From the Earth to the Moon: The Signature Edition (1998) |
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From the Earth to the Moon: The Signature Edition (1998) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Special Effects TV Spots-Special Effects Notes-History of the Moon Notes-Famous Astronomers |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1998 | ||
| Running Time | 665:07 (Case: 650) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (5) |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By |
Michael Grossman David Carson Sally Field Gary Fleder |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Warner Home Video |
Starring |
Remi Aubuchon Erik Bork Andrew Chaikin Jonathan Marc Feldman Jeffrey Alan Fiskin Lawrence Gonzales Tom Hanks Laura Hubber Karen Janszen Steven Katz Paul McCudden Lisa Mohan Peter Osterland |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $79.95 | Music |
Jeff Beal Mason Daring Brad Fiedel |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English English for the Hearing Impaired German German for the Hearing Impaired Arabic Czech Danish Finnish Greek Hebrew Norwegian Portuguese Romanian Swedish |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Back in early 2000, when DVD was still in its relative infancy and many titles could only be purchased from overseas, I took a huge gamble and placed an order for a rather expensive (at the time) box set of a television series I knew almost nothing about but had been told by a few people that I would enjoy immensely. That title was of course From The Earth To The Moon and when it finally arrived, I excitedly ripped open my first ever mailing box from Amazon.com and popped the first disc in my player to see what all the fuss was about. It was about 30 seconds later that I discovered with some dismay that this 12-part series about the Apollo space programme and America's quest to send man to the moon was not actually the detailed documentary I had been expecting, but rather a dramatised mini series with actors playing the parts of all the famous names and very little historical footage featured.
That initial disappointment was short-lived though as I sat down to watch the first episode and then quickly devoured another three episodes in the one night. This was gripping stuff, accurately portraying not just the technical details of the race to space, but the human element as well. Made in 1998 and screening originally on the HBO network in America it was co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Michael Bostick and Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks, who apparently has had a long obsession with anything to do with space and following his Oscar wins had the pull to get personal projects of this scale off the ground.
With each episode containing a brief introduction from Hanks, the 12 episodes detail the landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. It is based on Andrew Chaikin's book, A Man on the Moon and focuses on topics as diverse as the wives of the astronauts, the friendships formed by those involved, the near obsession that some of the employees of NASA and its contractors took on while working on the project, and of course the famous astronauts themselves including the household names like Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Al Sheperd and Neil Armstrong.
The series was highly regarded for its accurate telling of the story of Apollo and outstanding special effects (they are quite excellent for what was a 1998 television programme) and its focusing not just on the obvious big ticket stories such as Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11. You soon learn of the thousands (more than 400,000 to be more accurate) of people who worked day and night for years to see man set foot on the moon and the many problems and triumphs they experienced along the way.
Finally released on Region 4 DVD, nearly eight years after it first appeared in Region 1 (my old copy now sports several dog-eared corners courtesy of frequent loan-outs to various friends and family), this specially labelled Signature Edition is a little different to that original 1998 release (see Region comparison for details).
Highly recommended for all space nuts who want a little more than the normal nuts 'n' bolts details of the Apollo programme.
There are 12 episodes in the series:
The space race is on when the Soviets send a man into orbit before the Americans. With JFK's famous "we will land a man on the moon before this decade is out and bring him safely to earth" speech delivered, this episode depicts NASA's dilemma in just how do they get a man into space let alone send him to the moon. There is some coverage of the ground breaking Mercury and Gemini programmes along with a reconstruction of the first American spacewalk.
The major disaster and loss of life with the Apollo programme happened before a flight was even taken. This episode deals with the fire on board the Apollo 1 capsule during a routine test, when Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee lost their lives. The episodes looks at the investigation that took place after the accident and what lessons were learned to stop it being repeated.
This is a fairly mediocre episode covering the preparation for Apollo 7 with Mark Harmon starring as commander Wally Schirra. The episode is filmed from the point of view of a documentary crew covering the flight.
1968 was a bad year in America and this episode captures much of the angst present in the country while also chronicling the events leading up to the launch of the first manned Apollo mission - Apollo 8. There is lots of news footage showing the problems in the Vietnam War and the assassination of Robert Kennedy. The story is told from the point of view of Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman's wife, Susan, and is shot in black and white (except for the news footage and the dramatised action in the spacecraft).
This is a great episode that deals with the development of the Lunar Module (known as the LEM) - the craft that would take the two astronauts to the lunar surface and then return them to the command module for the journey back to earth. First used during Apollo 9, this episode deals with the design and construction of the LEM by the Grumman aircraft company and the man charged with bringing it to life, Tom Kelly.
This is the big one - the landing on the lunar surface all those years after JFK's famous proclamation. This is a detailed dramatisation of the Apollo 11 mission from lift off to those first steps on the surface by the most famous astronaut of all, Neil Armstrong. Mare Tranquilitatis refers to the landing site of the mission - otherwise known as the Sea of Tranquillity.
Apollo 12 and their mission to the moon came hot on the heels of the famous Apollo 11. This episode deals with the larrikin crew of good mates headed by the third man to walk on the moon - Pete Conrad (played with unabashed enthusiasm by ER's Paul McCrane) and his sidekick and close friend Al Bean (Dave Foley).
