In the Shadow of the Moon
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 A look back at a defining time in American History A handsome, popular young president sets a goal for our country. It was a big goal. Although he didn't live to see the accomplishment of that goal, it did come to pass when he said it would. And it was a great moment in our history. Here we are reminded of that time. We see inside the minds and hearts of the brave astronauts who pioneered the greatest trip of our time. These were the men who made us proud and brought us into a new era. Highly recommended. Scarily moving I saw Shadow at one of the special screenings for NASA employees, at Kennedy Space Center, and it was undoubtedly one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. Before the movie, our Chief of Staff introduced it with a speech about how people wonder if our best days are behind us, if we're even capable of what we're planning, of reaching out and going to the moon again, to Mars, out to other places... he said that now we need to act to honour the legacy that the original astronauts left us, that he believes that we have what it takes, that everyone on-center is proud and has full faith in the NASA family as a whole. Everyone in the audience kind of sat up straighter, straightened their clothes, etc. Post-movie, we all applauded and then just sat there silently. It was one of those moments of eerie solidarity that you just feel. Call it cheezie if you will, but it's feelings like that that give me faith in the whole thing. Hell, in the movie the astronauts mentioned the same things, that they knew they could rely on the work that each of us had done because we were all driven and all together. It's that kind of feeling that will take us back to the moon. Beautiful and heartfelt It makes such a refreshing change to see a documentary that is not out to make a scandal, reveal a conspiracy, or trick people into making fools of themselves. This is a real treat, to watch a straightforward telling of the conquest of the moon, not from the technical perspective but from a very human perspective, using a combination of NASA photography, period newsreels, and most crucially, interviews with the surviving Apollo astronauts, with the exception of the notoriously reclusive Neil Armstrong. There are no tricks being used here in the telling of the tales - just fantastic lingering shots of the moon as seen by the astronauts, and their very personal memories, told with candour and warmth. We learn how human they felt - the `right stuff' persona is taken off for a moment, and we see just how in awe they were - and still are- of what they were part of. This is all put in perspective of not just the space race of the 60's, but the Vietnam war which some felt guilty to be exempted from. On a lighter note, we learn who was the first astronaut to pee on the moon, and the nervous moment when the moon land speed record was broken in the lunar buggy - at a breakneck speed of 18 kmh... It's hard not to be a little moved by the stories being told, and the iconic shots of earthrise and the surface of the moon will blow you away, as the unhurried pace draws you through the events leading up to and during the landings. Highly recommended. One of Best on Apollo This film is one of the best I've ever seen on Apollo. It's all the astronnauts themselves telling the story of what it was like to go through this experience, illustrated by some of the cleanest and most unique clips you'll ever see. One of my favorite bits - they've actually found footage shot of Charlie Duke at his workstation during the conversation he's having with Armstrong and Aldrin as they're landing - the famous "bunch of guys down here turning blue" bit. You finally get to see the Mission Control guys finally exhaling! Also, Buzz tells a very funny story about why he paused on the LEM ladder on his first stop down. . . I saw the film twice, expecting to be bored the second pass through a documentary, but instead found myself even more intrigued and more interested. Every space buff should have this, particularly if you want to nkow what it was like to be where these men stood. Matt Hurwitz | |||||||||||||
