I was 9 years old when they landed on the moon July 7, 1969 and since then have been interested in the Apollo missions. I guess it was because my father worked for Rockwell International at the time and had all those neat Apollo models. When the 35mm release of Apollo 13 came out back in 1995 I gladly went to see it. I actually did get to see them (Ron Howard and Crew) filming some of the scenes that were supposed to be in the Houston home of Jim Lovell, but it was shot in Northridge California. So when I saw that there was an IMAX version out I had to go and see it.

I saw it at the IMAX theater in Universal Studios, Universal City, CA. I was thoroughly impressed with not only the film content but also the technical side of the presentation. The large screen did justice to earth shots from cameras onboard the Apollo when it went into orbit. When I first got to the theater I notice the comfy high back chairs extended above viewer's head. I thought it was bad idea to block the sound of the rear speakers and deflect the sound from the front speakers. But to my amazement the sound was incredible. I was wrong. I heard things more clearly than I have ever heard before. I'm convinced that IMAX sound system is one of the best in existence.

The 1995 hit film Apollo 13 has been remade in the 70mm IMAX format. This was done using IMAX Corp's DMR technology. This feature film was directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Ed Harris. It is about the 1971 NASA Apollo Mission to the moon and is based on Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger's book, "Lost Moon". You man also want to take look at Gene Kranz book " Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond " (http://www.genekranz.com/).

I could go into a synopsis of the film but I think most people know about already. My main point is that IMAX is a great system and that Apollo 13 is a great movie. If you get a chance go and see it.