Search - Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX) on DVD

Stunning!

Andrew R. Rokita Jr. | Newark, DE USA | 09/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Tom Hanks's, "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D" at the IMAX theater at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia twice. It was stunning from beginning to end. Outer Space has always been my first love and when the film showed 3D shots of the lunar surface and what a future lunar base would look like, I got emotional to the point that tears were in my eyes. It is a must have for everyone's home movie collection and especially if you are a space buff like me. It will be in my collection, count on it!!!!"

Cursory, IMAX-Formatted Look at the Apollo Lunar Missions De

Ed Uyeshima | San Francisco, CA USA | 09/15/2008

(3 out of 5 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."

Not at all what we expected.

R. VanEpps | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 06/17/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Bought this for my husband, he had heard about it years ago in IMAX but never got to go see it. We were both pretty excited to see it but that changed after 10 min into the movie.. Most of it isn't any new footage, a lot of children were interviewed throughout the ENTIRE movie, asking them questions about what it means to them to be an astronaut, or what they think it's like on the moon, etc.. It wasn't at all what we expected. Not worth the money, buy something else.."

Magnificent Desolation

Joe Rich | Boston, MA | 10/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone who grew up during the space race, or for anyone who wants to know what it was like to walk on the moon, and the challenges that faced the 12 men who have walked on the moon,

**** THIS IS A MUST SEE ****. The 3D effects are not gimmiky but add to the experience.



I know that the 3D effect can not be replicated in our homes, but I look forward to this movie being replicated for home viewing. It has a an important message, filled with historical facts, informative without being boring.



A wonderful edition to any home collection, a great teaser for any class room work in astronomy, or just plain learning."