It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why there’s been a renewed interest in the history of NASA’s Apollo program. Whether it’s Elon Musk’s aggressive Space X plan to reach Mars, or Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko’s year-long stay aboard the International Space Station, two films about the mission to the Moon so close together can’t be a coincidence. Serving as a wonderful companion film to Damien Chazelle’s First Man, the new Apollo 11 documentary masterfully captures all the tension and public interest surrounding the events of July 1969.
Director Todd Douglas Miller used painstakingly restored archive footage to paint a highly detailed picture of the Apollo 11 mission, from launch to recovery. Unlike most documentaries, this was put together entirely from stock footage. There was no new filming to be done here so he had to edit very carefully in order to piece together a robust but efficient viewing experience. Thankfully there is an amazing amount of footage to pull from but combing through it all in order to make a cohesive and compelling recollection was probably much easier said than done. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes landed it right in the sweet spot…plenty of exposition without getting dragged down in detail.
Quite frankly, it’s a bit surprising to know all this wonderful footage existed for all of these years and was only compiled into a coherent vision just now. Much of the footage seemingly comes directly from NASA and had an undeniably “behind-the-scenes” feel, including in house narration cataloging every detail throughout the course of events. There is plenty of exclusive footage before, during, and after they board the spacecraft and are safely returned home. However, it isn’t just the video. Audio recordings of the transmissions between Houston and the spacecraft gave a much more personal look at the three men hurdling through space. It was refreshing to get glimpses into their personalities to remind the audience these were fairly normal men embarking on an incredibly dangerous mission. A sense of humor is important to have, especially under such harrowing circumstances, and it was nice to see it in such revered men.
Among the most refreshing aspects of the documentary was the show of public interest. Thousands of people, families, camped out on the beaches and launchpad adjacent areas of Meritt Island, Florida to watch the launch. Basically, the whole country and much of the rest of the world watched the launch and Moon landing live on television. It was one of the rarest moments in which mankind was united for a singular purpose. Sadly, after the success of the Apollo program, rather than investing in reaching Mars, the space shuttle program was funded because it carried an appealing “reusability” tag. As a result, the zeal and vision for space travel from the 1960s fizzled out and two whole generations grew up with NASA and its ambitions in the rearview mirror. Today, the majority of space travel is being done by private companies like Space X in conjunction with government grants but the ambition seems to be on the right track once again. If nothing else, it was a nice reminder of the significance of the mission to the Moon.
Visually restoring the footage for this documentary was one thing, but bringing it to life with the sound design was a key part of getting the narrative across to a modern audience. Eric Milano stepped in to do the re-recording and design the sound that helped tell this story. With a technical doc such as this, it helps to have those extra details along the way. In the same light, Matt Morton, who’s scored most of Miller’s documentaries, composed a powerful score to accompany the on-screen visuals. The tensest moments of the film are bolstered by a steady pulse of powerful percussion. Even knowing what happened, those scenes are still nail-biters thanks to Morton’s music.
This is a good introduction for anyone unfamiliar with the space program of the 1960s. For those who remember (or are vaguely familiar with) those fateful summer days in 1969, this was a good look at the gargantuan effort it took to pull it all off. It may not end up being the best documentary of 2019 but it sure did jump out to a big lead so far.
Recommendation: This is a must-see for anyone interested in space exploration but could still serve as inspiration for young people looking to go that direction. Definitely spring for it in IMAX where possible, it’s totally worth it.