APOLLO 11
*****
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
Principal cast:
Neil Armstrong
Buzz Aldrin
Michael Collins
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Country: USA
Classification: G
Runtime: 93 mins.
Australian release date: 18 July 2019
Previewed at: Palace Central Cinemas, Sydney, on 30 May 2019.
Honouring the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on 20 July 1969, Todd Douglas Miller’s Apollo 11 is a visual feast made up of largely original footage displayed in all its restored glory, so that audiences can either re-live the event or experience it for the first time if they weren’t around when it actually happened. Amazing, previously unseen, wide-format 65mm. images immerse us in the belly of Mission Control at NASA, inside the suit-up room with the astronauts prior to the launch and on board the recovery ship when the astronauts returned from the mission. Although this fascinating footage was recorded for posterity it lay undiscovered in the National Archives for years until it was unearthed while researching this significant anniversary. The archivists also had available 11,000 hours of uncatalogued voice recordings, so there was an abundance of original material to wade through. It was a Herculean task to sort through that audio, re-mastering it and synching it up with the available film footage. As Robert Pearlman, the documentary’s historical consultant, explains, “For the first time, you can watch flight controllers speaking from Mission Control and actually hear what they're saying because the audio has been meticulously synched with the corresponding moment in time.” The result is extraordinary, providing viewers with an authentic ‘you are there’ experience.
The footage is so pristine you forget you are watching film that is half a century old. The shots of the spectators are particularly interesting as the fashion of the times is evident, as is the manner in which people conducted themselves in the 1960s. There was an air of excitement and expectation that was unique to the event and it is estimated that one million people turned up to see the rocket take off. Another interesting aspect is in Master Control, where everyone seems incredibly calm and measured in their use of language, even though there was without doubt a sense of fear and uncertainty throughout the room. The three astronauts were incredibly brave, considering Apollo 1 had ended in disaster just before blast-off, and to observe their cool demeanour is inspiring. As we all know, however, it was a giant and successful leap for mankind, previously seen in Damien Chazelle’s First Man, another wonderful depiction of man’s successful endeavour to land on the moon.
Apollo 11 is truly thrilling. The action unfolds chronologically over the nine-day, 240,000-mile journey and the images and their accompanying audio are allowed to speak for themselves; there is no narration and no modern-day commentary. All of this is sublimely edited by Todd Douglas Miller and wonderfully augmented by Matt Morton’s appropriate Tangerine Dream-style score, composed on an original Moog Synthesizer from 1968. If you think you have seen as much as you need to about this momentous event, think again, because this is a compelling, outstanding and quite mind-blowing experience. Don’t miss it!
Principal cast:
Neil Armstrong
Buzz Aldrin
Michael Collins
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Country: USA
Classification: G
Runtime: 93 mins.
Australian release date: 18 July 2019
Previewed at: Palace Central Cinemas, Sydney, on 30 May 2019.
Honouring the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on 20 July 1969, Todd Douglas Miller’s Apollo 11 is a visual feast made up of largely original footage displayed in all its restored glory, so that audiences can either re-live the event or experience it for the first time if they weren’t around when it actually happened. Amazing, previously unseen, wide-format 65mm. images immerse us in the belly of Mission Control at NASA, inside the suit-up room with the astronauts prior to the launch and on board the recovery ship when the astronauts returned from the mission. Although this fascinating footage was recorded for posterity it lay undiscovered in the National Archives for years until it was unearthed while researching this significant anniversary. The archivists also had available 11,000 hours of uncatalogued voice recordings, so there was an abundance of original material to wade through. It was a Herculean task to sort through that audio, re-mastering it and synching it up with the available film footage. As Robert Pearlman, the documentary’s historical consultant, explains, “For the first time, you can watch flight controllers speaking from Mission Control and actually hear what they're saying because the audio has been meticulously synched with the corresponding moment in time.” The result is extraordinary, providing viewers with an authentic ‘you are there’ experience.
The footage is so pristine you forget you are watching film that is half a century old. The shots of the spectators are particularly interesting as the fashion of the times is evident, as is the manner in which people conducted themselves in the 1960s. There was an air of excitement and expectation that was unique to the event and it is estimated that one million people turned up to see the rocket take off. Another interesting aspect is in Master Control, where everyone seems incredibly calm and measured in their use of language, even though there was without doubt a sense of fear and uncertainty throughout the room. The three astronauts were incredibly brave, considering Apollo 1 had ended in disaster just before blast-off, and to observe their cool demeanour is inspiring. As we all know, however, it was a giant and successful leap for mankind, previously seen in Damien Chazelle’s First Man, another wonderful depiction of man’s successful endeavour to land on the moon.
Apollo 11 is truly thrilling. The action unfolds chronologically over the nine-day, 240,000-mile journey and the images and their accompanying audio are allowed to speak for themselves; there is no narration and no modern-day commentary. All of this is sublimely edited by Todd Douglas Miller and wonderfully augmented by Matt Morton’s appropriate Tangerine Dream-style score, composed on an original Moog Synthesizer from 1968. If you think you have seen as much as you need to about this momentous event, think again, because this is a compelling, outstanding and quite mind-blowing experience. Don’t miss it!