Les naufragés de l'espace

OK, the film is plodding and the over caution and dourness of Gregory Peck's Dr. Keith gets irritating, but James Franciscus, stalwart of many a tv movie and dodgy international co-production, puts in a career best performance as the scientist-astronaut struggling to keep a grip on not only his faculties, but those of his fellow astronauts. Because he can work out scientifically what's going to happen, Clayton Stone (Franciscus) has the added burden. The scenes where he's trying to convince his wife back on Earth that they're going to make it, when the evidence is telling him in his mind of the opposite, the way he struggles with trying to convey how he feels when he's more a cerebral person and the end when its down to him to rescue himself and Buzz Lloyd (Hackman) are all excellently portrayed. It's a shame that he was seldom given another role that would have as much depth.

Perhaps this movie is slow-moving like some have pointed out, though I didn't mind its deliberate pacing. In fact, I think it's a heck of a lot better than its current IMDb score would indicate.

The film is a near-future sci-fi film in which a group of three astronauts are on a lengthy mission on a space station. On their return to Earth, there is an equipment malfunction and they are stranded in space. Unfortunately, there just doesn't appear to be a way to save them in time so the folks at NASA and on board the ship realize it's just a matter of time before they run out of oxygen.

As far as the acting goes, this was not one of Gregory Peck's finest moments. His character is very, very subdued and stern--too stern. As a result, he comes off as a grouch and a non-emotive one to boot. Fortunately, the astronauts (Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman and James Franciscus) all do an exceptional job and tend to give the film a lot more feeling. In particular, Franciscus is very good and manages to overshadow his more famous co-stars.

Other than Peck, the only other negative are some of the special effects. Most look very good for 1969, but the ones in 2001 seem to be a bit better. The film did get the Oscar for Best Special Effects, however, despite a few less than stellar scenes--though most the film's special effects were very effectively done.

As for the ending, it was very tense and worth seeing. So, for people who like this sort of film, it is excellent and gives insight into the fears people had during the days of the Apollo program.

I found this movie while I was searching through all the new movies on OnDemand. I usually look through the new movies about once a week, searching for some hidden gem I've never heard of. I'm not always successful, but this time I was.

I'm a pretty big sci-fi fan and especially love "speculative fiction;" meaning content about the near future that isn't necessarily out-of-this-world sci-fi. Authors like Philip K Dick and Jonathan Lethem excel in this genre, and I like Marooned fits in it very nicely.

Released in 1969, it obviously takes place at a not-much-later date - the inclusion of SKYLAB, launched in 1973, proves this. The rescue vehicle used also looks like a very crude version of the space shuttle - a futuristic test vehicle that looks grounded in reality enough to escape being campy. A few lines of dialogue also hint that a Mars expedition is something that is considered to be right around the corner.

Most complaints in the comments section refer to the pacing. All i can say is: go read a book. If 90-minute action fests are your barometer for the worth of a film, go elsewhere. There are no exploding fireballs or meteors ripping through space stations with stereotypical crazy Russians here. Instead, you get a fully realized and believable view into what might happen if some of our astronauts became stranded in space.

Personally, I was invested fully into the film and felt sad when the movie ended, the same way I feel when I finish a good book. The pacing here, if you are interested in the subject matter, is fine. For fans of science fiction, this movie is a must-see. For those of us who actually can sit through a book and enjoy it (and I don't mean "page-turners"), this movie is a great way to spend an afternoon. For everyone else, please avoid. You will only drag this movie's rating further into the mud.

A tense thriller and extremely realistic space movie at the time its realization , dealing with three astronauts go in the rocket : Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) and Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman). Back at base, Charles Keith (Gregory Peck) wonders if after eight months in space they could perform the easiest manual tasks. It seems to be a "routine" flight , but things go very wrong, and prospects of a safe return fade . Once in space the astronauts take off their helmets they lose backup for some reason. The mission Director (George Gaynes) decides that they need to use the primary thrust, because the secondary is damaged. The communications officer hears mishaps , retro-fires don't work ; as the NASA mission has an accident in the aircraft . Then , the workers at NASA, try to figure out a way to get the astronauts home safely. Subsequent tensions within the crew and numerous technical problems threaten both the astronauts' survival and their safe return to Earth. Only 55 minutes left to rescue them. While the whole world watches and waits...especially their three wives (Lee Grant , Nancy Kovack , Mariette Hartley) . Houston, we have a problem.

