karn (01/19/83)
Last weekend, while on a trip to the DC area, I saw Hail Columbia for a second time. As I was leaving, I thought that I might have been too hard on it in my review last month; I guess film reviewers always have to say at least one negative thing about a film in order to be credible. All I can say is this: If you see Hail Columbia once, you'll be ready to see it again very soon. It is simply FANTASTIC!! I went with two male friends, both older than I am (26), one of which had the guts to admit being moved to tears by the liftoff scenes. So was I, but then again I always go a little crazy watching launches, even on TV. (My other friend used to work on the Delta launch team, so it was old hat" to him.) I remembered a number of minor highlights this time. My favorite was John Young's reply to a press conference question something like "I understand you'd have trouble ejecting during the burn of the solids", which consisted of a shrug and "You just pull the little handle." I could go for another five showings of this movie myself. Phil Karn