Gravity has skyrocketed to the top of the UK box office charts this week, with stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney both smashing their own opening records. So in honour of Gravity’s meteoric success, we thought you might fancy looking at some of the greatest high definition Blu-ray movies to explore space, the final frontier.
Apollo 13 15th Anniversary Edition
Based on the near-fatal voyage of NASA’s space craft Apollo 13 during a lunar mission back in 1970, this movie is one of the most gripping and realistic space dramas out there. Tom Hanks stars as Commander Jim Lovell, the astronaut who immortalised the phrase “Houston we have a problem” after he reported a major technical fault which devastated his space craft. The film dramatises the epic race against time as the crew and NASA’s team at ground control fought to bring the team home safely. The high definition Blu-ray transfer makes this film feel like it was shot on location, whilst the special features on the 15Th Anniversary Edition includes an intimate interview with Ron Howard and Jim Lovell himself.
2001: A Space Odyssey
The last space movie to be shot before the lunar landings, Stanley Kubrick’s iconic and deeply philosophical masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey has set a gold standard for space drama since its original release back in 1968. The movie is set in the future year 2001, and imagines what might happen if an alien monolith was to be discovered on the moon. The amazing visuals and spectacular cinematography look fabulous on Blu-ray and the disc also features an intimate commentary with Kubrick, as well as several pieces on creating the artwork and special effects in this ground breaking movie. There’s also a feature that looks at the scientific aspects of the film and how the world did and didn’t shape up the way the film predicted.
Sunshine
Described as a “scorching new Space Odyssey” at its release, Danny Boyle’s intense space epic Sunshine was perceived by critics as the modern day heir to Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece. The movie follows the crew on board Spaceship Icarus II as the team complete a suicidal mission to reignite the sun and prevent mankind’s extinction. The Blu-ray is gnawingly intense with magnificent CGI and a critically acclaimed soundtrack. The bonus material is pretty spectacular too with over a dozen deleted scenes and a commentary which looks at the music behind the movie with Danny.
