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Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)


Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)
List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $9.87
Your Save: $ 10.11 ( 51% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Starring: Tom Hanks, John Corbett, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman
Directed By: Mark Cowen
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5

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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0026359332128
Format: AC-3
Label: Hbo Home Video
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Hbo Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-11-06
Running Time: 40
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2005-09-23

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Short. Meant to be seen in IMAX on on TV
Comment: 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.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Worst "Film" Ever
Comment: 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!

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Cursory, IMAX-Formatted Look at the Apollo Lunar Missions Designed to Inspire the Next Generation
Comment: 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.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: The closest I have come to actually being on the Moon!
Comment: I have dreamed about space travel and going to the Moon for much of my life. This film is quite imaginative and exhilirating.

I took my kids to see the IMAX version- we all were stunned silent by the drama that unfolded. You can read about this story many times, but actually feeling it is different.

-Tahir Rahman, author of We Came in Peace for all Mankind: the untold story of the Apollo 11 silicon disc

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: I saw this at an IMAX theater. I was hoping for real film of real astronauts. But it is almost all computer graphics which are not even all that good in a rather contrived 'docudrama' format. In addition the science is 'gradeschool' level stuff. You would be better off spending your money on 'Full Moon'. Its a book but the images are the real deal.


Editorial Reviews:

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Short. Meant to be seen in IMAX on on TV
Comment: 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.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Worst "Film" Ever
Comment: 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!

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Cursory, IMAX-Formatted Look at the Apollo Lunar Missions Designed to Inspire the Next Generation
Comment: 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.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: The closest I have come to actually being on the Moon!
Comment: I have dreamed about space travel and going to the Moon for much of my life. This film is quite imaginative and exhilirating.

I took my kids to see the IMAX version- we all were stunned silent by the drama that unfolded. You can read about this story many times, but actually feeling it is different.

-Tahir Rahman, author of We Came in Peace for all Mankind: the untold story of the Apollo 11 silicon disc

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: I saw this at an IMAX theater. I was hoping for real film of real astronauts. But it is almost all computer graphics which are not even all that good in a rather contrived 'docudrama' format. In addition the science is 'gradeschool' level stuff. You would be better off spending your money on 'Full Moon'. Its a book but the images are the real deal.

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.

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