Apollo: The Forgotten Films

When they gunna come clean? Their "missions" have been proven hoaxes for decades. And here's another "documentary" full of propaganda. Do the world a favour... stop making these.

I don't often come across something that really stands out, but this is so good. I have seen the new Apollo 11 footage that has been restored for the Apollo 11 film due to come out in the UK on blu ray, it's already out in the states. It's good, and it's great to see that they have matched up audio to film footage not seen before. The launch was extra special and I'm really looking forward to the blu ray to blast my ears out! Now then, this having watched both is even better than the Apollo 11 film on so many levels. The amount of unseen footage is stunning, I say again...stunning. I also own the spacecraft film version of Apollo 11 material, but even that does not compare to this. It's like someone has taken the best bits ever filmed, and added a score and voice which elevates the whole Apollo 11 experience way beyond what I saw when I was a kid. If you have never seen the Apollo 11 footage because you were too young at the time and you have recently become curious then this is also for you. You will come away with such a proud feeling of belonging to the human race. I'm a Brit but I'm so proud of what you Yanks did, I just sometimes wish I was American.

This is an excellent collection of seldom-seen footage, not only well-selected but also beautifully remastered, with great voice-overs and interviews from the astronauts and mission controll personnel. It was particularly good in its extensive use of command module pilot Michael Collins and CAPCOM Charlie Duke (who went on to walk on the moon himself with Apollo 16.) Discovery Channel is to be conrgartulated for making such a fine addition to the Apollo 11 film catalog.

However, the documentary has a serious downside: Erik Thompson. This guy has been doing voiceover work for the typical Discovery Channel schlock about ancient alien telepaths and the Loch Ness bigfoots for so long that he can no longer simply narrate, but insists on breathlessly inserting unneeded drama into an actual historic event that doesn't need to be "boosted" to be interesting; everything he says sounds like the stereotype movie preview voiceover that begins "In a world where..." His script is even worse. A typical example: some "shocking films reveal" astronauts and research subjects being subjected to vibration tests; this is interesting, not "shocking." Moreover, I counted AT LEAST THIRTY instances of the producers patting themselves on the back for their "discovery" of these clips which, although they look really nice in their restored glory, will be fairly familiar to anyone very familiar with the Apollo missions. In addition to the Apollo mission footage, there are shots of the vehicle assembly, astronaut training, news broadcast animations, and more. It's nice to see them cleaned up, and I can't recall any time they've all been assembled in one place like this, but these are hardly "hidden in the archives", "previously unseen footage", "newly uncovered film archives", rare film from the vaults", "deep in the NASA archives", "newly uncovered film", "treasure trove of forgotten films", et cetera et cetera ad nauseum. This kind of "look what we did!" promotion is perfect for the commercials, but is unnecessary and annoying in the documentary itself. Memo to Discovery Channel: YA DONE GOOD, this is a beautifully edited film, but it's not like you discovered the lost continent of Atlantis. We're already watching, so now roll the film and SHUT THE HELL UP about it!

Without these 30+ self-applied pats on the back, I would give this nine stars as one of the best non-technical documentaries I've ever seen about Apollo 11 (why is there no "11" in the title, by the way?) But the constant self-promotion verges on making it unwatchable with the sound on, so I'd actually rate it about a six. Why have I boosted that back up to 8 then? To counter the ignorant pinhead who gave it a zero because "man, everbuddy nose them there moon landin's wuz hoaxed."

I way well believe that the music industry mismanages audio recordings as we daily get new material of artists that make deluxe editions boxsets of albums but I find it hard to believe that Nasa and privates parties mysteriously rediscover hd treasure films just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. My understanding is that they've always had these (and more) a they have now decided to share these imageswith the public to tone down internet conspiracy theorists that are now louder than Saturn 5 taking off ...

Like a lot of the documentaries concerning the Apollo program and the moon landings, this one mainly focuses on the historical Apollo 11 flight, with men's first steps on our next door celestial neighbor. The narrative, the music, the picture composition are all heavily breathing nostalgia in the first minutes - and that's ok, given the 50th anniversary of mankind's giant leap into space.

The film soon gets much more interesting when it features rarely seen footage from the NASA archives in brilliant picture quality. Not just from the tests and flights, but also surrounding it, covering the training of the astronauts and remembering its audience that going to the moon was not just about flying a spacecraft. It involved a lot more, and this documentary gives a good glimpse into the immense research and preparation that went into the program. And that's why it's a little sad that so much of this film revolves around Apollo 11, while a lot of other aspects (like the development and testing of the lunar module) either fall rather short or don't get mentioned at all (like the lunar rover used on the later Apollo missions). I always find it a little sad and unjustified that the Apollo program in its entirety is overshadowed by that first historical landing, while all the other missions leading to and following it are absolutely fascinating and exciting in their own right, too.

Nonetheless, this documentary is worth your time and you'll get to see a couple pictures you probably haven't seen before.