Touches You

Good concept, poorly executed.

Crappy film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

America is desperate to get to the moon but the Apollo rocket is not ready yet. The Russians are set to send a team to the moon. In order to beat them, the Americans deploy a risky scheme for one man to fly the modified Gemini craft on an one-way trip to the moon. There he must locate a previously landed shelter and wait for the return trip when the Apollo rocket is ready. The Russian team consists of civilians and the White House insists on putting up a civilian of their own. Team leader Chiz (Robert Duvall) is passed over due to his Air Force credentials and Lee Stegler (James Caan) is rushed into training.There is a tension-filled space drama lurking here somewhere but director Robert Altman is unable inject any intensity. It's his first big budget theatrical movie. He does have some great actors giving some interesting performances. I am struck by Lee blowing up at his wife for lying to her about the risks. It seems like Altman may be more comfortable with the human conflict. He has nothing in terms of thrills or action or excitement. This is probably a wrong fit for him. The movie also ends before the adventure truly ends. The mission is not finished as far as I'm concerned. This is a partly movie and not the good part.

Desperate to reach the moon first, NASA sends a man (James Caan) and shelter separately, one-way. He must find it to survive; he cannot return until Apollo is ready.This film has been heavily scrutinized for being boring, dated and any number of other things. Critic Howard Thompson calls the film a "limp space-flight drama" which "makes the moon seem just as dull as Mother Earth". Some of this might be fair, some might not. Director Robert Altman, who later went on to big things, got the job through Warner Brothers' B-movie producer William Conrad (1920-1994). So maybe we are wrong to expect too much. (Although it is great to see such early performances from Caan and Robert Duvall.) Where the movie is and is not Altman's is unclear. The bulk is obviously his, but the story goes that Jack Warner (1892-1978) did not like Altman's use of overlapping dialogue, had him removed from the set, and Conrad shot some new footage. So how much did Altman get to edit into the final film?

A geologist(James Caan)working for NASA gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Since US government will not allow perhaps a better candidate(Robert Duvall), an "air-force guy", to pilot the PILGRIM capsule to the moon, a civilian is needed and Caan is their boy. It's all about beating the Russians to the moon and first-time feature film director Robert Altman takes the helm fashioning it into a matter-of-fact documentary type deal where we see how everything takes place prior to launch. The media swarm, the rivalries(Duvall's Chiz is indeed screwed out of an opportunity), how the families cope, the spent time before that fateful trip, the planning, the testing, the debating on who should be piloting the capsule..everything is shown to us so that we get a clear picture of what it is like in not only the pilot's life, but also those that worry about the mission themselves.I must say this film is exceptionally well made, with an intelligent approach which tries to explain to us the hullabaloo that surfaces at such a historic event and how that effects Caan and his family along the way. It all comes down to that trip, though, that really provides some suspense. It's a curio piece also considering it features Duvall and Caan in the early stages of their careers as well as seeing the beginning of Altman's reign as an unusual artist with his camera placements and how the characters speak to one another(there is some moments where people talk over each other during discussions mainly in the sequences where Caan is in the capsule nearing the orbit of the moon).

Looking at a film made 38 years ago (2006) about semi-reality was an actual bore. Forget Robert Altman made it (he is not that great during the next 38 years as Altman fans would have you believe) It was much more reminiscent of the soap operas of the time. I found nothing of any great interest here. The Duval/Caan game playing was lame and many of the other characters were overplayed. Yes, it is easy for me 38 years later with all the film and acting innovations that have taken place to make these comments but I simply was not entertained by the script/dialog/ and Altman's attempt at an auteur film. I will also throw in here I am not an Altman fan, or I would not spend money to see a film just because Altman made it. Michael Mann I would without question just as a comparison of my tastes.Duval is another consideration. I saw a film made in 1971 by Duval, which he claims, is his best work that was real 'art'. Quiet, simple, Wm.Faulkner 14 page tale of life in the Appalachians many years ago.This review is about Altman and 'Countdown'. The film is average at best and the auteur just starting an incredible career shows some flash of genius to come.