‹ All movies
Apollo 13 poster

Apollo 13

year 1995decade 90sdirector Ron Howardgenre Dramagenre History

140 minutes

IMDbLetterboxdJustWatch
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Tom Hanks Commander Jim Lovell
Bill Paxton Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise
Kevin Bacon backup Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert
Gary Sinise prime Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly
Mark Wheeler Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong
Larry Williams Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin
David Andrews Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad
Ben Marley Apollo 13 backup Commander John Young
Brett Cullen capsule communicator (CAPCOM) 1 "Andy" (a composite astronaut
Ned Vaughn CAPCOM 2 (a composite astronaut)
Ed Harris White Team Flight Director Gene Kranz .
Chris Ellis Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton
Joe Spano NASA Director
Marc McClure Black Team Flight Director Glynn Lunney
Clint Howard White Team Electrical
Ray McKinnon White Team Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) Jerry Bostick
Todd Louiso White Team Flight Activities Officer (FAO)
Gabriel Jarret White Team Guidance
Andy Milder White Team Guidance Officer (GUIDO)
Jim Meskimen White Team Telemetry
Loren Dean EECOM John Aaron
Christian Clemenson Flight Surgeon Dr. Charles Berry
Carl Gabriel Yorke SIM (Simulator) 1
Xander Berkeley Henry Hurt
Endre Hules Günter Wendt
Kathleen Quinlan Marilyn Gerlach Lovell
Mary Kate Schellhardt Barbara Lovell
Max Elliott Slade James "Jay" Lovell
Emily Ann Lloyd Susan Lovell
Miko Hughes Jeffrey Lovell
Rance Howard (Ron Howard's father) the Lovell family minister
Tracy Reiner Mary Haise
Michele Little Jane Conrad
Jim Lovell appears Captain Leland Kirkemo of the recovery ship USS Iwo Jima ; Howard had intended to make him an admiral
Jeffrey Kluger appears a television reporter.
Horror film director Roger Corman , a mentor of Howard, appears a congressman being given a VIP tour by Lovell of the Vehicle Assembly Building
Cheryl Howard (Ron Howard's wife) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's eldest daughter) uncredited background performers in the scene where the astronauts wave goodbye to their families.

Apollo 13 | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Amanda Dobbinshost Rob Mahoneyproducer Craig Horlbeckproducer Chia Hao Tatproducer Eduardo Ocampproducer Matt Pevic
Explore episodeClose episode

Casting What-Ifs

Costner and Travolta for Lovell; Pitt and Kilmer for Swigert

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:18Read transcript
  • Costner is reported as the original Lovell choice
  • Hanks is said to have declined Jumanji
  • Travolta requested Lovell and was declined; Premiere is cited for losing Gene to Harris as well
  • Cusack, Swayze, Pesci and Moranis are listed online for Fred Haise, with Pesci and Moranis explicitly doubted
  • Brad Pitt reportedly chose Seven over Swigert
  • Kilmer is also reported to have declined Swigert
  • Sinise reportedly chose Mattingly when offered his pick of roles
  • The Grammer and Christopher Lloyd stories for Gene are explicitly disbelieved

Roger Ebert's review

Roger Ebert’s review is discussed: 4 stars

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:40Read transcript
  • The panel reports Ebert’s four-star rating
  • They discuss his praise for technical clarity and extraordinary work under pressure
  • They discuss his sense that reducing space ambitions cost America part of its vision

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Trade Hanks’s earlier Oscars for his Apollo 13 performance

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:04Read transcript
  • Amanda calls this the essential and best Hanks performance
  • She praises the silent communication of ambition, loss, fear and dignity
  • The moon-landing reaction and navigation anecdote support her case
  • Cast Away is offered as a harder solo performance
  • A compromise gives Oscars to Apollo 13 and Cast Away
  • The panel believes Hanks deserved at least a nomination here

