This extraordinary documentary was featured at Sundance this year. Unfortunately I could not work it in but I am thrilled that it was picked up and is in pretty wide release. It is hard to believe that this incredible journey occurred nearly fifty years ago. It seems like yesterday.
The film opens with footage of enormous machinery transporting the gigantic Saturn V rocket to the launchpad at what is now fittingly Cape Kennedy. The monstrous rocket weighed in at six and a half million pounds! Let that sink in.
The beauty of this endeavor by director Todd Douglas Miller is that he exclusively uses the actual footage and actual narration throughout. Everything from the astronauts’ communications to launch control to Walter Cronkite’s unforgettable coverage are captured.
The calmness exhibited by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins is humbling. There seemed to be no fear in them whatsoever. There are communications regarding their heart rates at various key points in the mission, such as the “burn” to achieve lunar orbit and the initial lift off.
In ninety-three short minutes Miller takes us beautifully through the eight day mission. Fifty years ago we caught what we could on the televisions of that day but this experience brings so much more. It is startling to witness the sheer numbers of mission staff actively working throughout the mission. Managing such a colossal undertaking would seem impossible but it was done to perfection.
When you see it, and you must, keep an eye out for high profile people in the crowds at the launch. I caught several glimpses of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon along with Lyndon Baines Johnson, Spiro Agnew and more. It was a bit comical to see the young Carson standing in the Florida heat wearing a paper hat to shield the sun! Somehow I expect that sidekick McMahon, a former Marine pilot in WWII and Korea, convinced him to attend.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the music in the film. It is as close to perfect as you can get. Hats off to multi-instrumentalist and composer Matt Morton, who hails from the astronaut central Buckeye state. Morton caps off the score by inserting a tune actually played on cassette during the voyage, the perhaps little known “Mother Country” by John Stewart.
I caught “Apollo 11” at a 10 am showing and likely would have been alone in the theater were it not for three vacationing Dads who got their kids up early to witness this treasure. I can only hope that more Dads and Moms will do the same. If you are lucky enough to catch it in an IMAX showing all the better.
“Apollo 11” was nominated for the documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and won the documentary Editing Award. It is sure to be recognized come Oscar time next year.
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins returned safely to Earth on July 24, 1969, the day before my 22nd birthday. A thrill of a lifetime for so many of us.
