Objectif Lune

"Countdown," Robert Altman's first theatrical release, is the only film I've seen by the prolific director that feels nothing like an Altman project. A bit of history surrounding it reveals that Altman battled the studios over creative control, and that the final version of the film exists more as a product of the studio than of the auteur. Never again, for better or worse, would Altman relinquish control of his films, a tenacity that won him an instantly recognizable style not afforded to many other directors.

So "Countdown" isn't terribly interesting formally and feels like it could have been directed by anybody, but that's not to say it isn't an interesting movie. Released a year before man actually landed on the moon, it provides a remarkably accurate guess at what such a feat would look like, and the film is played with conviction by a strong cast of actors led by James Caan, Robert Duvall and Michael Murphy. Duvall and Murphy would appear again in "MASH," and Murphy would go on to become an Altman regular. Barbara Baxley, known to Altman devotees as Haven Hamilton's wife in "Nashville," fulfills wifely duties in this film as well, though women may as well not even exist for all the attention the screenplay affords them.

As a studio film, "Countdown" isn't half bad. As an Altman film, it's one of his weakest. But nevertheless, it's well worth seeking out, especially for fans of the iconoclastic director.

Grade: B-

I've just got to throw my 2 cents in. I thought the Countdown was an excellent movie. The acting is what carries it for sure, but the special effects aren't bad either for the time period.

I've seen Apollo 13 with Hanks and I thought this picture did a better job of portraying tension, ( although fictitious ) within the capsule. Robert Duvall is a superior actor as is James Caan. The overall dismay he portrays when not picked for the mission, and the subsiquent attempt to discredit Caan is great acting!

A moving and exciting space opera with great cast , adequate production design and nail-biting final scenes . Concerning the preparatives, training , emotional crises affecting the men and their families and mutual competence between two astronautas : James Caan, Robert Duvall. At the end there is a bone-crushing last reel that will have on the edge of your seat .The motion picture that puts a man on the moon ... and you will follow every terrifying second of the way...From the director of The Player and Nashville comes a screen space adventure that's the Real Suff .

This is the personal drama of the man fate picked to live the great adventure of the century , resulting to be a nice thriller/drama/Scifi with overlapping dialogue , dealing with American astronauts being rushed out to the moon in an attempt to beat the Russians. This is a drama more than a thriller , concentrating less on Sci-Fi hardware than on emotional crises affecting the men and their families . Here there are three major talents connected with this science-fiction thriller , as Robert Altman , and Robert Duvall , James Caan went on to appear together in The " Godfather" by Francis Ford Coppola and " Killer Elite" by Sam Peckinpah , while director went on his own fame and fortune , all of them : Duvall, Caan, Altman were all on the theshold of their hugely successful careers . Moreover , including a rousing and twisted finale that will leave you breathless. Starring duo are well accompanied by a very good support cast , such as : Steve Inhat , Joanna Moore, Barbara Baxley, Michael Murphy , Charles Aidman and uncredited actor/producer William Conrad as a TV newscaster , among others.

It contains an atmospheric and functional cinematography by William Spencer. As well as a rousing and suspenseful musical score by Leonard Rosenman in Jerry Goldsmith style .This is most uncharacteristic of its filmmaker and the ethereal qualities of his later work, though being slightly soapy in parts . This one was made before MASH and subsequently Altman to develop a prolific and successful career . After his television works , first film's Altman was in 1957 The James Dean Story , following this Countdown 1967 , the big hit MASH and a series of successes and some flops , such as : That Cold Day in the Park, McCabe and Mrs Miller , Images , The Long Goodbye , Thieves like us , California Split , Nashville , Buffalo Bill and the Indians , 3 Women , A Wedding , A perfect Couple , Health , Quintet, Popeye , Secret Honor , Streamers , Fool for Love , Beyond Therapy , Aria , Short Cuts , Kansas City, The Gingerbread Man , Dr T and the women , Gosford Park, The Company , among others .

Released two months before '2001: A Space Odyssey', and on a soap opera scale compared to that, 'Countdown' comes from a time when movies didn't have to have huge budgets, big stars or auteur directors to get national distribution: I saw it as a second feature (remember them? - to 'Ice Station Zebra', I think, a far worse movie) in one of the now defunct three small cinemas in my home town. It's pretty formulaic, with a 'time clock' plot, a little bit of character play, a fair bit of topicality, and for its time and budget, a reasonable stab at gritty space realism, compared to the stagey, squeaky 'Star Trek' universe that had boldly gone on TV only two years before, and Kubrick's tour de force that was to follow shortly. Interesting as a snapshot of cinema history, with a director and lead actor (and Robert Duvall) who went on to join the A-list, which nobody knew about then. They don't make 'em like this any more; or if they do, they go straight to DVD.

James Caan and Robert Duvall starred in a bunch of films together. This one shows them landing on the moon, two years before we actually did. President Kennedy had challenged the U.S. scientists to get us to the moon before the russians, not because it was easy, but because it was hard, and would challenge us to meet the best of our skills and abilities. Ted Knight is in here as "Walter", a couple years before Mary Tyler Moore. also small, uncredited appearances by Mike Farrell and William Conrad. suspense and adventure. just before it happened in real life. some added competition between the astronauts, which probably wasn't really there. i get that so much was unknown at this point, but they have added in arguing and competition where there probably wasn't. who knows. it's okay. Directed by Robert Altman, who had been repeatedly nominated for an oscar, and received it for a lifetime achievement of inspiring work .... think M*A*S*H.