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| IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON |
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| Featuring: Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke |
| Director: David Sington |
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Distributor: Velocity/THINKFILM |
| DVD release: 12 February 2008 |
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Runtime: 110 min. (1 disc) |
| Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen |
| DVD Features: Languages (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English), Subtitles (English, Spanish), Introduction by Ron Howard, "Scoring Apollo," Filmmaker commentary w/ diretor David Sington, editor David Fairhead and archive producer Chris Riley, Deleted and extended scenes with over 60 minutes of stories from the Astronauts and never-before-seen footage from the Apollo missions, Theatrical trailer, Trailer gallery, Contest to win trip to Space Camp at U.S. Space & Rocket Center |
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This is one of those documentaries that really takes you back and gives you a sense of the times as mankind struggled to get to the moon. Director David Sington makes something new out of the old by letting the astronauts themselves discuss the Apollo missions. The decision to do it this way really humanizes the documentary, creating a nice narrative flow while getting firsthand accounts by the few men who actually stepped foot on the moon. In the Shadow of the Moon is at times funny, inspiring, even tragic, but always engaging.
The video footage itself is mostly familiar, with a smattering of new photography from the NASA archives. It ranges from President Kennedy's declaration to put man on the moon within a decade to the fire on Apollo One's mission, and all of the famous video of the men on the moon. It also portrays the state of America at the time: the civil unrest at home, the war in Vietnam, and the civil rights movement.
Even though you are indeed watching a visual medium, the most awe-inspiring aspect of the film is the passion with which these men speak of their accomplishments. They are proud men (deservedly so), and we should be proud of them. Though the music can be a bit heavy-handed when they speak, emotionally, the documentary never becomes overly sentimental. Overall, In the Shadow of the Moon really reveals the hearts of these astronauts as it informs and entertains. An inarguably good documentary.
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