RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Everyone who was alive and old enough to be out of the cradle on July 24, 1969, undoubtedly recalls precisely where they were and what they were doing at exactly 20:17 UTC (formerly Greenwich Mean Time) on that day.
More than likely, they were watching the worldwide broadcast of a momentous history-making event, as American astronaut Neil Armstrong left the Apollo 11 lunar landing module and stepped onto the surface of the Moon: the first human ever to set foot on Earth’s barren satellite.
And, it’s more than likely they can still readily quote Armstrong’s proud, stirring and memorable statement: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
America’s moon landing was like science fiction coming true. Everyone was amazed.
Those who were there and awestruck, and younger folks who weren’t around to witness this historic achievement, now have another chance to revel in that celebratory event — thanks to the new APOLLO 11 documentary, recently released to mark the mission’s 50th anniversary.
APOLLO 11 is an immersive observational documentary that uses authentic archival footage – much of it never before seen by the public – to record the mission’s stage by stage countdown to launch, the July 16th launch itself, the moment-to-moment developments at Houston Mission Control and aboard the spacecraft that thrust astronauts Armstrong, Edwin Eugene (Buzz) Aldrin, and Michael Collins beyond Earth’s atmosphere and gravitational pull, carried them through the void, into lunar orbit and landed Armstrong and Aldrin on the lunar surface. And then, to track the astronauts’ return flight to Earth, splashdown, and quarantine.
The previously unseen archival footage affords you an astonishing you-are-there experience unlike any other, especially if you see the documentary on an IMAX screen or in another very large-format projection.
This absolutely spectacular footage is more thrilling than any special effects you’ll see in sci-fi space exploration flicks — because it’s genuine, the real deal. Most of it was shot by super-talented cinematographers hired by NASA to chronicle every aspect of the historic mission – including not just all the tech stuff, but focusing also on human interest stories about the astronauts and their families, and the mood and reactions of the masses of spectators who traveled from around the globe to eyewitness the launch. The footage that Astronaut Buzz Aldrin shot aboard the spacecraft is so good that he was invited to become a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.
Director Todd Douglas Miller wisely eschews voice-over narration to let the archival images tell the story. The dramatic tension raised by the high-stakes mission is heightened by Miller’s strategic editing and by sound designer Matt Morton’s fabulous score: a mixture of actual audio recordings taken at the time and his original composition that sounds like it emanates from the high-tech mechanisms you see on screen. The audiovisual impact is visceral and marvelous, delivering high-stakes tension and drama even though we know that the mission was fully and safely accomplished.
Miller introduces historical context into the picture with the use of television news clips of Walter Cronkite and other prominent broadcasters reporting events of the day and commenting on their social and political significance.
But this documentary is primarily a tribute film, one that is filled with great appreciation for human ingenuity, fortitude, and courage. It is intentionally inspirational, and it is unapologetically nostalgic in looking back at a human endeavor that was, ironically, looking forward.
The sociopolitical context may not be this documentary’s strongest suit. The world was engaged in a Cold War that constantly threatened to heat up; times were very tense. The success of the Apollo 11 mission was a significant American triumph in the “race to space,” a full-on rivalry between the USA and the USSR to dominate the heavens. Western and Eastern bloc governments and their citizens believed that the superpower with the upper hand in space could (and would) rain nuclear warheads down upon other countries. People around the world were living in an atmosphere of fear that severely impacted their sense of security and way of life. Just think: bomb shelters, stockpiling canned food and other essential supplies in case of a nuclear attack; and even kids being put through futile hide-under-your-desk air raid drills in public schools.
Knowing more about the sociopolitical context gives increased importance to the clip of then-President Richard Nixon phoning from the Oval Office via Houston mission control to the spacecraft to publicly – with the eyes of all the world upon him — congratulate the astronauts and thank them for their service to mankind. Nixon was delivering a message that was more than polite – it was politic.
APOLLO 11 doesn’t present any of this background information. If you’re age 40 or younger, you might not get the full picture of this moment in history. So, look a little further.
You’ll find another perspective on the race to space in filmmaker David Hoffmans’s highly informative and entertaining SPUTNIK MANIA (aka SPUTNIK FEVER), released in 2007, 50 years after the USSR’s successful launch of the first space satellite. SPUTNIK MANIA is neither celebratory nor nostalgic. It uses archival footage and animation to show how the launch of Sputnik generated terror and paranoia in the American psyche and gave birth to the race to space.
The two documentaries complement each other and would make a great double bill. They may not be screening at a theater near you, but you can watch them on DVD/Blu-ray and they are (periodically) available on-demand on Prime Video. Make sure you see them on as large a screen as possible, and one with excellent audio. Remember, you really do want that you-are-there experience with APOLLO 11. Watching APOLLO 11 is probably the closest you’ll ever get to experience your own moon shot and landing.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: APOLLO 11
Running time: 93minutes
Year of Release: 2019
Genre: Documentary
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
Production Company: CNN Films. Statement Pictures
On-demand on Prime /video
DVD/Blu-ray by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Title: SPUTNIK MANIA (SPUTNIK FEVER)
Running time: 87minutes
Year of release: 2007
Genre: Documentary
Director: David Hoffman
Production Company: Varied directions
On-demand on Prime Video
DVD by New Video