Gene Hackmanwas the perfect symbol of resilience. The bookGene Hackman: The Life and Workby Peter Shelly reveals that during his days at the Pasadena Playhouse in the 1950s, he and his buddy, Dustin Hoffman, were voted the least likely to succeed. This only fueled his drive. He kept on pushing, alternating between roles on screen and Broadway. Luckily, the ‘60s turned out to be kinder to him. After getting rejected for a role inThe Graduatefor being too young, he was hired forBonnie & Clyde, a role that would earn him his first Oscar nomination. From there, his career stayed on an upward trajectory.
It’s often forgotten that Hackman once did a space-themed film in the ‘60s. That’s because science fiction wasn’t one of the legendary actor’s favorite genres. Outside theSupermanmovies, he rarely touched anything that wasn’t rooted in realism. Released in 1969,Maroonedstands out as his only propersci-fifilm. It didn’t perform well at the box office, but it had an impact on real life, predicting the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union).
‘Marooned’ Is a Standard Space-Mission-Gone-Wrong Movie With an Interesting Twist
Hollywood has taught us that space missions are more likely to go wrong than right.Marooned’s title lets you know exactly which side of fate the characters are stuck in. The movie has a claustrophobic immediacy, but first, we are introduced to three American astronauts — Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman), Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), and Clayton “Stoney” Stone (James Franciscus) — asthe first crew of an experimental space station on an extended duration mission. They’ve been here for five out of the planned seven months and the mission is beginning to stress them out. Soon,Buzz starts acting erratically, causing NASA officials to contemplate ending the mission early.
Unfortunately, things only get worse.The Apollo spacecraft’s main engine, labeled “Ironman One,” fails, and it’s soon established that the remaining fuel is neither enough to bring the astronauts back to Earth nor re-dock with the station and wait for a rescue team.This leaves the crew marooned in orbit. As if that’s not enough, we learn thatoxygen will run out in two days.
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Can NASA send a rescue flight before that happens? On the ground, bureaucratic games play out. The organization’s Director of Manned Spaceflight opposes using a U.S. Air Force lifting body because he isn’t sure of its effectiveness, while plans to set up a new crewed mission are opposed by various parties.
Eventually, the President intervenes andall normal checklist procedures and budgetary limits are bypassed to set up a rescue mission. The astronauts' wives are also brought in to speak to their husbands and witness the launch. But what would a movie like this be without more problems?
Fate takes an even grimmer trajectory whena hurricane heads for the launch area shortly before the mission begins.The heads are thus left with no option but to scrub the entire plan. In space, tensions rise between the astronauts. Thena Soviet Voskhod spacecraft suddenly appears.Exasperated, the astronauts know they will have to turn to their competitors for help. But the Soviet Union wants to win the space wars. Will their astronauts offer any assistance, or will they string the entire kooky American crew along before abandoning them?
‘Marooned’ Partly Inspired the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project and the Famous “Handshake in Space”
BeforeMarooned,cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union was considered impossible. With time, both parties realized that this needed to change. The bookThe Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Projectreveals thatthe Gene Hackman film was discussed during the planning stages of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
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At the time, both superpowers were looking forsomething that would serve as a symbol of détente during the Cold War.The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project was thusagreed upon as a way to achieve a peace objective and also develop and test the capabilities for international space rescue.
The mission consisted of three American astronauts (Thomas P. Stafford, Deke Slayton, and Vance D. Brand) and two Soviet cosmonauts (Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov). The two parties performed both joint and independent space experiments, including an eclipse of the Sun by America’s Apollo module to allow instruments on U.S.S.R.’s Soyuz to take pictures of the solar corona. The mission would lay the foundation for future joint American–Russian space flights like the Shuttle–Mir program and the International Space Station.
‘Marooned’ Is a Frustrating Film for Gene Hackman Fans and Space Buffs
Marooneddeserves all the praise for itsSimpsons-style foreshadowing. The film is also pleasant to look at… nowhere near Kubrick’s levels of brilliance but still great (who can ever reach Kubrick’s levels?). No wonderit won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. On top of that, it skillfully recreates the stifling feeling of being inside a spacecraft, with evocative set design (the actual boilerplate of the “Block I” Apollo spacecraft was used) and appropriate terminology. Besides that, the film enables us to view up-close the widespread morass of red tape and annoying backroom back-and-forth that purportedly characterized the inner workings of both NASA and world governments at the time.
Unfortunately, the sci-fi flickgets a few things about space (and space travel in general) wrong.How can a rocket produce a hissing noise when sound doesn’t travel in a vacuum? And how can an astronaut look directly into the sun and be okay?
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Several scenes in the movie also show various people communicating directly with the astronauts in space.According to the official NASA website, only CAPCOM (an astronaut) and astronauts' wives can communicate with the spacecraft. Members of the MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room) and AFLCC (Air Force Launch Control Center) can only communicate on the internal network or with backroom teams. Furthermore, the film doesn’t have a flight director, yet such professionals are essential components of any space mission.
Beyond that,Hackman’s fans will hate him here because he strays about as far from his signature “confident dude” portrayal as you’ll likely ever see.Buzz is as frustrating as movie characters get. Astronauts are expected to be calm and reliable, yet he is a ball of frustration, fear, impatience, and incompetence, all rolled into one. He makes many reckless choices, has endless emotional outbursts, and puts his colleagues at risk. Hackmanhas played villains before, but none of them match Buzz in their level of despicableness.
The character isn’t evil. He is simply annoying to the highest degree. Watching Hackman’s character here is akin to watching toddlers playing with fire. While it’s hard to excuse him as he commits endless blunders, we realize circumstances have driven him here, and if we are to channel any anger, we should target the screenwriter.
Hateable or likable… Hackman is still Hackman. Outstanding in the lead role, he anchors this under-exposed chiller with the intensity you’d expect him to. His rich characterization relies more on facial expressions than words, yet the complete range of his character’s emotions shine through with fragility and the ring of honesty. You won’t find many better performances in space films.