We all know the story of Apollo 13 and the famous line "Houston We Have A Problem" thanks to the 1995 blockbuster movie of the same name. This episode focuses on that disastrous flight but takes it from a different angle - how the media in general and in particular a veteran television news reader and a young ambitious reporter (brilliantly played by Jay Mohr) battle for the best coverage of the unfolding events.
Due to an ear problem long serving astronaut Alan Shepard thought his chances of making a trip to the moon had passed. But with some new experimental surgery he may just get another crack as the commander on Apollo 14.
When travelling to the moon, the Apollo astronauts had to be many things including pilots, explorers, visionaries, scientists, athletes, poets and of course geologists - since the moon is just a big chunk of rock. This episode looks at the work behind training the astronauts to become experts on the composition of the moon. A great episode that proves with a little understanding and patience anybody can do anything if they put their mind to it.
A bit of a different take on the traditional look at the men only space programme, this episode takes the point of view of the wives and girlfriends who had to stay at home and live the dangers and the media focus without a whole lot of help. The Apollo 16 mission is also shown here. Probably the weakest of all the episodes.
The final episode features Tom Hanks as early 20th century film maker Georges Méliès who made an early film about a voyage to the moon - Le Voyage dans la Lune. Interspersed with this story is vision of Apollo 17 and the last trip to the moon by Harrison "Jack" Schmitt and Gene Cernan.
Unlike the original 1999 Region 1 release which came with a 1.33:1 video transfer (as it was seen on television in the US in 1998), this new Signature Edition (available in Region 1 and Region 4 - see Region comparison below for differences) features a transfer in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1 that is also 16x9 enhanced.
So what we have here is a show originally broadcast in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and now presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, with the top and bottom of the frame chopped or matted off to accommodate. This is not going to please a few people, since it isn't being shown how it originally aired, but the results are quite excellent with the directors obviously intent on filming each episode using the "safe" 1.78:1 area of the screen, possibly with one eye on the future widescreen release of the series. In all 12 episodes I could count maybe two or three shots that looked a little cramped and had been marginally compromised for the widescreen aspect ratio.
The quality of the image is far better than I had thought it would be. Sharpness and the level of detail is about what is expected from a show that was filmed nearly ten years ago. Shadow detail is never compromised, and grain is kept to a minimum. There is no low level noise.
Colours are excellent with no instances of washout or bleeding.
No compression artefacts were evident and film-to-video artefacts are also absent. Film artefacts are a different story, with a smattering of blobs and scratches popping up on occasions. Thankfully they are pretty small and only mildly interrupt the viewing experience.
Numerous subtitle options are present. The English variety are easy to read and well placed on the screen.
All the discs are dual layered, with episodes spread between layers to remove any need for a layer change.
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There are two audio soundtracks on this disc, and somewhat unusually for a television series they are both Dolby Digital 5.1 efforts encoded at a bitrate of 384Kb/s. The tracks are available in English and German.
Listening to the English version I was suitably impressed by this soundtrack overall, especially considering it is a television drama series made in 1998. It is solid, dynamic and powerful when required, which is obviously whenever the massive Saturn rockets fire those gigantic engines. There is some consistent surround activity (though it is not what I'd label aggressive) and plenty of movement across the front soundstage.
The dialogue is perfectly balanced, clear, and easily understood. It is very prominent in the overall soundtrack, and there are no problems with audio sync.
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A reasonably lengthy (29:33) making of featurette that contains lots of interviews with many of the principal people involved including Tom Hanks. Worth a look to get a real feel for what was involved in getting this project off the ground and the overall philosophy behind the style of presentation.
An all-too-brief (4:10) look at how some of the effects were achieved. Focuses primarily on the spacecraft in flight and how the very real surface of the moon was created.
Six television spots showing different aspects of the series. These run for between 0:27 and 1:21.
A dozen or so pages of static text dedicated to the history of the moon.
Half a dozen or so pages of static text summarising the work of several famous astronomers throughout history.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
As I mentioned, From The Earth To The Moon was the first Region 1 DVD I ever bought. That was back in early 2000 after the title was released originally sometime in 1998 or 1999. A second version was released last year in Region 1, with the similarly attached Signature Edition label.
Compared to the original Region 1 release, the new Region 4 Signature Edition misses out on:
Compared to the new Region 1 Signature Edition, the Region 4 Signature Edition misses out on:
The Region 1 Signature Edition misses out on:
German Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.
From The Earth To The Moon is a fantastic 12-part drama series dedicated to man's greatest ever achievement. It is a sometimes jingoistic but almost always entertaining dramatisation of America's quest to send man to the moon with the use of predominantly no-name actors and focusing on the less well-known aspects of the Apollo space programme lending an almost documentary feel to the series.
Highly recommended for all space nuts.
The video in this Region 4 Signature Edition is not in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, but the quality is still excellent.
The audio is superb, while the extras are informative, if perhaps a little light.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Denon DVD-3910, using RGB output |
| Display | Loewe Calida (84cm). Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). |
| Amplification | Harmon/Kardon AVR7000. |
| Speakers | Front - B&W 602S2, Centre - B&W CC6S2, Rear - B&W 601S2, Sub - Energy E:xl S10 |