Respectful, enthusiastic and occasionally rather touching as the men, now in their seventies, recall how it felt up there. Yet the really important question never gets asked: what was it all for?
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:107
Fresh:101
Rotten:6
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: Director David Sington poetically interwove 20th Century's cosmonautic history with its effect on the public's view of their country, their heroes and their future.
Rated: U [See Full Rating] mild language, brief violent images and incidental smoking.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:02-11-2007
Synopsis: Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. They remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON... Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. They remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON brings together for the first, and possibly the last, time surviving crew members from every single Apollo mission that flew to the Moon, and allows them to tell their story in their own words. This riveting first-hand testimony is interwoven with visually stunning archival material which has been re-mastered from the original NASA film footage – much of it never used before. The result is an intimate epic that vividly communicates the daring, the danger, the pride, and the promise of this extraordinary era in history when the whole world literally looked up at America. The participating astronauts include Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). Beautifully shot by Clive North in High Definition video, the astronauts talk directly to camera. They emerge as surprisingly eloquent, witty, emotional and very human. The producers Duncan Copp and Chris Riley spent many weeks in the NASA film library examining cans of film some of which had not been opened for over 30 years. This search uncovered many gems, astonishing space shots which have been re-mastered from the original film rolls to reveal the Apollo program with a visual clarity and impact it has never had before. The mute 16mm rolls shot in Mission Control have been laboriously lip-synced with the 16-track audio recordings of the mission controllers’ voice loop to re-unite the pictures and sound of many historic moments for the first time, lending a striking immediacy to many dramatic scenes. Editor David Fairhead and director David Sington have woven this material together with a beautiful orchestral score from composer Philip Sheppard to create a moving, nostalgic and inspiring cinematic experience. --© THINKFilm [More]
Starring: Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin
Starring: Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin
Director: David Sington
Director: David Sington
Producer: Duncan Copp
Composer: Philip Sheppard
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for In the Shadow of the Moon
David Sington more than makes up for the straightforward nature of his film with the quality of its interviews and plenitude of staggering archive footage.
A solid, engrossing affair intercut with footage from the time, including live coverage of that famous day in July 1969 when Armstrong and Aldrin first walked on the lunar surface.
A timely tribute to the 12 men who landed on the moon during the 1960s and 1970s. The remastered, rediscovered documentary footage is incredible, although the absence of Neil Armstrong is disappointing.
A bunch of old guys talking about the old days – but what old days. An absorbing doc from a filmmaker who knows a good story, and a handful of men who’ve lived the best story of all.
Stirring stuff, packed with as many beautiful images as portentous outbursts.
You probably won’t find a more comprehensive document of space exploration on film.
Thoroughly engaging documentary that takes a fascinating look at the moon landings using some breathtaking never before seen footage and some remarkably candid interviews with the surviving astronauts.
The heart of Sington's film is the dry humour and boundless humility of his interviewees.
There is something thrilling and moving in this documentary about the great era of the Nasa moon landings.
It's thoroughly crowd-pleasing, although it's weakened by a relentlessly earnest tone.
This wonderful documentary succeeds as a reminder of human endeavour.
The shots of the Moon, even after so many effects-heavy studio films have tried to recreate the look, are uncanny.
might also be called In the Shadow of Neil Armstrong because the absence of his towering presence in the film is a big, gaping hole in the narrative
The documentary would play well in a double feature with something on the four food groups.
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