Recent decades have not been so kind in retrospect to the moon landings. That the money could have been better spent on fighting poverty and sickness on Earth, that whilst no great gains for mankind were made, rather this being a Cold War vanity project, and there is the popular theory that man never went to the moon and that the landings were mocked up in a TV studio.
Apollo 11 does not address any of the criticism, however, neither is it a propaganda piece. It consists entirely of archive footage, without voiceover, from the astronauts being brought to the rocket, to them facing huge jubliant crowds after their release from quarantine.
This is the strength of Apollo 11 and why I have given it a 10. It takes the viewer back to 1969, and whilst we all know how the mission played out, we are made to feel as one of the public back on Earth, watching as the mission unfolded, hearts in our throats. This is made more resonant by the incredible, crystal clear footage, really quite a feat considering it was filmed 50 years ago. I'd highly recommend to see this on a big screen if you get the chance.
I'd consider myself fairly sceptical of the moon landings, however, having taken me back to 1969, for it's duration, Apollo 11 made me one of the believers. Seeing the huge crowds gathered around Cape Canaveral, having grabbed a coveted vantage point and slept rough overnight, simply to grab a first hand encounter of this historic moment, we feel swept into the excitement, and the optimism of what may be to come.
In 2020, we are more cynical and divided than ever, so what gave Apollo 11 for me a big emotional punch, was to see the thousands watching the take off and welcoming the astronauts back during their coming home parades. We see what seems to be all the people on Earth coming peacefully together to say 'go for it!' and 'we are proud of you!' on their return. Even whilst there were Americans dying in Vietnam, or denied access in their homeland because of poverty or race. These are scenes I feel I will not be seeing in my lifetime, only the World Cup victory parades can come close these days.
Switch any cynicism off, believe and join this exceptional journey.
Apollo 11 does not address any of the criticism, however, neither is it a propaganda piece. It consists entirely of archive footage, without voiceover, from the astronauts being brought to the rocket, to them facing huge jubliant crowds after their release from quarantine.
This is the strength of Apollo 11 and why I have given it a 10. It takes the viewer back to 1969, and whilst we all know how the mission played out, we are made to feel as one of the public back on Earth, watching as the mission unfolded, hearts in our throats. This is made more resonant by the incredible, crystal clear footage, really quite a feat considering it was filmed 50 years ago. I'd highly recommend to see this on a big screen if you get the chance.
I'd consider myself fairly sceptical of the moon landings, however, having taken me back to 1969, for it's duration, Apollo 11 made me one of the believers. Seeing the huge crowds gathered around Cape Canaveral, having grabbed a coveted vantage point and slept rough overnight, simply to grab a first hand encounter of this historic moment, we feel swept into the excitement, and the optimism of what may be to come.
In 2020, we are more cynical and divided than ever, so what gave Apollo 11 for me a big emotional punch, was to see the thousands watching the take off and welcoming the astronauts back during their coming home parades. We see what seems to be all the people on Earth coming peacefully together to say 'go for it!' and 'we are proud of you!' on their return. Even whilst there were Americans dying in Vietnam, or denied access in their homeland because of poverty or race. These are scenes I feel I will not be seeing in my lifetime, only the World Cup victory parades can come close these days.
Switch any cynicism off, believe and join this exceptional journey.