Synopsis
After five months in space, the crew of Ironman One (Richard Crenna, James Franciscus andGene Hackman) are returning to Earth when their ship’s retrorockets do not fire. They aretrapped in orbit, with only 42 hours of oxygen. Back on Earth, NASA chief Gregory Peck at firstsees no way of saving them, but at the urging of David Janssen, a Hail Mary rescue attempt isput together. The problem: the soonest the rescue ship can arrive is in 42 hours. And there’s ahurricane closing…in on the launch site…
There’s an almost non-stop barrage of technojargon here, which might slow the film downfor some, but does also give the proceedings a nice aura of authenticity. As the clock ticks away,the suspense builds, and the climax will have you sweaty-palmed and writhing.
Audio
The 2.0 sound doesn’t have a lot of surround elements, but this is a 1969 movie, and so weshould be thankful there aren’t any inappropriate surround FX either. The music has a fairly bigsound, though, and is nicely atmospheric. The roar of the rockets blasting off isn’t bad, all thingsconsidered.
Video
The print is in good, but not perfect, conditions. There is speckling (though the leveldiminishes after the first few minutes) and some minor damage now and then (the occasionalscratch and line on the print). The colours are very strong, and the blacks are as abyssal as spaceshould be. The grain is very slight, as is the edge enhancement.
Special Features
Nothing here except trailers for 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage ofSinbad, Earth vs The Flying Saucers, and The First Men in the Moon. Themenu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
Time to reconsider this ancestor of Apollo 13. The FX are first-rate, and the suspenseagonizing.
Special Features List
- Trailers
