A documentary on the thrilling event that inspired Tom Hanks’ critically-acclaimed space movie is now on Netflix

The new documentary Apollo 13: Survival is now streaming on Netflix, and it tells the true story laid out in Tom Hanks’ 1995 hit Apollo 13. The Apollo 13 mission was a standout moment in American history, a disaster-reverse-rescue mission that captured the entire world for a week. On April 11, 1970, the Apollo space program launched its seventh crewed mission, meant to land on the moon. The mission was horribly damaged and was stopped when an oxygen tank broke two days into the mission, killing both the life support and the electrical system.

With their ship damaged beyond repair, the three-man crew—Commander Jim Lowell, Command Module Pilot John “Jack” Swigert, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise— are forced to abandon ship and transfer to the much smaller lunar module. Houston’s Mission Control quickly outlined new procedures so that the lunar module could support three people for four days, as opposed to the two people for two days for which it was designed. Cramped, miserable, and dehydrated, the three stranded astronauts could only wait while NASA scrambled to find a way to bring them home. Netflix’s new documentary, Apollo 13: SurvivalBrings that harrowing journey to life.

A documentary on Apollo 13 is now streaming on Netflix

It weaves tension with philosophical themes

Apollo 13: Survival has dropped on Netflix and is a must-watch for those interested in space exploration, history or disasters. The new documentary combines archival footage with interviews, as all good documentaries do, But still feels as visceral and suspense-filled as any fictionalized retelling of the events. Adding to the tension are well-executed entertainment scenes that explore what it was like for everyone during the ill-fated mission. Even more fascinating, Apollo 13: Survival Features never-before-seen footage, a rarity for an event covered and documented as thoroughly as the Apollo 13 rescue mission.

While there is not yet an official rating for Apollo 13: Survival on rotten tomatoes, Five critics’ reviews have been uploaded at the time of this writingAll of them fresh, giving the documentary an unofficial 100% rating on the review aggregator. In particular, critics praise the way director Peter Middleton weaves together suspense with human emotion. The reviews also touch on how the documentary incorporates larger philosophical themes while remaining a nail-biting clock countdown.

Tom Hanks’ 1995 space movie is based on the Apollo 13 event

Director Ron Howard tried to be as authentic as possible

The 1995 classic movie Apollo 13Considered one of the best movies of director Ron Howard, is based on the same Apollo mission outlined in Netflix’s new documentary. Of course, it is a somewhat fictionalized, dramatized retelling of the events. Not similar Apollo 13: Survivalbut, The Apollo 13 Movie is based on the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13By astronaut Jim Lowell and writer Jeffrey Kluger. Lowell, of course, was one of the original astronauts who lived through the disastrous Apollo mission.

As it was based on a book about Lowell’s own recollection of the harrowing event, Ron Howard and crew went to great pains to make sure the movie was as realistic as possible, Not only from an event point of view, but also from a scientific one. The cast underwent flight controller training as well as modified astronaut training. He even worked with NASA to secure the use of the agency’s infamous reduced-gravity aircraft (nicknamed the “Break Comet” by Apollo 13 actors and real astronauts alike) for specific scenes to accurately capture the look and feel of his cast in the astronaut roles looking and feeling like the real deal.

Apollo 13 is still considered one of Tom Hanks’ best movies

This is one of the greatest rescue mission movies of all time

As impressive as Tom Hanks’ long career has been, Apollo 13 Is all the more impressive that it is considered his staying power as one of Tom Hanks’ best movie performances. The movie was nominated for an impressive nine Academy Awards at the 1996 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning two for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. In the years since, Apollo 13 Has been selected by the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for preservation for being culturally significant.

One of the reasons for Apollo 13Its huge success was thanks to the cast it boasted. Along with Hanks, who played Jim Lovell, The cast also included Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Clint Howard, among others. In a twist that made it feel even more authentic, it also included cameos from a number of actual astronauts and people involved in the Apollo 13 mission. In that sense, it feels just as well-researched and meticulously detailed as Netflix Apollo 13: SurvivalAlthough using the real astronauts in a different way.