The Mighty Saturns: Saturn V
Picture: C Sound:
C+ Extras: C+ Film: A-
Out of all the box sets
that Fox has released thus far of the NASA archives on the missions, the Saturn
V is the most interesting and most recognizable. This is an imperative part of the collection
as far as archives go and will fascinate any fan beyond belief! This box set is broken down into three discs,
which the first contains the main program, which is about 45-minutes and covers
the actual Saturn V rocket in detail.
The other two discs are the actual launches that incorporated this
rocket.
Disc One is a thorough
program that covers all the facets of the Saturn V rocket beginning with the
conception, design, development, testing, and the first launch of the rocket. There are also new interviews conducted with
some Saturn V vets. In total there were
26 men who flew this rocket and 4 of them had the chance to do it twice. This program is an essential part of the
space program and having this all documented on the DVD format is a phenomenal
accomplishment.
Disc Two includes the
Saturn V being used on four of the Apollo missions and is broken down as such
into chapters. First there is the Apollo
4 mission, which can be viewed from different angles and was the mission that
would test to see if this rocket could work since many stages had to be
completed during the flight in order for the mission to be a success. This is followed by footage from Apollo 6,
which can be viewed from Tower A and B as well as on board and from the launch
stage.
Apollo 8 covered is on
both Disc One and Disc Two, but can also be seen on the actual box set for
Apollo 8, which has been covered on this site.
This can be viewed from close up, medium, far, below engines, and various
other angles to give an overall perspective of the launch. Apollo 9 launch is also on Disc Two, which
includes similar angles as well.
Finally, Disc Three
captures the footage from Apollo 8, Apollo 11, and Apollo 12, each can be
viewed by tracking shots and static shots from various lengths and angles. They show the launch is its most glorious
stages and give such a marvelous look at the greatness of the launch. The power and performance of these
spacecrafts are astonishing and each angle is able to give a different feel to
these miraculous moments.
As with all the NASA
archived footage these are presented in the 16mm format and certainly show
their age, but just having this material is crucial and forgiving for any flaws
and damage in the source prints. It
would have been interesting to hear these launches in a 5.1 mix, but instead we
get a Dolby Stereo configuration that works suitable enough. It would have been hard to get a decent 5.1
mix without playing around too much and tampering with the material in order to
heighten the experience.
Also be sure to check out
the coverage on this website of the Mighty
Saturn’s 1 and 1B as well as the Project
Gemini. Fox is continuing to go
through and release this amazing footage from NASA and the goods keep coming. Fans and enthusiasts will be shocked at just
how educational and entertaining these sets can be!
- Nate Goss
