The Bottom Line
Pros
- A thrilling real life space odyssey that's better than any sci-fi adventure.
- Up close and personal interviews with American heroes who walked on the moon.
- A travelogue that touches upon outer space and inner awakenings.
Cons
- None worth mentioning
Description
- Spectacular images of the earth from outer space.
- Fascinating archival and newsreel footage of the space race and Cold War.
- Intimate interviews with American astronauts--the only men who've walked on the moon.
Guide Review - In The Shadow of the Moon (2007) - Movie Review
Director David Sington set out to collect and record the personal stories of surviving astronauts from every flight to the moon. The result is an awesome, truly inspiring film that reminds us that human beings are capable of enormous achievements--we reached for the moon and we got there. Six times.
Ten astronauts share their recollections, commenting on the challenges they faced, the realizations (spiritual awakenings of sorts) they had while in space, their thoughts about each other and NASA's Apollo program, and their feelings of gratitude and responsibility for having what has been termed 'the right stuff.'
The intimate interviews are interspersed with NASA's archival footage--some of which hadn't been looked at for 30 years--of interiors and exteriors of command and landing modules, takeoffs and booster ignitions, and mission control in Houston. It is amazing footage.
Additionally, Sington sets the historical timeframe by using newsreel footage of President John F. Kennedy, current events, the Vietnam War and a wide range of reaction shots of moon shot watchers around the world.
There is an element of nostalgia. The space exploration period, roughly from 1959 to 1972, was the height of the Cold War--and the US and USSR were engaged in a hot race to space (and were also facing various other contretemps that are well chronicled in other documentary films). But, when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon--uttering his famous "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" comment--the entire world was united in awe and amazement. That's probably the last (if not only) time that sense of unity existed among human beings everywhere. That's something that strikes you as you watch In The Shadow of the Moon, and it really resonates when you think about and compare what is going on today.
