops:
Expelled: No Intelligence AllowedRelease date: 2008-10-21; DVD
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Planet Earth & The Blue Planet Seas of Life (Special Collector's Edition)Planet; Release date: 2007-10-02; DVD
Best price: $52.97
Price in other shops:
The Beales of Grey Gardens - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2006-12-05; DVD
Best price: $13.60
Price in other shops:
A Haunting in ConnecticutRelease date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $3.53
Price in other shops:
Grey Gardens - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2001-08-14; DVD
Best price: $25.20
Price in other shops:
ReligulousLions Gate; Release date: 2009-02-17; DVD
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
The BBC Natural History Collection featuring Planet Earth (Planet Earth/ The Blue Planet: Seas of Life Special Edition/ Life of Mammals/ Life of Birds)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-04-01; DVD
Best price: $85.99
Price in other shops:
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC SeriesWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $19.49
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
America In Space: NASA's First Fifty Yearsby Steven Dick, Robert Jacobs, Constance Moore, Bertram Ulrich
Abrams Books; Published: 2007-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $31.50
Price in other shops:
For All Mankind - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2000-02-15; DVD
Best price: $23.72
Price in other shops:
Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflightby David A. Mindell
MIT Press; Published: 2008-05-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
Apollo 13 (Widescreen Collector's Edition)Universal; Release date: 2006-08-22; DVD
Best price: $5.92
Price in other shops:
Apollo 12 UncensoredRelease date: 1996-01-01; DVD
Best price: $21.95
Roving MarsBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2007-07-31; DVD
Best price: $17.25
Price in other shops:
When We Left Earth - The NASA Missions (4-Disc Set in Limited Edition Tin)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $13.24
Price in other shops:
Space Station (IMAX)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-07-19; DVD
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
From the Earth to the Moon - The Signature EditionWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-09-20; DVD
Best price: $16.82
Price in other shops:
In the Shadow of the MoonImage Entertainment; Release date: 2008-02-22; DVD
Best price: $12.35
Price in other shops: