In the Shadow of the Moon

In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
Dir: David Sington

Synopsis: Documentary about the US efforts to reach the moon.  Archival footage supports a TON of first-person accounts by those involved (mostly astronauts but also some of the support guys).


The Woman
eh. the music was a little out of control drama, drama, DRAMA, but it was cool to hear the stories from the people who actually lived it. i think it's pretty special to realize just how insignificant we actually are. on the whole though, i've seen better documentaries. they glazed over the difficulties and extreme problems that occurred with the apollo missions and tests. that kind of irritated me. i want grit and gore. i don't want all triumph and roses. the ending was a little out of control as well. american heroes disappointed in the way humans have treated the earth with our pollution and addiction to oil. MESSAGE.




MOster
I enjoyed this, and I learned about non-technical things in a pleasing manner.  The thread of the narrative could have been better though:  They spent most of the beginning in getting up to 11, then they got 11 to the moon and went on to talk (far too briefly, especially with 13) about the other missions.  But then they went back to some of the highlights of the missions leaving.  And then the epilogue annoyed me.

But the information was great.  The gentlemen speaking were all engaging and well-spoken and their personal takes (one particular item misted me a bit) were really neat.  The archive footage was also quite moving.  It included plenty of time with them actually inside the vessels as well as news footage (including the stock Cronkite) which made me feel closer to the civillians who experienced it.  Plenty of footage of launches and actual time on the moon was of considerably higher quality than I expected. I would think the film would be grainy, so there must have been some restoration going on.  There are many shots where the utter clarity of the vacuum makes it look fake.  I also got the impression that many of the people involved in these endeavors are much more humble than I expected.