As some of you may have noticed based on a few of my recent blogs, I’m very excited about the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the lunar surface. A large part of my enthusiasm is because, for me, all the events associated with the anniversary are like being part of the original historical event (I was –17 years old July 20, 1969). So, I thoroughly enjoyed spending a recent afternoon watching Moonwalk One — The Director’s Cut with some of my colleagues.
NASA originally commissioned director Theo Kamecke to detail Apollo 11’s journey to the Moon only 6 weeks before launch. But NASA didn’t receive just a straight documentary of the events that transpired leading up to, during, and after this historic mission. Kamecke also captured the global culture of 1969, and he used snapshots of plant, animal, and human life to make the audience stop and think about the wonders of life on Earth as humans first stepped foot on another world.
Moonwalk One — The Director’s Cut combines Kamecke’s remastered film with recently restored NASA flight film shot by the Apollo 11 astronauts themselves to transport you back in time to witness this monumental moment in the history of the human race. During the moments with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in space, this high-definition DVD can give you goose bumps. And even though some of Kamecke’s complementary footage to create a poetic record of this event might seem a little long-winded, he nonetheless leave you amazed at the achievements humans have made in their short existence — and wondering what we will able to do next.
The DVD is currently available through Amazon.com.
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