Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D is a 2005 IMAX 3D documentary film about the first humans on the Moon, the twelve astronauts in the Apollo program.
| Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Mark Cowen |
| Written by | Mark Cowen Tom Hanks Christopher G. Cowen |
| Produced by | Mark Cowen Tom Hanks Gary Goetzman Mark Herzog |
| Starring | Tom Hanks Paul Newman Morgan Freeman John Travolta Scott Glenn Matt Damon Gary Sinise Bryan Cranston Matthew McConaughey |
| Cinematography | Sean MacLeod Phillips |
| Edited by | Billy Shinski |
| Music by | Blake Neely |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | IMAX |
Release date |
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Running time | 40 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million[1] |
| Box office | $40.9 million[2] |
It is co-written, produced and directed by Mark Cowen, and co-written, produced by and starring Tom Hanks.
Production
editThe film includes historical NASA footage as well as re-enactments and computer-generated imagery. Tom Hanks is the narrator, co-writer and co-producer. Magnificent Desolation is the third Apollo-related project for Hanks: he was previously involved in the film Apollo 13 and the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. The cast includes Andrew Husmann, Aaron White, Brandy Blackledge, Gary Hershberger, and Scott Wilder. The voice cast includes Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey. Bryan Cranston and Peter Scolari reprised their From the Earth to the Moon roles as Buzz Aldrin and Pete Conrad, respectively; many of the other actors had previously portrayed different people depicted in the film, in From the Earth to the Moon, The Right Stuff, and/or Apollo 13.
Score by James Newton Howard[3] and Blake Neely.[4]
The film was released in IMAX theaters on September 23, 2005. It was released on DVD on November 6, 2007.
Origins of title
editThe title comes from Buzz Aldrin's description[5] of the lunar landscape:
- Aldrin: Beautiful view!
- Armstrong: Isn't that something! Magnificent sight out here.
- Aldrin: Magnificent desolation.[6]
Aldrin's statement was substantially predicted nineteen years earlier in the film, Destination Moon (1950), in which Charles Cargraves, the fictional second man on the Moon, states "The first impression is one of utter barrenness and desolation."[7]
Cast
edit- Tom Hanks as The Narrator (voice) [portrayed Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 and hosted From the Earth to the Moon eps. 1-11]
- John Corbett as Harrison Schmitt (voice)
- Andrew Husmann as David Scott
- Bryan Cranston as Buzz Aldrin (voice) [reprised From the Earth to the Moon role, portrayed Gus Grissom in That Thing You Do]
- Aaron White as James Irwin
- Matt Damon as Alan Shepard (voice)
- John Travolta as James Irwin (voice)
- Morgan Freeman as Neil Armstrong (voice)
- Gary Hershberger as Astronaut Grace
- Scott Wilder as Astronaut Wallace
- Brandy Blackledge as Future Astronaut
- Scott Glenn as Charles Duke (voice) [portrayed Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff]
- Rick Gomez as Alpha Station Commander (voice)
- Colin Hanks as Conspiracy Neil Armstrong
- Bo Stevenson as Conspiracy Grip
- Frank John Hughes as Future Houston Capcom (voice)
- Tim Matheson as Houston Capcom (voice)
- Matthew McConaughey as Alan Bean (voice)
- Neal McDonough as Reservoir Commander (voice)
- Paul Newman as David Scott (voice)
- Bill Paxton as Edgar Mitchell (voice) [portrayed Fred Haise in Apollo 13]
- Barry Pepper as John Young (voice)
- Kevin Pollak as Director (voice) [portrayed Joe Shea in From the Earth to the Moon and the voice of Pres. Eisenhower in The Right Stuff]
- Julie Shimer as Future Astronaut (voice)
- Gary Sinise as Eugene Cernan (voice) [portrayed Ken Mattingly in Apollo 13]
- Peter Scolari as Pete Conrad (voice) [reprised From the Earth to the Moon ep. 1 role]
- Donnie Wahlberg as Helium 3 Commander (voice)
- Rita Wilson as Beta Station Commander (voice) [portrayed Susan Borman in From the Earth to the Moon]
Awards
editOn February 16, 2006, Jack Geist, Johnathan Banta, and Jerome Morin received the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Film from the Visual Effects Society for their work on the film.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Magnificent Desolation (IMAX) (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ James Newton Howard at Internet Movie Database
- ^ Blake Neely at Internet Movie Database
- ^ In George Pal's 1950 film, Destination Moon, the moonwalkers are asked, "Can you give us your first impressions of the moon?". Dr. Cargraves (Warner Anderson) replies, "Well, I'll try. The first impression is one of utter barrenness and desolation." The movie was loosely based on Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. Heinlein, who also helped write the script. In the book Heinlein describes the Moon as "a scene of blistering desert desolation".
- ^ Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal "One Small Step"
- ^ Destination Moon, 1950, at 1:07:24
External links
edit- Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D official web site
- Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D at IMDb
- Preview: Magnificent Desolation by Jeff Foust, The Space Review, August 1, 2005
- Review: Magnificent Desolation by Jeff Foust, The Space Review, September 26, 2005
- Review: Magnificent Desolation by Robert Pearlman, collectSPACE, September 20, 2005