Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

moonspinner55 The race to space gets heated between the U.S. and Russia after Russia announces a planned lunar orbit using three civilians; it's determined that just one American astronaut will make the pilgrimage to the moon, where he must remain for a year in a shelter until an Apollo mission can bring him home. The decision to send a geologist (James Caan) over a more-knowledgeable military man (Robert Duvall) causes tempers to flare between the two friends (Caan tells Duvall, "You've got the guts but you haven't got the brains!") and for Caan's wife to worry about his return. Early directorial effort from Robert Altman was one the filmmaker publicly denounced (his artistic vision was strait-jacketed by executive producer William Conrad, who shot additional scenes after production wrapped). While the project is certainly a curio for film historians, it isn't an exciting movie. Youthful Caan, Duvall and Michael Murphy all look terrific, and yet they all dress and talk the same--there's no personality in evidence before or behind the camera. ** from ****

caldon4523 This movie was released in 1968. By then, NASA had concrete plans on how they would put a man on the moon and bring them back safely to Earth. The screenplay of this movie completely ignored known facts at that time.1. Instead of using the Apollo space capsule to send the three men to the moon, the movie used a Gemini capsule. 2. The Gemini capsule was actually designed to carry 2 men. However, in this movie, only used one astronaut. I guess to save money, the director decided to only use 1 actor to sit in this Gemini capsule to go to the moon. 3. The Soviets beat the Americans to the moon; however, see how the first Soviet is found dead. Did he know he was going to die which is why he opened his visor to quicken the outcome?Two real great actors were used in this movie, James Caan and Robert Duval. However these two actors were so young during the filming of this movie they were actually unrecognizable. But, this would not explain why only 1 astronaut was used to go. These 2 actors were so new to Hollywood that they could not possibly command a high salary. I could write more but you probably will never see this movie.Chow...

sol1218 **SPOILERS** Made on a shoe-string budget "Countdown" is by far the movie with the best depiction of a flight to the Lunar surface then any of the previous "Flight to the Moon" films going as far back as the early 1900's. The movie went from science fiction to science fact in just under two years after it's release in early 1968 with the historic three manned Apollo 11 Moon landing on July 20, 1969.Trying to become the first nation to put a man on the Moon the US has NASA set a mission to the Lunar surface to beat the USSR. It's supposed to be done with the astronaut sated for that historic mission to be a civilian. Air Force fighter pilot Chiz Stewart, Robert Duvall,who was hoping to be chosen for the Moon Mission is terribly upset by being eliminated because of his military background. Stewart become very hostile towards his friend Lee Stegler, James Caan, a civilian worker for NASA for getting picked for the flight christened, or designated by NASA, Pilgrim One.Taking out his frustrations on Lee Chiz, who's in charge of training for the Moon Mission, does everything he can to have him wash out of the program. Not just because of sour grapes but because Chiz like Lee's wife Mckey, Joanna Cook Moore,feel that he's doesn't have the experience as an astronaut to handle this very dangerous assignment. On top of that Lee, being the egomaniac that he is, will end up getting himself killed on the mission because of his obsession the be the first man on the moon even if it kills him.Just days before Lee is to blast off there's news from the Soviet Union that the Russians sent a three man crew into obit and that it would land on the Moon before the USA planned Moon shot. That still doesn't have Pilgrim One suspended with those at NASA feeling that the news may very well be a rumor. To keep them form launching the Moon Mission, by the sneaky and conniving Soviets.Sent into space the next morning from Cape Kennedy in Florida Pilgrim One has major problems as it goes into the Moons trajectory because of a power loss during the take-off. With Chiz, at the controls at the NASA Space Center in Huston, walking Lee through the dangerous complexities of the space mission he makes it to within 200 miles from the surface of the Moon.On the Moon NASA had two weeks earlier landed and unmanned space shelter with a rotating red beacon that Lee is to first identify and then to land, as close as possible, next to it. At the shelter there's enough air water and food to last two months. It's then when NASA would send an Apollo manned space capsule to pick up Lee and bring him back safely home to earth.It turned out that Chiz and Mickey's worse fears were realized with Lee not wanting to have the mission aborted and sent back to earth, without being the first man on the Moon, taking his chances in landing Pilgrim One despite not really knowing if it was withing site of the NASA shelter. Which, with only two hours of air in his space suit, was almost curtain death for him. Walking through the unknown wilderness that's the Lunar surface Lee discovers that the USSR indeed landed a manned space mission on the Moon before the USA. Lee also finds out that the three man crew were killed as it crashed, instead of landed, on impact.With the air in his space suit almost exhausted Lee looking at his watch, which told him that he had only seven minutes of oxygen left, notices a bilking red flash reflecting off the glass back at him! Looking straight ahead Lee sees the NASA space shelter, which was Lee's only chance of surviving, with it's red rotating identification lamp guiding him straight to it.

zetes This pre-MASH Altman flick will probably be uninteresting to anyone who is not an Altman fan. Maybe a hard-core sci-fi fan would like it for the novelty, but, let me warn you, it is barely a sci-fi movie. It tries to be as realistic as possible. It is an interesting prediction of the actual moon landing, which would happen a bit over a year from Countdown's release date. As an Altman film, it is an interesting precursor to MASH, but it is a little bit too mainstream for Altman buffs. I don't know whether the conventions of an astronaut film were instated before this film or whether they were set up here, but you won't find anything that much different from Apollo 13 or even Armageddon. Most of the scenes include a bunch of scientists sitting in front of panels, with some cross-cutting between them and the astronaut, James Caan. There are a few inventive touches in the direction, including a cut that predates 2001's bone-to-satellite edit by a few months: Caan throws a baseball into the air, we are blinded by the sun, and an invisible edit takes us to the launching platform at Cape Kennedy. Actually, since 2001 was released only a few months afterwards, this film was likely buried under that film's glory (even though many despised that film upon its release). Also, another famous sci-fi film appeared around the same time as Countdown: Planet of the Apes. The acting may be the film's saving grace. Both James Caan and Robert Duvall give top-notch performances. So does Joanna Cook Moore, who plays Caan's worried wife. Most of the other actors are hardly distinguishable. Look out for Barbara Baxley and Michael Murphy, who were both in Altman's Nashville in 1975 (which I watched earlier this afternoon for about the fifth time).