Most Rewatchable Scene

Reentry and the CO2-filter solution divide favorite and most-rewatchable choices

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:02Read transcript
  • Hanks watching Armstrong land is nominated
  • Jim’s explanation of the Apollo 1 fire to his son pays off later
  • Mattingly being removed from the mission is nominated
  • Swigert’s failed simulator attempt and retry are nominated
  • The launch and Harris’s introduction build excitement
  • Docking gives the rookie a success
  • The oxygen leak and sudden silence establish the crisis
  • Clint Howard’s explanation sets the stakes
  • The loss of the moon and the astronauts’ argument are discussed
  • The improvised CO2 filter initially gets broad agreement
  • The manual burn with Earth in the window is nominated
  • Mattingly restoring power is nominated
  • Reentry’s extended wait and the control-room celebration are praised
  • Final choices distinguish a favorite CO2 sequence from the most-rewatchable reentry
  • Lovell giving Swigert the pilot seat completes his confidence arc

The most "year the movie came out" thing

The overwhelmingly white cast

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:35Read transcript
  • Opening graphics and Hanks’s period look are alternatives
  • The panel argues a modern production would notice the near-exclusively white speaking cast
  • The lone Black orderly and his treatment are criticized

Gandolfini Butter on My Ass So It Pops in My Mouth Award

Gene’s white vest, Lovell declining to look at the moon and the man left behind

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:24Read transcript
  • Amanda enjoys the mission vest and Harris’s gestures with it
  • Lovell’s inscrutable hesitation to look at Mount Marilyn is admired
  • Mattingly’s left-behind role is compared with Ralph Cox in Miracle and Rudy
  • The prompt is explicitly explained as something you simply enjoy

What’s Aged the Best?

Houston, we have a problem; the score; and collective problem-solving

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:40Read transcript
  • The famous line’s cleaned-up wording and lasting use in sports are discussed
  • The film’s use of the number thirteen leads to a superstition debate
  • Paxton’s rhinoceros line is enjoyed and its Busey/Point Break connection is reported
  • James Horner’s score and Annie Lennox’s vocals are praised
  • Supportive spouses are discussed
  • Harris’s hairpiece and military haircuts are enjoyed
  • The Hanks–Sinise reunion and Clint Howard’s role are praised
  • Walter Cronkite’s archival reactions give history emotional weight
  • Astronaut longevity is discussed with reported fitness and continuing medical monitoring, not verified health conclusions
  • Slingshotting around the moon is admired as comprehensible science
  • Lovell’s polo shirts are praised
  • Switching equipment on in the right order remains relatable
  • Gathering to watch a non-sports world event is missed

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

The wide shot of the control-room celebration

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:17Read transcript
  • The panel agrees on the shot
  • The angled camera position captures the whole room erupting
  • The set is reported as purpose-built instead of using NASA’s offered room

The Big Kahuna Burger Award for Best Use of Food and Drink

Jell-O floating in space, with zero-gravity vomit as an inversion

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:47Read transcript
  • The playful food during the televised broadcast is nominated
  • Food avoidance and water rationing are discussed
  • The vomit is suggested as a striking effects showcase
  • A production anecdote describes a crew member vomiting onto Paxton during a zero-gravity flight

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The older children, with disagreement about the ending

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:39Read transcript
  • Rob and another participant choose the teenagers
  • The younger child’s door question is defended
  • The older son’s close-ups lack the emotional force of Hanks’s
  • Reducing the number of children is proposed
  • The grandmother is criticized by one speaker and warmly defended by others
  • Bill wants a homecoming reunion with Sinise and Harris
  • Others defend ending early and the real Jim Lovell cameo
  • The children remain the leading weak-link choice

What’s Aged the Worst?

