ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Back in July of 2010 I watched this movie from Netflix, and for some strange reason, I did NOT like it!

That seems pretty weird to me now.

However, recently I received a fine copy from an All Sci-Fi member and I watched it again. My second viewing convinced me that it is a great movie. I absolutely loved it.

Go figure.

If you've watched Moon and didn't like it, please watch it again.

Bud

[Bongopete]

I thought it was a great movie using a rather limited budget. Great miniature work, so sadly lacking these days with film makers so in love with cgi.

[Randy]

Yes, I am a great fan of this movie and have watched it several times.

[Bud Brewster]

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Interesting trailer for this skillfully made film. Enjoy!

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_________________________ Moon - trailer

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

I recently bought the Blu-ray edition because I liked it so much.

(That poster makes a nice moiré effect when I scroll my monitor.)

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Edit 10 June 2018: Replaced "??" characters.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Krel]

https://my.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk/cityvision/watch/billpearson

Bill Pearson talking about working in the TV/Movie industry, including how he got the job making the models for "Moon".

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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Hey, I forgot about this until I read the IMDB trivia items for this movie.
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Many of the "girlie" pictures taped next to Sam Bell's bathroom mirror are by the classic American pinup artist Gil Elvgren (1914-1980).
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I've bought the Gil Elvgren calenders every year for almost a decade.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

For some reason this movie reminded me of DARK STAR.

[orzel-w]

I watched my Blu-ray again tonight. My one gripe about the movie is a common flaw in sci-fi moon movies. Indoors they have normal Earth gravity. Outdoors it's normal Lunar gravity. It's as though atmosphere affects gravitational force.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

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That's an interesting observation, Wayne, and it started me thinking, "Why is it harder to portray low gravity on the Moon when people are indoors than it is to portray zero gravity in space?"

Naturally I'm talking about today's movies, not the 1950s when movies set in space handled zero gravity by putting magnetic boots on the astronauts (as in Destination Moon and Conquest of Space), or by inferring that the spaceship had artificial gravity (like It! The Terror from Beyond Space and Forbidden Planet).

These days, Hollywood can portray flawless zero-gravity scenes by putting the actors on wires and then digitally removing the wires from the frame.

Oddly enough, low gravity scenes for astronauts on the lunar surface are easy to do. We know what people look like when they're moving around on the Moon because we've seen them in Apollo videos!

They just bounce in slow motion. Simple.

In From the Earth to the Moon, the great 1998 miniseries, the actors just bounced around, and the camera shot the scenes at a faster speed than normal, making them bounce in slow motion.

Ta-daaaa! Lunar gravity!

But in Moon . . . Sam Rockwell was indoors most of the time. We have have no idea how lunar colonist will look when they walk around inside the buildings on the Moon. The Apollo astronauts bounced (despite the heavy spacesuits) because it was easier than walking.

But how will people move around inside the buildings on the Moon when the gravity is 1/6 that of Earth. Without the heavy spacesuits, they could easily bounce all the way up to the ceiling . . . which would NOT be good!

So the question is, how was Sam Rockwell supposed to move around inside the Moon base? If he bounced around like Apollo astronauts in slow motion, he'd look kind of silly. And Moon is not a silly movie by any means.

I guess the best answer to the problem the one the producers used. Ignore the low gravity and just tell the sad story.

What do you think, Wayne?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

[Bud Brewster]

[orzel-w]

Moving horizontally in reduced gravity is affected by traction. Traction is essentially friction between the foot or shoe and the floor (or "where the rubber meets the road"). Friction is dependent on the force (gravity) pressing the foot/shoe/tire against the surface. So you need to insure that you have enough traction for starting and stopping. It's like driving a car in wet or icy conditions.

Getting back to movie depictions of reduced gravity, the use of slow motion is probably the cheapest method. That is, as long as the actors don't have to be shown talking. Inside a spacesuit it's easy, because you don't see their mouths, unless it's in close-up, where you don't see them bouncing around. So you revert to normal speed for the close-ups.

Indoors, it's not so easy. They're not wearing helmets that obscure their mouths, and that's usually where the most dialog takes place. So if you're restricted by budget, you shine-on the gravitational considerations.
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WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

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You seem to be saying that people walking around inside a moon base would have to walk slowly so they wouldn't slip and fall down.

If weight were all that crucial to the traction a person needs to walk, wouldn't short skinny people have more trouble starting and stopping than big, burly football players? (Yes, I know — a bigger person has more inertia acting on them, so they need more traction to stop. Okay, let's table that thought and try another one.)

How 'bout this. Little children's feet have less weight on them and less surface area on the soles of their shoes. They don't, however, slip and slide any more than their parents. (Again, the effect of inertial should be considered again, so I haven't made a strong argument yet.)

Consider this. A good pair of rubber sole shoes on a floor with a hard surface would have plenty or traction. If what you described is true on the Moon, high-traction rubber soles would solve the problem.

Actually, I think people walking on the Moon would take slightly longer strides and actually have both feet off the ground for a brief time if they were in a hurry and not walking at a normal speed.

That would suggest they'd walk faster rather than slower.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]