A descriptive film about space mission with 3 marooned astronauts which had the misfortune to go out on release at precisely the time when the astronauts of Apollo 13 were fighting with an exactly similar emergency . Faced with real-life competition , the movie failed at box office due to its overlong runtime , slow-moving and was undeservedly buried ; however , nowadays is better deemed than when it was released . The plot is plain and simple , bearing remarkable and striking resemblance to subsequent Apollo 13 (1995) by Ron Howard , as three brave astronauts : Richard Crenna , James Franciscus , Gene Hackman , stranded 205,000 miles from Earth in a crippled spacecraft when its retro-rockets misfire , as they fight a desperate battle to survive , unable to go back to Earth , meanwhile , at Mission Control, astronaut David Janssen , flight director Gregory Peck and a heroic ground crew race against time and the odds to bring them home. The picture packs tension , intrigue , chills and the suspense builds remorselessly to a neat conclusion . This is a story of sacrifice , averted tragedy , comradeship , heroism and describes a will of creativity and effort on the technicians who ran the early space missions . The wide-screen are first-rate , as well as the special effects that are the main thing this Sci-Fi picture has going for it . Several dollars' worth of Hollywood top-drawer cast is partially wasted in this flick of three astronauts unable to return to Earth .

The motion picture was professionally directed by John Sturges, though with no much enthusiasm , and including some moments amazingly inept ; however , winning Oscar for Special Effects , FX, that are really fabulous . Sturges began his directing career at Columbia Pictures, from there he moved on to MGM where he filmed more "B" pictures, albeit on a larger budget . He established an independent production company in 1959, releasing through United Artists. From 1960-67 he worked under contract for United Artists. His first major hit was the western Dog Day at Black Rock (1955) , which he shot in just three weeks, wrapping up virtually every scene in a single take . He specialized in robust action pictures, particularly westerns. He excelled at bringing to life tautly written stories about tough characters facing difficult circumstances . Throughout his career he regularly alternated hits with misses . He has also been criticized for his lack of stylistic trademarks , though his best films remain exciting to watch . Sturges was expert on all kind of genres , but especially warlike such as : ¨Great Escape¨, ¨Ice Station Zebra¨ and ¨Eagle has landed¨ and Western such as ¨Last train of Gun Hill¨, ¨Magnificent Seven¨, ¨Backlash¨, ¨Law and Jake Webb¨, ¨Joe Kidd¨ and Chino¨, among others . Rating : 6/10 . Passable and acceptable , but a little bit boring and tiring . Well worth seeing .

I've always liked this movie, still holds some modern jaded audiences to the edge of their seats. One comment. I saw this at age 10 in a downtown theater in original 70mm print. The curtain opened and the house lights went half dim. I knew what I was looking at on the screen but I suspect I was the only one there who did. I kept yanking on my dad's arm, pointing at the (blank?) screen, yelling "look!" "look!". The original opening was the coolest thing I've EVER seen on screen, a near silent, ultra-slow zoom-out and slow pan to the horizon through a fully extended Baker-Nunn camera that was looking out into nothing but black outer space. Damn amazing. Total, utter, deep space - pure blackness until it got to the horizon. Outstanding. There's about 10 seconds on the DVD, it was more like 10 minutes in the theater. Gave you a real feel for where these guys were about to end up Marooned -in-. The only thing I've ever seen on film that compares - and it's the reverse situation - is the ending of Electraglide in Blue. I'll never forget it. Thank you old time American cinema. These days you'd get commercials for your 9 dollars.