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).
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).