The Last Man on the Moon

When Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan stepped off the moon in December 1972 he left his footprints and his daughter's initials in the lunar dust. Only now is he ready to share his epic but deeply personal story of fulfillment, love, and loss.

Before watching this, I watched "For All Mankind". And they work perfectly as bookends to each other -- one film about the Apollo missions in broad strokes, and a second to wrap up the final mission and its aftermath. Together they present a fairly complete picture.

It is interesting how little we know about the Apollo astronauts. Most people probably can't name more than one or two, and even of those two, what do they know of their lives beyond that single trip? This film attempts to give some humanity to the godlike aura of the astronaut.

It seems to me that nowadays we are no longer as attuned to, or turned on by Space Exploration as generations were in times past. It's probably not too much of an exaggeration to say it could be seen by many as 'old hat'. The reasons for this, I speculate, may be variously due to the Un-manned, technically advanced nature of many of today's missions (which has removed the key human interest element from the story) as well as our obsession with matters more material or tangible.

This feature length documentary which I watched today was shown as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It harks back to the pioneering age when Space Exploration was front and centre in the public's consciousness and for Americans it's every success was regarded as a source of intense National pride in their Cold-war Space-Race against the Soviet Union. Astronauts were routinely and quite rightly feted as All-American heroes. Here was a time when the various Apollo missions were a Prime-time ratings winner, transfixing an anxious TV-watching public who tuned in on a daily basis for the latest updates knowing as they did the inherent danger involved.

I came to this as a casually interested viewer with, at best a passable knowledge of the history of Space Exploration. Without a doubt my interest has now been piqued. It's a thoroughly enjoyable documentary which deserves to be shown (and seen) on the large screen. Gene Cernan is the hero and focus of this story; he being the last of the 12 men to set foot on the moon. However Gene or any of the other players are not presented as mere cardboard heroes; instead the very real man as well as Astronaut is revealed- there is no excess light shown on Gene the astronaut to the exclusion of Gene the man, husband and Father. For instance sadness and regret at being away from his daughter for extended periods are juxtaposed with the euphoria of being one of the lucky few to know what it really feels like to get your space-boots covered in moondust.

The fact that Gene is now in his 80's as are most of the other Astronauts featured makes it a timely production and it also lends a poignancy and a gravitas to it. Gene comes across as a proud but very grounded man capable of making telling insights and being able to reflect meaningfully on his achievements without ever wearing them haughtily. The contributions from former fellow Astronauts, Mission control commanders and family members by turn combine to create a full and rounded picture of the man. The Last Man on the Moon is very deftly paced and well edited. Its shot through with the most amazing and varied archive footage including everything from amateur home-movies to NASA archived material. When viewed through the prism of today's super-advanced technological times there's a flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants feel to much of the Mission control and Space footage which I found fascinating. There's a great swinging-sixties soundtrack to boot.

Definitely recommended. One final thought; does anyone else think that Gene Cernan is a ringer for Clint Eastwood?

There is a documentary about the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong on Netflix. Eugene Cernan and Armstrong seem to live very similar lives. Makes since, cause it does take a certain type of man to be selected to walk on the moon.

This doc is a little bit better. I'm equally a fan of any man that went to the moon, but while Armstong's was way more focus on him, Cernan's doc showed me more about how the space program was working back in those days. Cernan went more thoroughly into the selection process, the training, the hardships and the glory. It was a more full picture of what it's like to be an astronaut mixed in with personal info on the type of man Cernan is.

Plus we got to see some insight on what's happening right now to get people to Mars, an event that Cernan himself was excited about.

It was a good documentary on an icon. it's starts off slow but once it gets its foot into the rhythm, it takes you to the moon.

Great story on a humanist level. Very well made documentary. Loved it.

The direction, the editing, the humanity that comes thru is what is so riveting. The rare film footage, the honesty and you can obviously watch it from a historical angle as well. I appreciate this film and what it must have taken to put this together.

It is emotional in parts and so interesting looking at the history of the space program. I applaud all the people it took to make a doc. Like this.

Like entertainers the space men if you will were not able to be there for their families sometimes. I think a lot of folks in the entertainment industry will relate to this part of the story.

Good cowboys do get to ride off into the sunset sometimes.