Apollo 11 (2019) ★★★★1/2

Apollo 11 reminds us just what an incredible achievement was accomplished by sending mankind to the moon and bringing him home safely.

In a great cinematic stroke of fortune, director Todd Douglas Miller discovers thousands of hours of uncategorized and forgotten audio and video footage of the weeks surrounding the first moon landing of 1969. As a result, he is able to create a masterpiece of of a documentary. As viewers we are able to sit through the entirety of the Apollo 11 effectively in real time with the actual audio. We are guided through the mission by Walter Cronkite, agents of NASA, and by the astronauts themselves. As the rocket ignites, we stare into the flames while 5,900 pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen burn each second and we feel the magnitude of it all. Cameras mounted on the outside of the space capsule linger as mechanical latches close giving us the faintest sense of stability as we float through space with these men. In all of this glorious footage, there’s not a single talking-head interview from someone who was “there that day” recounting it in their own words. Miller knew intimately the footage he is working with and was wise enough to step back and let it tell it’s own story.

Speaking as someone who didn’t live through the moon landing, I can say that this film really helped put everything in perspective. I was simply awestruck by the sheer scale of it all- to say nothing of the creative direction and Kubrik-esque (though I suppose this was just barely before his time) cinematography employed by Miller and his team. This really is a film one should see in a packed theater if possible. If for no other reason, it’ll remind you that (even in today’s turbulent socio-political climate) we’re all in this together and maybe not so big after all.

Reviewed by Max Minardi on Fresh Hop Cinema Episode 118.