Year: 2019
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
You are probably going to get pretty ‘mooned out’ over the next week or so as the 50th Anniversary of the day that man first set foot on another world arrives. So before that happens I urge you to go and catch ‘Apollo 11’ at you closest IMAX type screen. Like myself, you may have already seen and or owned previous documentaries on the Apollo 11 missions like ‘For All Mankind’ or ‘Moonwalk One’ but this is pure adrenaline in cinematic form.
The brilliance is in its minimalism – there are no talking heads, recent interviews, dumbing down commentary by Morgan Freeman or, god forbid, conspiracy theorists. Eggsy and Maggot from Goldie Lookin Chain don’t pop up to say what they think about space. The director, Todd Douglas Miller, said they had a rule that if it didn’t happen live on that particular day, at that particular time then it wasn’t going in the film. Only a couple of audio interview snippets with Aldrin, Armstrong & Collins during the pre flight footage help with a bit of scene setting. Otherwise there is wonderful images of the crowds gathering by and miles away from the launch site, the bleachers slowly filling on a hot summer day – button down 60s suburbia mixing with store bought hippie chic & literal rose tinted shades.
Despite this being a well worn story where you might assume you have seen all of this footage many times before it appeared fresh as if it was filmed yesterday and slight different angles and avoiding the usual choices make it new again. The score is subtle enough not to swap the visials with the last seconds before lift off a heartbeat pulse. The power and force of the take off both visually and aurally as the Saturn V rocket slowly tears itself from the bonds of earth still amazes.
The only other audio throughout is from Houston, the astronauts and a guest appearance by videolink by Richard Nixon whose ‘this must be the greatest message ever relayed from the White House’ feels oddly Trumpian. There is plenty of revealing audio snippets between earth and Apollo plus technical reports that add colour and obviously fill the gap between take off and moon where very little footage of the vehicles exist. Tricky manouveres, burns and acceleration are illustrated with sound, onscreen data and musical cues ramping up the tension. Even with the knowledge that nothing unfortunate will happen at these key moments the feeling of peril is still there.
The landing and first steps are still spellbinding with some great and often amusing audio and film snippets before they head home. The events in Houston are similarly told with simple captions for the main characters and mission controllers. Its a film that expects a little intelligence and foreknowledge from the viewer but even if you have no idea who there people are its makes no odds.
Only showing at large or IMAX screens around the country for a short time – get off your arse, climb into a comfy reclining seat elsewhere and prepare to be dazzled
Might appeal to people who enjoyed:
For All Mankind, Moonwalk One, Apollo 13, Space Camp, Flight Of The Naigator, Star Wars, Button Moon
Tintin On the Moon, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Day Out, The Clangers, Doctor Who and Brian Eno
Yep saw it last night. Not IMAX sadly but still, the jaw-dropping, beautifully restored footage isastounding, looking like it could have been filmed last year.
As a nine year old I had the commemorative double 7-inch single of all the famous dialogue with Mission Control. I’m sure I never got rid of it and it’s in the vinyl box in the loft. I was practically lip-synching with the movie in places 🙂
Love Aldrin’s insouciant gag on stepping down to join Armstrong on the surface.
That was the great thing – we’ve all seen Armstrong’s descent and can probably recite it by heart but Aldrin’s is never shown. There was a big laugh for the heart rate announcements too
Yes! The cinema erupted for that.
Although you know they make it, I thought extra spice was added by Michael Collins’ moustache, as it made him look like the character in seventies films who’s not making it to the end of the movie alive.
I’m already looking forward to seeing this again.
(Terrific review, btw)
As a six year old, not a nine year old, of course. Do you think I’m old or something?
Looks brilliant.
Looking forward to this. Watched First Man recently and that is utter shite.
I saw a very amusing photo of the moon landing a while ago where there are several arrows discussing the seemingly impossible angle of the shadows etc. In the foreground is a Clanger poking his head out of a crater, looking on. This is not referred to at all.
