Countdown: start to the moon
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Countdown: start to the moon |
| Original title | countdown |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 106 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Altman |
| script | Loring almond |
| production | William Conrad |
| music | Leonard Rosenman |
| camera | William W. Spencer |
| cut | Gene Milford |
| occupation | |
| |
Countdown: Start to the moon (original title: Countdown ) is an American science fiction film directed by Robert Altman from 1967. It is based on the novel The Pilgrim Project by Hank Searls . The German premiere took place on March 29, 1968.
action
America and the Soviet Union compete for supremacy in space. The goal is to be the first nation to put a person on the moon. The USA is preparing the Apollo space program for this. But when it becomes known that the Soviet Union is about to land on the moon , Apollo is interrupted to send the most experienced of his astronauts , Chiz, to the moon alone and, above all, first with a Gemini capsule . But then the government in Washington decides against Chiz: In addition to his work for NASA, he is also an officer in the US Air Force , and since the Soviet cosmonauts are civilians, the US does not want to be inferior on this point in order to also demonstrate a peaceful intention . And so the second best man, civilian Lee Stegler, is given the mission. Chiz rages with anger and disappointment, but then agrees to train Lee in the short time, not without hope that he will not make it and they will have to take him.
Training and preparation are still going well. An unmanned space station, a so-called bivouac , is shot in advance on the moon, where Lee is supposed to live until it is picked up by an Apollo mission. But then the story unexpectedly reaches the press, and the press publishes the intentions of NASA before they can build an unassailable lead over the Soviet Union. And so it actually starts shortly before the Americans can. Nevertheless, the Gemini is sent on the journey with Lee on board. Except for a few machine problems that drain the batteries and thus impair radio contact, the mission runs smoothly. Lee is supposed to make the bivouac, which is equipped with a far-shining beacon, with visual contact and land nearby, as he only has two hours of oxygen available to transfer to the bivouac. But then a problem arises from the aerospace doctor in charge: Lee is exhausted from the trip, his eyes are inflamed by the oxygen in the capsule and he is severely blinded by the sun. Only with difficulty does he think he has found the beacon and lands.
Lee gets out of the capsule and goes in search of the bivouac. Unsuccessful at first, which confirms the doubts of his NASA colleagues on earth that he probably did not see the beacon after all and landed far from the bivouac. On the way on his search he comes across the spaceship of the Soviet Union. Its landing failed, the capsule was overturned on the ground, the cosmonauts dead next to it, the Soviet flag in the hand of one of them. Lee hoists both flags, and guided by a mascot that his little son gave him on his journey to the moon, he can happily find the bivouac in the last few minutes of his oxygen supply.
background
In fact, NASA thought about flying to the moon with Gemini spaceships if the Apollo spaceships were not in time, i.e. H. before a Soviet moon landing, would have been operational. In the Soviet lunar landing program only one cosmonaut would have landed on the moon, but this was not publicly known.
Producer William Conrad, best known as a television actor ( Cannon , Jake, and McCabe - Through Thick and Thin ) directed several scenes.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described the film as a “mixture of captivating technology reportage and science fiction, which criticizes the belief in technology and questions national performance thinking.” According to Cinema, the film points out as “Robert Altman's early work”, “what what distinguishes the director to this day: a documentary view and a large ensemble ”.
synchronization
The German dubbed version was created by Berliner Synchron GmbH based on the dialogue book and directed by Dietmar Behnke .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Stegler | James Caan | Michael Chevalier |
| Chiz | Robert Duvall | Rolf Schult |
Web links
- Countdown: Start to the moon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Countdown: Start to the moon. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ See cinema.de
- ↑ Countdown: Start to the moon. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on June 25, 2017 .