Hubble 3D

The spectacular new Imax film "Hubble 3D" will be studied by astronomers, academics and Hollywood special-effects artists for years to come.

It's a movie that not only puts you in space, but lets you travel through it with a speed and wonder that would make James T. Kirk go a little weak in the knees.

The 43-minute documentary follows the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis on its May 2009 mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble space telescope.

A 700-pound Imax 3-D camera came with them, anchored in the cargo bay, loaded with a mile of film. That translates into 8 1/2 minutes of footage to chronicle a 13-day mission.

The scenes of the astronauts walking in space, performing delicate repair work while wearing what amounts to oven mitts on their hands, has a certain suspense.

Narrator Leonardo DiCaprio works hard -- maybe a little too hard -- to muster up boyish wonder, though all the talk about tiny screws brings to mind the "Simpsons" episode where NASA shoots "blue-collar slob" Homer into space because the public has become bored with scientific minutia.

Director Toni Myers seems to recognize this, focusing the film's energies on powerful images both familiar and new.

Yes, we've seen shuttles blast into space before, but never with the clarity and snap-crackle-pop rumble that is captured here in both the close-up and distant shots of Atlantis' launch.

Where "Hubble 3D" really separates itself from previous Imax space movies is in the photographs taken by telescope, using its new wide-field camera and infrared eye.

These photographs, enhanced through computer-visualization techniques made by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, allow viewers to blast through the farthest reaches of the universe with a real sense of discovery.

We pass by Sirius, beyond Orion's belt and visit candy-colored "nests" of stars, each one a potential solar system. We fly through our own galaxy and witness the beautiful deaths of stars, their boiling cauldrons of gases radiating into space, each one a blaze of glory.

Here, DiCaprio's voice astonishment feels entirely appropriate.

It's impossible to view these solar systems and not feel a humbling appreciation for our own.

 

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"Hubble 3D" Movie Trailer

Through the power of IMAX 3D, Hubble 3D will enable movie-goers to journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings, and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASAs history. The film will offer an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescopes legacy and highlight its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves. Hubble 3D is an IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures production, in cooperation with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The film reunites the Space Station 3D filmmaking team, led by Producer/Director Toni Myers. Hubble 3D will blast off exclusively to IMAX and IMAX 3D theatres on March 19th, 2010.

 

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MPAA rating: G.

Running time: 0:43.

Featuring: Shuttle commander Scott D. Altman, pilot Gregory Johnson, mission specialist K. Megan McArthur.

Credits: Directed and produced by Toni Myers. An Imax and Warner Bros. Pictures release.