Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
Encyclopedia
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D is a 2005 IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

 3D documentary film about the first humans on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

, the twelve astronauts in the Apollo program.

Production

The film includes historical NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 footage as well as re-enactments and computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

. Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

 is the narrator, co-writer and co-producer. Magnificent Desolation is the third Apollo-related project for Hanks: he was previously involved in the film Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (film)
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...

and the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. The cast includes Andrew Husmann, Aaron White, Brandy Blackledge, Gary Hershberger, and Scott Wilder. The voice cast includes Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

, John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

, Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...

, Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

 and Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...

.

Score by James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard is an American composer best known for his scores to motion pictures. He is one of the most popular and respected composers for cinema, and has scored over 100 films...

 and Blake Neely
Blake Neely
Blake Neely is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, and author. His father was a rancher and his brother Tom Neely is an artist in Los Angeles....

.

The film was released in IMAX theaters on September 23, 2005. It was released on DVD on November 6, 2007.

Origins of title

The title comes from Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...

's description of the lunar landscape:
Aldrin: Beautiful view!
Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

: Isn't that something! Magnificent sight out here.
Aldrin: Magnificent desolation.

Cast

  • Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks
    Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

     as Narrator (voice)
  • John Corbett as Harrison Schmitt
    Harrison Schmitt
    Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt is an American geologist, a retired NASA astronaut, university professor, and a former U.S. senator from New Mexico....

     (voice)
  • Andrew Husmann as David Scott
    David Scott
    David Randolph Scott is an American engineer, test pilot, retired U.S. Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut and engineer, who was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963...

  • Bryan Cranston
    Bryan Cranston
    Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...

     as Buzz Aldrin
    Buzz Aldrin
    Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...

     (voice)
  • Aaron White
    Aaron White
    Aaron White is an NAACP Theater Award-winning American playwright, his most notable work being The Dance: The History of American Minstrelsy, which he wrote with Jason Christopher White . He also an independent music producer, as the owner and founder of In Tha Cut Productions.He graduated from St...

     as James Irwin
    James Irwin
    James Benson Irwin was an American astronaut and engineer. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing; he was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.-Early life:...

  • Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

     as Alan Shepard
    Alan Shepard
    Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...

     (voice)
  • Gary Hershberger as Astronaut Grace
  • Morgan Freeman
    Morgan Freeman
    Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

     as Neil Armstrong
    Neil Armstrong
    Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

     (voice)
  • Scott Wilder as Astronaut Wallace
  • Brandy Blackledge as Future Astronaut
  • Scott Glenn
    Scott Glenn
    Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...

     as Charles Duke (voice)
  • Rick Gomez
    Rick Gomez
    Richard Harper "Rick" Gomez is an American actor. He is known for portraying T-4. George Luz, in the HBO television miniseries Band of Brothers, and as "Endless Mike" Hellstrom in the cult hit Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete and Pete.-Movies:*Love Ranch - Tom Macy*Another Cinderella...

     as Alpha Station Commander (voice)
  • Colin Hanks
    Colin Hanks
    Colin Lewes Hanks is an American actor who is best known for his work as Shaun Brumder in the film Orange County and as Alex Whitman in Roswell. He also portrayed the role of Henry Jones in Band of Brothers and is currently on the sixth season of the Showtime crime drama Dexter...

     as Conspiracy Neil Armstrong
  • Bo Stevenson as Conspiracy Grip
  • Frank John Hughes
    Frank John Hughes
    Frank John Hughes is an American film and television actor best known for his portrayal of "Wild Bill" Guarnere in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, Tom Fox in Catch Me If You Can, Tim Woods in 24 and Walden Belfiore in The Sopranos.-Early life and career:A native of the South Bronx, Hughes...

     as Future Houston Capcom (voice)
  • Tim Matheson
    Tim Matheson
    Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...

     as Houston Capcom (voice)
  • Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...

     as Alan Bean
    Alan Bean
    Alan LaVern Bean is a former NASA astronaut, engineer, and painter. Bean was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. He made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12, the second manned mission to land on the Moon, at the age of thirty-seven years in...

     (voice)
  • Neal McDonough
    Neal McDonough
    Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...

     as Reservoir Commander (voice)
  • Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...

     as David Scott
    David Scott
    David Randolph Scott is an American engineer, test pilot, retired U.S. Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut and engineer, who was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963...

     (voice)
  • Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...

     as Edgar Mitchell (voice)
  • Barry Pepper
    Barry Pepper
    Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing roles like Sergeant Michael Strank in the Clint Eastwood film, Flags of Our Fathers, Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, Roger Maris in 61*, Ned Pepper in True Grit and for his recent role as Robert F...

     as John Young (voice)
  • Kevin Pollak
    Kevin Pollak
    Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...

     as Director (voice)
  • Julie Shimer as Future Astronaut (voice)
  • Gary Sinise
    Gary Sinise
    Gary Alan Sinise is an American actor, film director and musician. During his career, Sinise has won various awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed, and played the role of George Milton in the successful film adaptation of...

     as Eugene Cernan (voice)
  • Peter Scolari
    Peter Scolari
    Peter Scolari is an American television, film and stage actor best known for his roles in the television shows Newhart, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Bosom Buddies.-Career:...

     as Pete Conrad
    Pete Conrad
    Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. was an American naval officer, astronaut and engineer, and the third person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with command pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission, and commanded the Gemini 11 mission...

     (voice)
  • John Travolta
    John Travolta
    John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

     as James Irwin
    James Irwin
    James Benson Irwin was an American astronaut and engineer. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing; he was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.-Early life:...

     (voice)
  • Donnie Wahlberg
    Donnie Wahlberg
    Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television...

     as Helium 3 Commander (voice)
  • Rita Wilson
    Rita Wilson
    -Early life:Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California.Her father, a Bulgarian who worked at a racetrack, was born in Greece. Before immigrating to the US, he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey....

     as Beta Station Commander (voice)

Awards

On February 16, 2006, Jack Geist, Johnathan Banta, and Jerome Morin received the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Film from the Visual Effects Society
Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of...

 for their work on the film.

External links

  • Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D official web site
  • Preview: Magnificent Desolation by Jeff Foust
    Jeff Foust
    Dr Jeff Foust is an aerospace analyst, journalist and publisher. He is the editor and publisher of The Space Review and has written for Astronomy Now and The New Atlantis....

    , The Space Review
    The Space Review
    The Space Review is a free online publication, published weekly with in-depth articles, essays, commentary and reviews on space exploration and development. It was founded in February 2003 by Jeff Foust, the current editor, publisher and regular writer....

    , August 1, 2005
  • Review: Magnificent Desolation by Jeff Foust
    Jeff Foust
    Dr Jeff Foust is an aerospace analyst, journalist and publisher. He is the editor and publisher of The Space Review and has written for Astronomy Now and The New Atlantis....

    , The Space Review
    The Space Review
    The Space Review is a free online publication, published weekly with in-depth articles, essays, commentary and reviews on space exploration and development. It was founded in February 2003 by Jeff Foust, the current editor, publisher and regular writer....

    , September 26, 2005
  • Review: Magnificent Desolation by Robert Pearlman, collectSPACE
    CollectSPACE
    collectSPACE is an online publication and community for space history enthusiasts featuring articles and photos about space artifacts and memorabilia, information on past, current, and upcoming space events, space history collecting resources, and links to other space-related websites...

    , September 20, 2005
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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