I made the mistake of posting it on Facebook. A mansplaining relative pointed out the photo was a fake and alerted me to the presence of the Clanger as evidence because I might have missed it. I thanked him for pointing it out. Then he and another mansplaining relative discussed at length the “very strong evidence” that the whole thing was staged. Sheesh.
The factor that always blows away the moon conspiracy theories for me is Russia.
It was a Space Race. The Russians had scored two of the first goals and were desperate for the sealing hat-trick. A set of disastrous fatal accidents they hushed up for decades ended that dream.
Tens of thousands of people worked on the Apollo project. Like the Manhattan Project you can bet that a percentage of those were passing info to the Russians about every aspect of the work. If there was even a sniff of a hint about the project not being real the Russians would have made do much noise about it to drown out a Saturn V.
But they didn’t and even tried to upstage the Apollo landing by firing their own craft at the moon – it crashed
Did not know that DFB – got any useful links / books perchance?
The BBC Series ‘The Space Race is all on YouTube- pretty good overview of the subject
“Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
That’s not my department!” says Wernher von Braun”
https://youtu.be/xcLphSY8PX0
On it like a Shakespear sonnet. Ta.
The 26 episodes of The Clangers fall entirely between the first and last moon landings … it had to be, otherwise how could they have been filmed?
It’s the main reason for the race to get there – to film The Clangers and learn from them. After a couple of years it became clear they weren’t an advanced super-race after all but just a bunch of whistling idiots.
It wasn’t the race for space but the race for soup with Heinz and Campbell’s competing to exploit the soup wells with no thought for the indigenous Soup Dragon or Clangers. Typical colonialists. Heinz were definitely in the lead at one time, having the advantage of Telstar until Campbell’s condensed their efforts.
A great review! I saw it yesterday and was transfixed throughout. I’ve watched dozens of documentaries on Apollo over the years but this had so much I hadn’t seen before. I particularly liked the scenes of the crowds awaiting the launch and some of the stills from the moon were incredible.
A great account of the mission is Michael Collins Catching the Fire, it’s one of the best books on Apollo I’ve read.
The Collins book is the right answer – the best of a heap of great books. I’d also recommend Moondust: In Search of The Men Who Fell to Earth by Andrew Smith. A slightly different take on the men who walked on the moon
Yes Moondust is great
Anybody else been listening to the world service podcast “13 minutes to the moon”? Its really good.
Sooner or later the Americans or Chinese will go back to the moon.
I really, REALLY hope a seat is offered to a prominent conspiracist….preferably live on camera.
Watch them shit their pants.
This just out over there? Saw it about 5 months ago, thought it was brilliant.
The podcast 13 minutes to the moon has some good bits too (some 0F the presentation leaves me cold)
More space facts, I’ve got loads of ’em …
Space Oddity’s release was Friday, 11th July 69.
Star Trek was first broadcast in the U.K. on Saturday, 12th July 69 … the last of all 79 original episodes having already been broadcast in the U.S. on Tuesday, 3rd June 69.
The BBC only started playing Space Oddity after the Apolo 11 crew returned safely to Earth, in contrast to the character in the song.
Its noticeable in the film that Spiro Agnew & former president Johnson attend the launch but Nixon only pops in when the guys are on the moon
If you are ever in Houston, go to the Johnson Space Center, and take the pricey tour, the one you book in advance.
You get the behinds-the-scene stuff, including access to the actual Apollo Mission Control room, which when we were there hadn’t been restored yet and looked like a ransacked office. A decent lunch, with an astronaut if there’s one around, as well as a trip to the grover where they have the trees planted for the fallen.
Worth every cent I spent on it for my Dad’s birthday
Thanks for the review. On the back of this I had the rare opportunity to go to the cinema with my wife and daughter(twenty-six years). It’s been about fifteen years since we all went together.
I thought the film was ecxellent and my wife and daughter enjoyed it too.
It made me think –
I wonder if I’ll be around to see the Mars landing?