Apollo 11

"I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." Neil Armstrong looking on earth from the moon.

If somehow you missed Apollo 11's flight to the moon in 1969 (indeed you might not have been born yet), fear not: The perfect documentary about those three real superheroes is here. The titular doc stars Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in nail biting suspense and no explosions save rocket propulsion.

The only part not of the original footage is the original synth drones' soundtrack by an inspired Matt Morton. The percussive beat has pomp like that of a thriller in which the president has a fleet of black SUV's rolling to its heart-beating energy, supporting a blockbuster that this time is for real.

Notwithstanding the deeply introspective First Man, starring Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, the real Armstrong comes through in this doc. As expected, he's like the straight arrow he is alleged to be-good guy, slightly nerdy, smart, evident even with as little face time as he has here.

Maybe that's the point: Without the sophisticated computers we have 50 years later, these astronauts and technicians work hard long hours together, no claims to glory, profit, or party loyalty. Their collaboration is worthy of any Marvel voyage; only it's real.

New images and sounds emerge despite the decades of depicting this event in multi-media. Some NASA shots have never been seen before. Although the images may not be as spectacular as the ones we've grown accustomed to, they represent the constantly renewable glory of mankind at its technological best, devoid of petty ego embellishments and full of human connections.

You'll find more dramatic renditions of this adventure, but you'll never find 93 minutes more perfectly capturing the grandeur of science and humanity working together to realize the impossible. This right stuff is right here in a grand documentary called, very simply, Apollo 11.

Should be mandatory watching for all the folks that have lost the feeling of global humanity. I remember it from 50 years ago and I feel proud of the world as it looked then and the can do attitudes. The grace and humility of Neil Armstrong and crew was amazing. I was excited at each event and the music was marvelous. You know they make it but the tension was intense. so much could have gone wrong. What was error 202 !!!

Todd Douglas Miller's documentary Apollo 11 is a rich buffet of restored footage, clever image juxtaposition, and ingenious lip reading. There is SO MUCH newly-released footage, one gets the impression that 1/4 of the mission weight must've been cameras and film! Where have these images been for fifty years? There's no narration... just sounds and voices from the mission, peppered with occasional contemporaneous commentary from Walter Cronkite's legendary broadcasts. The film is a beautiful, visceral thrill ride, lovingly constructed, without aggrandizement... yet emotions soar. This is what America once was, and what it could be again, and I absolutely do not mean that in any jingoistic sense. Truly our finest moment. See it in IMAX if you can - IT IS WORTH IT.

Saw the Apollo 11 IMAX film last night. Highly recommend. No narration just the NASA announcer, communications between ship and ground plus a few other bits added such as Walter and JFK now and then. Images are amazing, esp in IMAX. It moves well, no slow moments, no soap opera, no agenda, lots of unseen footage and some new stories, pure documentary, the trip is the whole story. PDI is great, TLI is great, LM separation, footage of the crowd is great. Go see, you wont be disappointed. 90 minutes long.

This documentary was made using a lot of recently discovered film, much of it is high-definition, large format film. It truly gives amazing images.

But the story of course is the real meat here. I attended the same University as Armstrong, I had just graduated with my Master's when the Moon landing happened. I remember it well and will always have a connection, Armstrong and I walked the same college walkways, had classes in some of the same buildings, both watched the Boilermakers play football in the same stadium. Just a few years apart.

Recently I discovered separate online interviews with both Armstrong and Aldrin, in the documentary we see them as young men about to get the ride of a lifetime, then we see them nearer the end of their lives putting it all in perspective.

Great documentary, worth a viewing for anyone.