Like a lot of the documentaries concerning the Apollo program and the moon landings, this one mainly focuses on the historical Apollo 11 flight, with men's first steps on our next door celestial neighbor. The narrative, the music, the picture composition are all heavily breathing nostalgia in the first minutes - and that's ok, given the 50th anniversary of mankind's giant leap into space.
The film soon gets much more interesting when it features rarely seen footage from the NASA archives in brilliant picture quality. Not just from the tests and flights, but also surrounding it, covering the training of the astronauts and remembering its audience that going to the moon was not just about flying a spacecraft. It involved a lot more, and this documentary gives a good glimpse into the immense research and preparation that went into the program. And that's why it's a little sad that so much of this film revolves around Apollo 11, while a lot of other aspects (like the development and testing of the lunar module) either fall rather short or don't get mentioned at all (like the lunar rover used on the later Apollo missions). I always find it a little sad and unjustified that the Apollo program in its entirety is overshadowed by that first historical landing, while all the other missions leading to and following it are absolutely fascinating and exciting in their own right, too.
Nonetheless, this documentary is worth your time and you'll get to see a couple pictures you probably haven't seen before.
The film soon gets much more interesting when it features rarely seen footage from the NASA archives in brilliant picture quality. Not just from the tests and flights, but also surrounding it, covering the training of the astronauts and remembering its audience that going to the moon was not just about flying a spacecraft. It involved a lot more, and this documentary gives a good glimpse into the immense research and preparation that went into the program. And that's why it's a little sad that so much of this film revolves around Apollo 11, while a lot of other aspects (like the development and testing of the lunar module) either fall rather short or don't get mentioned at all (like the lunar rover used on the later Apollo missions). I always find it a little sad and unjustified that the Apollo program in its entirety is overshadowed by that first historical landing, while all the other missions leading to and following it are absolutely fascinating and exciting in their own right, too.
Nonetheless, this documentary is worth your time and you'll get to see a couple pictures you probably haven't seen before.