I had every intention of writing my own synopsis of this movie after seeing it at the local arthouse theater, the NARO. But after reading this, why bother?
Inspiring 'Moon' is the kind of film we need now
By MAL VINCENT, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 6, 2007
There is a moment in the stirring and informative documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon" when a French woman is interviewed on the streets of Paris. She looks in awe up at a television screen and says, "I always trusted the Americans, and I knew they couldn't fail."
We don't hear that often today, do we? Whether within our borders or around the world, it's not a common statement.
"In the Shadow of the Moon" is a film that is much needed right now - a reminder of a time when we did things right and at the right time. More than just a chronicle of America's moon voyages between 1968 and 1972, narrated by the nine surviving astronauts, it is a suspenseful and moving depiction of the pioneer spirit that once was such a major part of America's image.
The footage from archival NASA photography, much of it never seen by the public before, brings the moon up close, especially in that first landing. What we have here, at least outwardly, is the drama of nine men who went to another world and called the moon home for three days.
More than anything else, this film, directed by David Sington, humanizes for us a drama that still, after all these years, tends to seem quite mechanical and preordained - as if it were a triumph of machines, not men.
We hear the astronauts tell us what it was like, and, even now, we are surprised that they seem like ordinary guys. They talk about looking out the window and knowing that "death was only a half inch away" if that glass collapsed. They describe their mission in a spiritual sense, and at least one says he feels there must be a force greater than all this, whatever it is. Here, we realize that only 24 men have seen the full circle of the Earth from space.
It is history experienced at 26,000 mph.
The film, you might say, brings it all down to earth.
There is also the well-known historical outline. Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961 was followed by Alan Shepard's suborbital flight a month later. President Kennedy's eloquent speechwriters helped urge America to take the lead.
Most impressive, though, is the sense of wonder and humility that still possesses the astronauts. There are, for example, James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin contrasting today with their early worship of outer space.
"What a hell of a ride she gave us," they say of the space vehicle.
They saw the moon as a hostile place as they approached. Who wouldn't?
It is not all triumphant. There is the tragic fire during testing in which three astronauts died. There is the quite sobering realization of seeing President Nixon actually rehearse a speech that was planned in case the men didn't get back from the moon.
The producer is Ron Howard, who must still be shocked that he wasn't even nominated for directing "Apollo 13" and that the film lost its Oscar to Mel Gibson's "Braveheart." He may be compensated in this year's race for best documentary film.
Amid the many traumas of today's world, here is a 90-minute reminder that, yes, we can be pioneers and that we can win.
Yes, we are a good people, a people who have every right to our pride.
Why is it that we need a film to remind us of that? In any case, we do, and this is the film.
We don't hear that often today, do we? Whether within our borders or around the world, it's not a common statement.
"In the Shadow of the Moon" is a film that is much needed right now - a reminder of a time when we did things right and at the right time. More than just a chronicle of America's moon voyages between 1968 and 1972, narrated by the nine surviving astronauts, it is a suspenseful and moving depiction of the pioneer spirit that once was such a major part of America's image.
The footage from archival NASA photography, much of it never seen by the public before, brings the moon up close, especially in that first landing. What we have here, at least outwardly, is the drama of nine men who went to another world and called the moon home for three days.
More than anything else, this film, directed by David Sington, humanizes for us a drama that still, after all these years, tends to seem quite mechanical and preordained - as if it were a triumph of machines, not men.
We hear the astronauts tell us what it was like, and, even now, we are surprised that they seem like ordinary guys. They talk about looking out the window and knowing that "death was only a half inch away" if that glass collapsed. They describe their mission in a spiritual sense, and at least one says he feels there must be a force greater than all this, whatever it is. Here, we realize that only 24 men have seen the full circle of the Earth from space.
It is history experienced at 26,000 mph.
The film, you might say, brings it all down to earth.
There is also the well-known historical outline. Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961 was followed by Alan Shepard's suborbital flight a month later. President Kennedy's eloquent speechwriters helped urge America to take the lead.
Most impressive, though, is the sense of wonder and humility that still possesses the astronauts. There are, for example, James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin contrasting today with their early worship of outer space.
"What a hell of a ride she gave us," they say of the space vehicle.
They saw the moon as a hostile place as they approached. Who wouldn't?
It is not all triumphant. There is the tragic fire during testing in which three astronauts died. There is the quite sobering realization of seeing President Nixon actually rehearse a speech that was planned in case the men didn't get back from the moon.
The producer is Ron Howard, who must still be shocked that he wasn't even nominated for directing "Apollo 13" and that the film lost its Oscar to Mel Gibson's "Braveheart." He may be compensated in this year's race for best documentary film.
Amid the many traumas of today's world, here is a 90-minute reminder that, yes, we can be pioneers and that we can win.
Yes, we are a good people, a people who have every right to our pride.
Why is it that we need a film to remind us of that? In any case, we do, and this is the film.
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