Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Matthew_Capitano This movie stinks unless you watch the MST3k episode which is very funny.Gene Hackman, Dick Crenna, and Jimbo Franciscus play uptight American astronauts who get 'stranded' in earth orbit. Gregory Peck, Scott Brady, and a plethora of other actors are in mission control trying to talk these idiots down. The film drones on and on trying to inject some life somewhere - anywhere. At one point, the wives of the space dudes show up to offer their men moral support just about the time the viewer is throwing a noose over the rafters.John Sturges directed (believe it or not).

Scarecrow-88 Three astronauts (Richard Crenna (in charge and tries to hold a steady resolve despite what his three man crew is up against), Gene Hackman (who spends an exorbitant amount of time holding onto his sanity), and James Franciscus (seemingly always held together, calm, and confident despite the obstacles before them)) are stranded in orbit around the earth after a mechanical failure to their retros leaves them stranded in space awaiting a hopeful rescue mission before their oxygen runs out. It will be up to an experimental craft (piloted by David Janssen who is vocally outspoken and assertive in his desire to save the astronauts which earns the ire of his superior, played by Gregory Peck) and a Russian cosmonaut in a capsule if the astronauts will have any chance of surviving. Peck, as the NASA man in charge of the space mission, encounters a number of ensuing crises he will need to avert in order to be successful in rescuing the three men trying to remain calm and docile so they conserve what little oxygen still available to them.I think Apollo 13 (1995) will come to mind when viewers watch Marooned (1969) as the plots are similar in ways. Astronauts "trapped in space" while NASA scientists and the "think tank" try and come up with a plan of action to save them is a ready-made plot which should be, you'd think, an easy sell for an audience. I have to say that I'm one of the majority critical of the laborious pace and clinical approach to the rescue mission; this film, as directed by Sturges, never quite finds that gear which engages and capitalizes completely on the suspense plot that might have, in different hands, been a home run. Still, the special effects and NASA assistance bringing an authenticity to the material (and presentation) are incentives to see the film. I think there's a good 100 minute movie dying to break out of the 130 minute running time. I think the cast is uniformly good…no breakouts, but I think the actors properly convey the frustrations, fear, and anxiety that come with the difficult situation that presents itself. Crenna's fate as he leaves the shuttle to make a "repair to the engine" (a share of dialogue between him and Peck imply more to this than what is presented on its face), Hackman's mental breakdown while talking to his wife, Franciscus' laid-back, all-smiles, psychologically sound astronaut who seems to take matters a bit more sufficiently despite the peril that remains an antagonist, the three wives (Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, and Mariette Hartley) trying to keep their composure during what is a horrific ordeal, Peck and Jannsen butting heads over what to do to save the astronauts, the 42 hour rush-job to scrape together a ship capable of leaving the earth and meeting the shuttle in space, a developing hurricane which might cause the rescue mission to be halted, and the astronauts in the shuttle trying to hold it together although they have every reason to be distraught provide plenty of melodrama that help to bring a respectability to the film, keeping it from being a total disappointment. This being made during the height of the space program during the 60s gives it some gravitas, and I think the dialogue and inner workings of those involved in sending men into orbit and trying to get them back safely is handled efficiently by the direction and screenplay. I think the film's main hurtle for newcomers is the running time and pace…it just shouldn't be such a chore and bore, considering the plot.

MissClassicTV The best thing about Marooned is Lee Grant. She's really wonderful in a tiny role as the wife of the commander.The worst thing about Marooned is that it's dated. Here's a sample line of dialogue that made me cringe: "Celia and I have been in this business 10 years. We learned that the best thing is for us girls to keep our feelings to ourselves and let the men get on with their jobs. Right, Celia?"This is a dramatic story about three astronauts stranded in orbit. Richard Crenna, the spacecraft commander, and James Franciscus, the science systems astronaut, are very good. I especially liked Franciscus. Unfortunately, Gregory Peck is kind of stiff and stoic as the man in charge. Gene Hackman is the Apollo guidance pilot and as he gradually goes crazy, I'm not sure if I didn't like his acting or I didn't like his character. Anyway, I did not enjoy watching him.The makers of this movie went to great lengths to be very accurate in their depiction of mission control, the Apollo capsule, costuming and such. Great production values all around. The storm looks really authentic too. It won an Oscar for best visual effects in 1970.David Janssen plays an Air Force colonel who wants to launch a rescue mission against all odds. He's the heroic senior astronaut on the ground who wants to fly the X-RV into space to save them. It's never before been flown into space so there are some inherent dangers. When it's finally launched, it's actually a pretty thrilling sight. It's a very quiet movie and the pacing is kind of slow. It's not bad, but overall, the movie had too much technology and perhaps too much realism - it needed a bit more storytelling and drama.

Theo Robertson A seventh month manned space mission by NASA is cut short by two months because the three astronauts show signs of losing their mental and physical faculties . On their return to Earth the astronauts retro rockets on the module fail meaning their trapped in space . The hierarchy of NASA have to find a way of returning their astronauts to Earth because not only the astronauts die but will probably mean the end of the American space program I was somewhat surprised this was broadcast on the TCM channel simply down to the fact that it wasn't a Western ! One wonders if it was shown to tie in with GRAVITY about to sweep all the technical awards at the Oscars on Sunday , if not pick up Oscar for Best Picture . Directed by John Sturges who gave us some classic American pictures of the 1960s and written by Martin Caidin who wrote the source novel that THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN was based upon , MAROONED was released 18 months after 2001 was released and you have to keep this in context when watching it in 2013 . The shot lengths are rather long and self congratulatory compared to what we would get nowadays the effects are impressive for the time and one wonders if the production team might considered making the film in 3-D if it was fashionable in 1969 ? From a dramatic point of view you can see it's obviously based upon scientific fact and not science fiction . MAROONED deserves great credit for this but again this might be a turn off for a modern day audience as mission control calmly talk to the astronauts in capsule about the dire situation who reply to mission control in equally calm tones . Anyone who wanted to travel in to space in the early years of the program was specially selected because of their psychological strength so this fact based but it does seem strange that what is being said is " Well chaps things are looking bad and if they don't work you'll slowly suffocate to death thousand of miles out in in space " to which the reply " Okay try and not let this happen mission control " as if the characters are discussing the menu in a restaurant . That said it is preferable than watching Ben Affleck and other Hollywood pretty boys throwing objects about screaming " Get me in to a damn space rocket " and other mock heroics MAROONED is a film from another era when humanity just achieved the greatest endeavor in human history by landing men on the Moon and safely returning them back to Earth . This achievement soon became quickly forgotten but this film is a time capsule of sorts celebrating the endeavor of space travel and the dangers involved and should be watched with this in mind