Return to Earth
VHS cover art
GenreBiography
Drama
Based onReturn to Earth
by Buzz Aldrin with Wayne Warga
Directed byJud Taylor
Starring
Music byBilly Goldenberg
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersRupert Hitzig
Alan King
ProducerJud Taylor
CinematographyFrank Stanley
EditorRonald J. Fagan
Running time74 minutes
Production companyKing-Hitzig Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseMay 14, 1976 (1976-05-14)

Return to Earth is an American biopic television film that originally aired on May 14, 1976 on ABC.[1] The film stars Cliff Robertson as astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Shirley Knight as Joan Aldrin. Based upon Aldrin's 1973 book of the same name,[2] the film dramatizes the emotional difficulties of Aldrin's life following his 1969 trip to the Moon on Apollo 11. The film was directed by Jud Taylor, and Aldrin served as a consultant.[3][4]

Plot

Based upon his own book of his ordeals, the film is the story of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, and the problems he had after the mission and his return to Earth, including the breakup of his marriage, his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism, and his hospitalization for psychiatric problems.

Cast

Production

Robertson's casting was announced in September 1975.[5]

Reception

The Los Angeles Times called it "decent, well acted, uninspired."[6]

References

  1. ^ O'Connor, John (May 14, 1976). "TV Weekend". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 928. ISBN 9783110951943.
  3. ^ Davidson, Bill (April 26, 1976). "Fact or Fiction?". New York.
  4. ^ Buzz Aldrin--in search of another moon?: Not the same Broadway Space-fiction venture Impact on Russia By Arthur Unger. The Christian Science Monitor 13 May 1976: 22.
  5. ^ Billie Jean King on Como Special Los Angeles Times 3 Sep 1975: g20.
  6. ^ TV MOVIE REVIEW: 'Return to Earth' on ABC Tonight Adler, Dick. Los Angeles Times 14 May 1976: f24.

External links

Films directed by Jud Taylor
Categories