posted 03-22-2005 10:58 AM               

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Announces 'Apollo 13 Anniversary Edition' DVD

2-Disc DVD Edition Includes 'Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience' Version and New Bonus Features Commemorating 35th Anniversary of the Historic Space Mission and 10th Anniversary of the Film's Release Available March 29, 2005

In 1970, the world held its breath in stunned and rapt silence as a crippled space capsule made a life-or-death race to return safely to Earth. In commemoration of the historic mission that riveted millions to the fate of three courageous astronauts and the NASA Mission Control staff that worked tirelessly to save their lives, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release the 2-Disc "Apollo 13 Anniversary Edition" DVD on March 29, 2005. Directed by Ron Howard, produced by Brian Grazer and starring Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, and Gary Sinise, the DVD includes "Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience" version and features two never-before-seen bonus extras: "Lucky 13: The Astronaut's Story" which recounts the events of the mission and "Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond," a fascinating look back at the past 45 years in the history of the space program. The DVD is priced at $22.98 suggested retail.

A timeless and inspiring true story of faith, determination and ingenuity, "Apollo 13" was hailed by Roger Ebert as, "A powerful story, one of the year's best." The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was honored for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

Bonus Features

The 2-Disc "Apollo 13 Anniversary Edition" DVD includes the following bonus features:

Disc One:

• "Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13" — The making of the film including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews
  
• Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard
  
• Feature Commentary with Jim and Marilyn Lovell
  
• Production Notes
  
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc Two:

• "Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience" Version — Re-edited for the giant screen by director Ron Howard and Academy Award-winning editor Dan Hanley
  
• Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond — A recap of the last 45 years in space
  
• Lucky 13: The Astronauts' Story — Recounting the events of the mission

Synopsis

Less than a year after the world marveled at man's first moon walk — and only three years after the deadly Apollo 1 fire — the American public thought of the April 1970 Apollo 13 moon mission as just another "routine" space flight. But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: "Houston, we have a problem." Stranded 205,000 miles from home in a crippled spacecraft, Lovell, and two other astronauts, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, fought a desperate battle to survive while Mission Control's heroic ground crew raced against time — and long odds — to bring them home. Academy Award-winner Ron Howard directs Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan in a riveting account of this breathtaking real-life adventure.

posted 02-03-2010 06:31 AM               

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment:
Apollo 13 15th Anniversary Edition

Available for the First Time On Blu-ray Hi-Def from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the historic space mission and the 15th Anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film, Apollo 13 is now available to own on Blu-ray Hi-Def for the first time on April 13, 2010, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

From Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard (The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind) and based on the dramatic events surrounding the real-life Apollo mission, this breathtaking story of survival, determination and hope stars Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks (Angels & Demons, Forrest Gump), Bill Paxton ("Big Love," U-571), Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon, Mystic River), Gary Sinise ("CSI: NY," The Green Mile) and Ed Harris (Appaloosa, Gone Baby Gone).

Bonus Features Exclusive TO Blu-ray Hi-Def: Unleash the power of your HDTV with perfect picture and purest digital sound.

• U-CONTROL: Universal's exclusive signature feature puts the viewer just one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.
  • THE APOLLO ERA: Learn about the other big events from the year of this historic mission -- without stopping the movie.
    
  • TECH-SPLANATIONS: Enjoy entertaining explanations of the science and technology of the Apollo 13 missions.

Additional Bonus Features Include:

• Feature commentary: Feature commentary with director Ron Howard, Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell and his wife Marilyn.
  
• LUCKY 13: The Astronaut's Story: A "Dateline" television piece recounting the events of the mission.
  
• Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13: The making of the film including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.
  
• Conquering Space: The Moon And Beyond: A recap of the last 45 years in space.

SYNOPSIS: Less than a year after the world marveled at man's first moon walk – and only three years after the deadly Apollo 1 fire – the American public thought of the April 1970 Apollo 13 moon mission as just another "routine" space flight. But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: "Houston, we have a problem." Stranded 205,000 miles from home in a crippled spacecraft, Lovell, and two other astronauts, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, fought a desperate battle to survive while Mission Control's heroic ground crew raced against time – and long odds – to bring them home. Academy Award®-winner Ron Howard directs Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan in a riveting account of this breathtaking real-life adventure.

