Movie Review: Apollo 11

 

Apollo 11 *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Todd Douglas Miller.

 

It is somewhat remarkable that Apollo 11 exists at all. Director Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary is made up entirely of footage shot in 1969 by NASA and others, documenting the moon landing, that laid in the National Archives for decades, unprocessed and unseen. Once the filmmaker and his team realized what they had, they did everything they can to restore the footage to its natural luster – and they really have done a remarkable job. You really should see Apollo 11 in a theater – the footage is remarkable, as is the sound design, and the score. Seriously, if you have any desire at all to see this documentary, get yourself to a theater – this has got a very wide release by documentary standards – and it is how it deserves to be seen. Much of its power – much of the reason to watch it – will be lost on a regular TV screen.

 

The best scenes in Apollo 11 are – for me – the opening ones, when the sheer size and scope of the work that needed to be done to send three men to the moon becomes clear. The massive equipment used to put everything in place, the hundreds upon hundreds of people working in control rooms, and on the shuttle itself. All the people, who travelled from across America just to see the shuttle lift off from Florida. The documentary brings all that to life in this footage they have found – and all the audio they find as well. It brings into focus just how massive the national effort was, and the pride felt in America at that time because of that national effort.

 

Once the lift off happens – and most of the rest of the movie takes place in space itself – I will admit Apollo 11 isn’t quite as interesting as a film. The footage from space is grainy – as to be expected – and much of it isn’t particularly as stunning as everything else. It’s still interesting to see the control room – and the work being done there – and it is interesting to see a different perspective on the actual landing itself – and the amount of time spent there. Then again, we’ve probably seen that the best version of that footage before – and while it’s still awe-inspiring, it’s also something we know.

 

Overall though, Apollo 11 is a big, bold film made up entirely of archival footage that no one really knew existed before the filmmakers got their hands on it. It is important that they restored it and brought it to life – and perhaps will remind Americans of what they can accomplish when there is a concerted national effort to do that. It is a hopeful film – and awe-inspiring one even.