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The fact that man has visited the moon is taken for granted these days, as if it's nothing special. For most who watched the event on TV it is probably just a hazy memory by now, and those born since have never been able to feel the pride it generated in countries around the world. This new documentary attempts to redress that by detailing the experience of the astronauts involved while giving an impression of the tumultuous events that were taking place on Earth. The sixties were a turbulent time - Vietnam, JFK's assassination, the American civil rights movement and of course the ongoing Cold War were all huge factors that shaped the decade and the years since. In the context of these the space race seems inconsequential, but In the Shadow of the Moon shows how the day Apollo 11 first touched down on the lunar surface, 20 July 1969, momentarily united the planet in celebration. It's tremendously poignant.
We are talked through the decade by the surviving astronauts, many of whom are well into their seventies by now but all remain lively and lucid, recounting myriad amusing anecdotes (Buzz Aldrin claims to be the first man to "go to the bathroom" on the moon) and incredible descriptions of what they personally experienced during the missions. Their emotional input is at once enlightening and enthralling, giving some small idea of how it must have felt to be pioneers of mankind. Understandably, most time is devoted to the Apollo 11 mission, but the documentary covers the whole Apollo programme from the day President John F. Kennedy announced that the USA would put a man on the moon by the end of the sixties to the last mission, Apollo 17. All ten men who take part are given plenty of time to offer their valuable insight, including Jim Lovell, played by Tom Hanks in the dramatisation of Apollo 13. The only notable absentee is the most famous astronaut of all, the sadly reclusive Neil Armstrong, and his participation is pretty much the only element that could have improved the film.
The star of the show here is undoubtedly the footage of the Earth from space and the moon landings. Director David Sington has sifted through the reams of archive footage and found the most pristine and beautiful examples that exist. The Apollo 11 landing, fuzzy black and white footage of which we are so used to seeing by now, is presented in stunning full colour and sharp detail. Indeed, much of the footage is of such clarity that it's comparable to a modern blockbuster, but the impact of these images is exponentially greater because these are real. Many of the shots, which Sington often wisely lingers on, are simply breathtaking. Uniquely for a documentary, the visuals on show here make cinematic viewing on as big a screen as possible enormously rewarding.
The summary
Humbling and awe-inspiring, In the Shadow of the Moon is a fitting testament to an extraordinary human achievement.
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