• Street Date: April 13, 2010
  
• Running Time: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes
  
• Layers: BD-50
  
• Picture Format: Widescreen; Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  
• Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, French-Canadian, Castilian-Spanish, L.A. Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Italian, Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Romanian, Slovenian
  
• Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French-European DTS Surround 5.1, Castilian-Spanish DTS Surround 5.1, L.A.-Spanish DTS Surround 5.1, Italian DTS Surround 5.1, Czech DTS Surround 5.1, Hungarian DTS Surround 5.1

posted 03-23-2015 03:20 PM               

Apollo 13 20th Anniversary

Oscar-Winning Director Ron Howard's Epic Adventure In A Newly Restored And Remastered Commemorative Edition

A harrowing moment in human history became an exhilarating cinematic event two decades ago when acclaimed director Ron Howard chronicled NASA's tense 1970 lunar mission crisis in the Oscar-nominated film Apollo 13. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates the unforgettable tale of courage and conviction with Apollo 13: 20th Anniversary Edition, coming to Blu-ray and Digital HD on June 2, 2015.

Newly restored and remastered using the original high-resolution 35mm film elements, the commemorative edition comes with an array of bonus features including "Apollo 13: Twenty Years Later," an all-new retrospective featuring exclusive interviews with director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer. The restored version of Apollo 13 premieres on March 27, 2015, at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood.

Nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Apollo 13 is the inspiring and riveting story of the space flight that gripped the nation and changed the world. Although it had been less than a year since man first walked on the moon, as far as the American public was concerned, Apollo 13 was just another "routine" space flight—until these infamous words pierced the immense void of space: "Houston, we have a problem."

Apollo 13: 20th Anniversary Edition stars Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips, Forrest Gump), Kevin Bacon (Footloose, Mystic River), Bill Paxton (Titanic, Nightcrawler), Gary Sinise ("CSI: New York," Forrest Gump) and Ed Harris (Pollock, A Beautiful Mind) in the story of NASA's epic operation to save the lives of three astronauts battling to survive an ill-fated mission to the moon.

Bonus Features:

• Apollo 13: Twenty Years Later: A Conversation with Director Ron Howard and Producer Brian Grazer
  
• Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13
  
• Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond
  
• Lucky 13: The Astronaut's Story
  
• U-Control: The Apollo Era
  
• U-Control: Tech-Splanations
  
• Feature Commentary with director Ron Howard
  
• Feature Commentary with Jim and Marilyn Lovell

Technical Information (Blu-ray):

• Street Date: June 2, 2015
  
• Running Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  
• Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby 2.0; French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese DTS Digital Surround 5.1
  
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Swedish, Danish Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian and Brazilian Portuguese Subtitles

posted 06-01-2015 03:01 PM               

Universal has released Apollo 13 on Blu-ray previously, most recently in a decent 15th Anniversary Edition. The good news about this new 20th Anniversary Edition, however, is that the film has been completely remastered in 4K from the original 35mm elements. And I'm here to tell you, it makes a big difference.

Presented at its proper 2:35.1 aspect ratio and at the original theatrical length (no IMAX cut here), the new Blu-ray offers more image detail than I can ever recall seeing. It's nuanced detail too, refined and subtle without ever looking edgy or processed. Gone is the flutter on the edges of title text, for example. The added detail also helps even the weakest VFX shots of the Saturn V pre-launch (which were state of the art at the time) look more natural and blended into the film's textures. The color palette is rich and natural. Perhaps best of all, the dynamic range is superb. This presentation offers deep and detailed blacks on one hand, yet nicely bright areas too that are never blown out. In between the two, you get a wonderful range of contrasts. This film has quite simply never looked better on disc.

posted 07-02-2017 01:31 PM               

We now have confirmation from our industry and retail sources that Universal is working to bring Ron Howard's... Apollo 13 ...to the format later this year.

Note that [this] not been officially announced by Universal here in the States, but we expect [it] to be in the weeks ahead.

posted 08-15-2017 04:04 PM               

• Digital Copy of "Apollo 13"
  
• High Dynamic Range (HDR)
  
• Feature Commentary with Jim and Marilyn Lovell
  
• Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard
  
• Apollo 13: Twenty Years Later
  
• Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13
  
• Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond
  
• Lucky 13: The Astronaut's Story
  
• Theatrical Trailer
  
• U-Control: The Apollo Era
  
• U-Control: Tech-Splanations