In the Shadow of the Moon

"In the Shadow of the Moon" is one of the best documentaries ever made about the space program. Masterfully combining vintage footage with new interviews with Apollo astronauts, the filmmakers deftly explore the history of the lunar program, focusing on Apollo 11, but giving appropriate coverage to other significant events (Apollo 8, Apollo 13, the value of the lunar rover on later missions, etc.) as well.

I had seen most of the vintage footage before, although the filmmakers found some fantastic archival footage of the astronauts (including some great pre-Apollo footage). The difference in this project was the dexterity that the clips were woven together with: it is a clearly superior effort, and one of the best documentaries I have seen.

As wonderful as it is to see the footage from Apollo, the best part of the film is by far the insightful interviews with the Apollo survivors (sans the stoic and reclusive Neil Armstrong). The filmmakers spent two days with each of the astronauts interviewed, giving them a great deal of material to edit, and to say that the finished product is masterful is an understatement. I was especially fond of the interviews with Mike Collins and Alan Bean, and I loved the contrasts between the personality types involved. If anyone needed proof that John Young is one of the most laconic, yet witty, astronauts in NASA history, the proof is here. Likewise, Buzz Aldrin still comes across as the hyper-intelligent "Dr. Rendezvous", though more relaxed with age. All the astronauts are clearly very bright, keenly insightful, and give perspectives that are extremely interesting from the vantage point of almost 40 years of reflection: I was especially taken by Bean's comments that he hasn't complained once about the weather since he returned to earth. This and the other insights from Bean late in the film are golden.

The film has many extras including unused scenes, and a fascinating commentary track: I highly recommend all the extras. The film is nearly perfect, and provides both those very familiar with spaceflight and more casual viewers information through clever editing, interview footage, and occasional captions, including translations of sometimes difficult to understand exchanges between the spacecraft and Houston. The film is meticulous in accuracy, and an explanation of all footage substitutions are thoroughly explained in the commentary. So devoted to accuracy is the film that I noted only one extremely minor error in the film, when the term "REFSMMAT" was translated as "azimuth" in a caption. (This, obviously, has no value to viewers.) For a documentary of this scope and complexity, that is an amazing achievement.

I highly recommend "In the Shadow of the Moon" to everyone, and I thank the makers of this brilliant film for bringing it to us, and I thank the astronauts for participating in this truly worthwhile endeavor.

I liked this DVD a lot, and would definitely recommend you get it if you like space and marvel at how great our country's space program was. Wow, we sure had smart people in America back then.

That said, I watched this video after I had watched the Apollo 13 DVD, the one with real life dialog with Gene Krantz and Jim Lovell. That DVD is a definite 5 stars because of the dialog, the graphics and real pictures from that time. So my recommendation, get them both. You'll be proud of America again.

In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of S)
This DVD is worth every penny as it shows the Shuttle Generation what the Mercury /Gemini/Apollo astronauts did to plant the flag on the moon , how we went and why we went. I rate this as a valuable part of any Homeschoolers DVD library

very imformative and excting to see this film. The beauty of the earth and the moon is awe inspiring. The history is also very interesting.

I am an avid collector of NASA dvds and information. I love this dvd because it explores a whole new angle. The only people who are interviewed are the Apollo astronauts. They all talk in detail about how they felt as the flew their missions. There are tons of crystal clear images of the missions .. many of which I have never seen before. The music is beautiful and really adds to the experience.

Overall, my favorite NASA dvd is the Nova "To The Moon", but this might overtake that. Very heartfelt. I now love Michael Collins, almost as much as my hero, Jim Lovell. The only negative thing about this dvd is the glaring non-participation of Neil Armstrong. Why he wouldn't want to be part of this amazing project is a mimystery.

I highly recommend this dvd to anyone. Add it to your collection.