Countdown (1967)

	Directed by: Robert Altman	COUNTRY USA GENRE Science fiction NORWEGIAN TITLE Klar til nedtelling RUNNING TIME 101 minutes
	Produced by: William Conrad
	Written by (based on the novel by Hank Searls): Loring Mandel

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Lee Stegler	James Caan
Mickey Stegler	Joanna Moore
Chiz	Robert Duvall
Jean	Barbara Baxley	-
Gus	Charles Aidman	-
Ross Duellan	Steve Ihnat	-
Rick	Michael Murphy	-
Walter Larson	Ted Knight	-

Review

This beautiful, patient Robert Altman drama combines the director’s unusually gentle attention to character with a thoughtful, historically attuned fable about the race to put a man on the moon. Considering the year of production (before Armstrong and Aldrin actually set foot on the lunar surface), Altman captured both the technical and thematic aspects of the story with impressive accuracy and elegance, weaving it all together with a sensible dose of suspense. In the rivalling leads, two talented character actors at the dawn of their careers – Robert Duvall and James Caan – blend a touch of arrogant youthfulness with a disarming respect for both each other and the medium. They bring a complexity to their roles that help camouflage the somewhat unbelievable prospect of NASA sending an untrained astronaut to the moon. Altman closes on a technically striking note, aided by William W. Spencer’s delightful cinematography, and the final shot – of a particular reflection in Caan’s helmet – wraps up this dynamic story in a artful, delicate manner.