The portrayal of Jack Swigert as underprepared

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:26Read transcript
  • The repeated courting of thirteen is questioned
  • Fade-to-black transitions feel dated
  • Marilyn’s hair and the oldest daughter’s crying are criticized
  • The panel says real Swigert was an experienced backup rather than the risky rookie depicted
  • The dramatic distortion is discussed as unfair to his family
  • Heat-shield concerns are raised in comparison with contemporary missions
  • Some small launch effects show their age
  • The teenage daughter’s blame of Paul for the Beatles breakup is criticized
  • The panel compares difficult teenage-daughter roles with Moneyball, Homeland and The Americans

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Henry the press officer

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:58Read transcript
  • Lovell’s flight-surgeon outburst is proposed but defended as appropriate
  • The press officer is criticized for leaning too hard into antagonism and concern for Nixon
  • The hosts do not identify the actor by name

The Estelle Reiner “I’ll Have What She’s Having” Award for Best Contribution with Two or Fewer Lines

Jean Speegle Howard as Jim’s mother

Flex pick · Rob Mahoney

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:18Read transcript
  • Rob defends the grandmother’s washing-machine line
  • The reversal of a frightened child being reassured by the grandmother moves him
  • Her casting as the director’s mother fits the Estelle Reiner namesake
  • She reportedly removed dentures to appear older
  • Other Howard family appearances are discussed

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

America needs a rival to recover its ambition

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:58Read transcript
  • A speaker argues the end of the Soviet rivalry left American ambition unfocused
  • Bill provocatively offers respect for Musk’s space ambitions; the others question the claim
  • They debate the appeal and purpose of Mars exploration
  • Amanda refers back to her earlier Hanks/Oscar take
  • Political and current-event comments remain attributed episode opinions

Recasting Couch

Gene Hackman, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore and a Flight crossover

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:06Read transcript
  • Hackman is considered for Gene but Harris’s performance is defended
  • Pitt is considered as a higher-star-power Swigert without displacing Hanks
  • Cruise as Swigert would be fun, though his crisis of confidence might be hard to believe
  • Moore is imagined delivering Marilyn’s defiant line
  • Bill proposes Denzel’s troubled pilot from Flight in the Swigert part
  • These are hypothetical recasts, distinct from reported casting history

Half-Assed Internet Research

Zero-gravity filming, practical sets and the origins of Failure Is Not an Option

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:17Read transcript
  • Spielberg is credited with suggesting parabolic-flight filming
  • The actors filmed in brief zero-gravity intervals during long flights
  • Full-size modules and a chilled set are reported
  • The splashdown was reportedly filmed in a Universal lot lake
  • The USS New Orleans substituted for the unavailable Iwo Jima
  • Bacon praises Hanks’s intensive astronaut training
  • Failure Is Not an Option is reported as wording created for the movie, later used by Kranz as a book title
  • Mission-control leadership is said to have been consolidated, leaving Glynn Lunney out; the transcript renders the name imperfectly
  • Marilyn’s lost ring is said to have been recovered in real life
  • Bacon’s repeated Jack/Jackie character names are listed across seven productions

Apex Mountain

Hanks’s mid-1990s summit, Quinlan’s nomination and Houston’s championship era

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:37Read transcript
  • Hanks’s Forrest Gump–Apollo 13–Toy Story period is a leading choice
  • Later freedom to direct or take unusual roles is offered as another measure of Hanks’s power
  • Howard’s A Beautiful Mind acclaim is preferred
  • Sinise’s Forrest Gump–Apollo 13 period is accepted
  • Bacon’s Footloose breakthrough is preferred
  • Houston’s back-to-back Rockets titles alongside the film are favored over the Beyoncé-birth alternative
  • Harris’s peak is placed somewhere between this and The Truman Show
  • Quinlan’s Oscar nomination supports her apex
  • Grazer is considered without a firm conclusion
  • Space movies are rejected because of Star Wars and 2001
  • American idealism and ingenuity are debated in relation to 1970 versus 1995

The most GIFable moment

Ed Harris’s collapse and double thumbs-up

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:24Read transcript
  • Harris’s relieved collapse is nominated
  • The subsequent double thumbs-up is suggested as an even better GIF
  • Hanks delivering Houston, We Have a Problem is nominated
  • Sinise’s quiet fist pump is an alternative

