Apollo 11

— What an unexpected joy it was to watch this documentary. Instead of a grainy reminiscence in 4x3 aspect ratio, this is culled from long-lost NASA footage and more than 11,000 hours of audio recordings, is a visual thrill, and is tautly edited to give a good sense of the thrill of the Apollo 11 mission. From today’s perspective, the unified NASA workforce boggles the mind—we rarely have stories of such dedication and national pride anymore—as does the personal sacrifice made by many. It’s hard to know if the film will only interest those who remember the event in real time on their small, tube TVs, or if those who’ve grown up after NASA’s heyday will find it spellbinding as well. It is also difficult not to be reminded of “First Man” when seeing this, and if you missed that film, it’s a good, dramatic companion piece. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2019 while premiering in Imax theaters.)

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[2019, 93 min. Directed by Todd Douglas Miller.]
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/apollo-11-movie-review-795597/