Movie review - "Countdown" (1968) ***

When most peoploe refer to Robert Altman's movie career they mean from MASH onward, but he made some interesting features beforehand. This was his first Hollywood feature - he'd shot some independent features, and a lot of television - and its really good. Certainly good enough to be better remembered today - but it deals with a ficticious first moon landing and from 1969 onwards I guess became dated. (the method of moon landing is very different from what happened - here a solo man is planted on the moon where he has to live until people come and get him!) Its a shame because Loring Mandel's script is typically intelligent with some strong characters and Altman gives the scenes life and verve. It's not indulgent or typically Altmanesque, just fresh and interesting.

James Caan is in good form as the astronaut who gets picked to be the first man on the moon, over the more qualified Robert Duvall (also very strong) because Duvall is a member of the airforce and they want to send a civilian for PR. The relationship between Duvall and Caan is first-rate; less good is the domestic stuff involving Caan and his wife: typical "you care more about your job than me". The ending seemed a little abrupt, but this definitely falls into the "unknown gem" category.