Picking Nits

Not enough smoking, children watching reentry and floor salad

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:40Read transcript
  • The panel thinks a 1970 control room and home would have contained more smoking
  • Changed dialogue and astronauts arguing are acknowledged as dramatic liberties
  • Allowing very young children to watch potentially fatal reentry is questioned
  • Mary Haise is given little to do
  • Women are seen putting spilled salad back into its bowl

Just One Oscar

Best Picture, with Hanks and adapted screenplay also supported

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:39:41Read transcript
  • Amanda initially favors Hanks, consistent with her hottest take
  • Best Picture is a leading choice
  • Adapted screenplay is praised for turning technical procedures into drama
  • The conversation settles toward Best Picture over Braveheart

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Would Mattingly’s presence change the accident, and would Cameron make a better film?

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:50Read transcript
  • Does this have an unusually high number of white speaking roles?
  • Would the malfunction still happen with Mattingly instead of Swigert?
  • Would Mattingly have noticed a warning before stirring the tanks?
  • Which astronaut is best at the job?
  • James Cameron directing would change the spacecraft emphasis, exposition and mission-control balance
  • The panel concludes Howard was well suited to the historical and ensemble requirements

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The white vest, gold flight jacket, flight suits and Hanks’s astronaut suit

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:36Read transcript
  • The white vest returns as a favorite
  • The gold jacket and rescued astronauts’ suits are alternatives
  • Hanks’s screen-worn astronaut suit is considered the most valuable object
  • Sinise’s sleeveless shirt and beer bottle are smaller-scale ideas

Producer review

Craig finds Apollo 13 warmer and more effective than on previous watches

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:55Read transcript
  • Craig reports not having seen it in ten to fifteen years
  • He praises the practical Los Angeles production and the warmth of Hanks and Howard
  • The last hour had him standing and pacing despite knowing the ending
  • Family scenes and the child’s door question land more strongly now
  • He comes away with renewed appreciation for Hanks

More from the conversation

Bill Simmons introduces Amanda Dobbins and Rob Mahoney; Apollo 13 is identified as Amanda’s long-standing episode request.
Approx. transcript time · 00:00:00Read transcript
Amanda and Rob connect the film to their early moviegoing; Rob recalls growing up in Texas and attending space camp. The panel discusses practical effects, team problem-solving and cable rewatchability.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:12Read transcript
Hanks’s star-making run, his history interests, Cruise comparisons and the film’s understated American ambition are discussed. Comments on Artemis and recent events are recorded as claims made in this dated episode, not independently verified news.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:18Read transcript
Craig is directly invited into the Hanks-versus-Cruise discussion and responds.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:05Read transcript
Ron Howard’s restraint, preparation of the control-room ensemble, historical fidelity and filmography are discussed alongside a blind Cruise movie marathon.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:52Read transcript
Kevin Bacon’s range and Hall of Fame case, Paxton’s popularity, Harris and Sinise’s restrained acting, and Quinlan’s chemistry and performance as Marilyn Lovell are discussed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:47Read transcript
The panel reports the Lost Moon screenplay origins, Oscar nominations and losses, and debates voter fatigue after Hanks’s consecutive wins.
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:41Read transcript
Craig is directly asked for his favorite Hanks performance and chooses Sleepless in Seattle.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:34Read transcript
The closing conversation compares Hanks’s warmth with Gosling, Project Hail Mary, The Martian and contemporary filmmaking, then debates Damon versus DiCaprio and Ocean’s sequels. These are episode opinions; the new titles and contemporary claims are not independently verified metadata.
Approx. transcript time · 01:49:31Read transcript
Craig Horlbeck is thanked by name in the sign-off. The spoken acknowledgement does not itself replace the official feed’s producer credit.
Approx. transcript time · 01:55:12Read transcript