Chasing the Moon

Covers the period from, and beginning with, launch of Sputnik until, and including, the Apollo 11 mission. Lots of excellent contemporary footage accompanied by current-day voice-overs from people who were involved back then.

Includes some detail about the programs that preceded Apollo, Mercury and Gemini, plus some of the politics involved in the decision making. Also, one of the very few documentaries trying to pay due credit to the creator of the Saturn V beast, Wernher von Braun.

Very well made, highly entertaining and strongly recommended to anyone having only the faintest interest in the history of space flight.

'Chasing the Moon' offers immaculate clarity of archival footage and illustrated press / cultural coverage of the times (like for those who weren't around for it), amongst interesting first-hand accounts of those involved in the Space Race on and off Earth.

It touches on the aspects beyond those of NASA's program, but ones that are still heavily attached to it. Specifically, I'm speaking about the LIFE Magazine 'behind the scenes' footage illustrating the palpable worry of the wives and families who looked on at those small, blurry TV screens, hoping to never hear there was a problem via the audio feed. It was such an intimate element to highlight, a stinging hard-pressed moment of risk and slight relief.

My small critiques are that 1.) as another reviewer commented, it was difficult to distinguish who was speaking on the voice-overs, due to the minimal notations of their names/titles after the first mention. Later on, when it changed from person to person, unless you recognized the voice, you weren't sure who was talking anymore.

And 2.) I think there could have been more light shed on other individuals of the 400,000 engineers, scientists, and technicians involved in the Apollo Space Program. I know everyone is not feasible. But, at the minimum, at least emphasize that immense fact somewhere during the program, to showcase the incredible and expansive effort it was to achieve this feat in under a decade. A few more persons could have been interviewed or given recognition, specifically on the female front. It was nice to see Poppy Northcutt. I, however, think a few others such as Joanne Morgan, Katherine Johnson, Margaret Hamilton, etc. could have been included, just for awareness purposes. (And, to say, there was more than 1 woman because... there were. Even if, they were statistically far less.)

I was not alive to witness the original moon landing, and due to linear time constraints, I cannot see it firsthand in 1969. However, 'Chasing the Moon' allowed me to feel like I did live through that part of the decade, be aware of its environment, see inside the beginnings of NASA, and most importantly-- it gave me the chance to join in on that monumental event on July 20, 1969. The sudden awareness that man was somewhere beyond that horizon, looking back at us on our glowing moon in the sky. (And then to see the actual footage they captured in HQ, wow.) It was a world-wide phenomenon of diligence, discovery, and the shared joy for mankind's accomplishment and those who helped the cause along the way.

It is an excellent series that offers insight to this amazingly complex journey. I hope it gives a new generation of viewers a sense of this piece of history, and more so a new appreciation for what was achieved 50 years ago despite their difficulties and imperfections.

Happy 50th, Apollo 11.

"Chasing the Moon" comprehensively covers the history of spaceflight from the closing days of WWII through the Apollo program in a way you've never seen before. It brilliantly blends five narratives. The recollections of the astronauts themselves, insights from NASA administrators and engineers, extensive broadcast TV clips and rare NASA footage, an appreciation of the Russian space program, and the politics that empowered these human and technological achievements. Viewers are transported through the era in a way that allows you to feel that you are there, watching it all unfold live before your eyes.

The six hour film is presented in three parts, so there is a bit of a commitment involved, but you will see oodles of rare newsreel footage that even a space junkie like me has never seen before in a documentary of this type (and I've seen 'em all). Despite its length, "Chasing the Moon" is riveting. Broadcast over PBS on three consecutive nights earlier this month, the film is currently available for viewing on the PBS website, or through the PBS app. Ten out of ten stars.

I always enjoy documentaries that just lay out the basic facts and avoid sensationalizing actual events. In the case of the 1960's space race between the Russians and Americans both countries faltered which had the most absolute deadliest of consequences. Astronauts were sacrificed for the space race and wives and children lost their husbands and fathers.

Why I mention the nostalgic approach was LIFE magazine had an exclusive with some of the astronauts of the Apollo missions and we were invited right into the astronauts family homes as the wives and children watched on their black and white television sets the flight missions along side their fellow astronaut families and family parish priests. What Life magazine provided to the astronauts for this exclusive was a $100 thousand dollar life insurance policy to the astronauts family in case of death in space. This is a bet you would rather LIFE magazine never had to pay out on.

This is a must see three (3) part documentary series that provides exceptional historical coverage of the earliest space missions culminating on the first landing of man on the moon. Who would have ever thought this was possible even in the year 2020?

From the ultra-cool opening sequence, (the graphics, the historic images from the 50's and 60's, to the dramatic music) you knew well that American Experience was about to present us with a dazzling, fact filled and humane adventure. And a Thouroughly American adventure at that.

Looking back 50 years ago to all involved on every level. These brave, brainy, brilliant Americans were our contemporaries!

Just think about that for a moment. They are US! The best "us" we could ever hope to be.

It's all in "Chasing the Moon" - simply the finest documentary of it's kind.