242. Apollo 11; movie review

APOLLO 11
Cert U
93 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very mild bad language

t remains the greatest feat of humankind during the 56 years of my lifetime.
We should remember that man landed on the moon before computer technology was available to most workplaces.
No emails had been sent, mobile phones did not exist and mathematical calculations were made with pencil and paper.
And yet, somehow, the finest brains in the United States worked out fuel loads, trajectory patterns, gravity pulls and oxygen requirements and how to get the three astronauts safely back to earth.
The Apollo 11 mission wasn't quite worked out of the back of a fag packet but by today's high-tech standards, it is a pretty close comparison.
Todd Douglas Miller's film takes us back to the excitement of the summer of 1969 and one of my first memories (I was six years old).
It includes astonishing unreleased 70 mm footage from the launch and recovery of Apollo 11.
Even without narration, the tension builds around the launch (engineers were working on a malfunction with minutes to go), take-off, landing and return.
And yet it also conveys the joy and pride of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in being the historic crew and the relief and delight of the teams on the ground that all went well.
The footage is seamlessly woven together with images at the two control centres in Florida and Texas and, obviously, inside the spacecraft and on the moon.
Mrs W and I couldn't get over the number of people who were working on the lunar programme.
What did all of those people with headsets do?
Regardless, I found Apollo 11 intoxicating. It took me back to those summers when James Burke reported on the latest daring mission.
As children, we were brought up with real heroes - not those on reality TV shows.
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins risked their lives in the name of exploration. They will never be forgotten and this is a fitting tribute to their work and the hundreds who supported them.

Reasons to watch: A slice of rich history
Reasons to avoid: Better narrative would have helped those who don't know the story

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? After reading a passage from the Book of John, Buzz Aldin took Communion on the moon.

The final word. Todd Douglas Miller: "The National Archives and NASA were both tremendous. I would say that we couldn’t obviously have done a project without them but all along the way, they were extremely supportive."

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