If one were to look at this year’s Oscar nominations, it would be easy to assume that the genre is the province of leftwing political agitprop. Perhaps it’s the Academy’s way of apologizing for booing Michael Moore for criticizing Gulf War II when he accepted his statuette for Bowling For Columbine. Whatever the reason, the documentaries that get the most buzz these days have a political agenda a mile wide. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t think anybody needs to see Taxi To The Dark Side in order to realize the horrors of Abu Ghraib. Moreover, the folks who would need their coats pulled to them would never get anywhere near that movie.

There are certainly exceptions to this trend. Some recent documentaries cover topics ranging from the sublime (Spellbound) to the silly (King of Kong, Air Guitar Nation), and with the rise of audience acceptance of the use of high-def video, the spectrum of topics suitable for documentary exposure keeps expanding. How far away are we from seeing films on the pest-control industry or the life of Duncan Hines?

In The Shadow Of The Moon is a documentary that unites audiences. Instead of partisan vitriol, this picture presents the viewer with a snapshot of American history, where despite the corrosive effects of ongoing war in Indochina and political upheaval at home, the citizenry were able to unite and share in the dream of men traveling to the moon. The cynical view could be that the moon shot was nothing more than a Cold War publicity stunt, aimed at scaring the Soviets with our technological might. However, there can be no doubt that most of the eyes looking towards this country during the Apollo missions were filled with optimism at the progress achieved.

Using new interviews with the surviving Apollo astronauts (save for Neil Armstrong, who is relentlessly media shy), mixed with archived footage retrieved from the vaults of NASA, In The Shadow Of The Moon renders a vivid exposition of the personalities and the technologies that made John F. Kennedy’s dream of men on the moon a reality. The filmmakers wisely opt to remain silent, eschewing voiceover narration in favor of letting the astronauts and the footage speak for themselves. The result is a compelling portrait of ordinary men thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and their attempts to reconcile themselves with history.

The subjects come across, for the most part, remarkably humble considering that they are members of an elite club with fewer than two dozen members in the history of humanity. Michael Collins, the man who famously flew all the way to the moon only to circle the block while Armstrong and Aldrin frolicked upon the lunar surface, is by far the most eloquent: he is incredibly sanguine.  This is a person who witnessed the evolution of aeronautics, from barnstorming bi-planes to Atlas rockets and beyond, and his recollections come across with the perfect balance of historian and awestruck witness.

Probably the third most famous moonwalker (behind Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson) is Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. Unlike the others, Aldrin really seems to lap up the fame that the Apollo missions brought him. Hey may have been the second man on the moon, but he delights in letting the viewers know that he took humanity’s first lunar piss. In telling his story, he actually leans into the camera, coming across like a raging egomaniac. Not that he isn’t a competent raconteur, rather, you sometimes feel cornered by Aldrin as if he’s the drunken uncle at a party. It’s as if he thinks the viewer can't take him seriously unless he is close enough for us to get a whiff of his Hai Karate aftershave.

There is a bittersweet honesty in the astronauts' stories. Gene Cernan, who flew with Apollo 10 and Apollo 17, admits his guilt at getting his picture on the front page of the newspaper while his fellow Air Force comrades are fighting, dying and getting captured in Vietnam. He explains that regardless of how you felt about the war, it was his war to fight, and it is only recently that he has been able to express his guilt. Other astronauts comment on their heightened awareness at the fragility of humanity, and question our stewardship of the Earth, while others admit becoming deeply religious after their experiences. Their recollections at the accidental death of the Apollo 1 astronauts (Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee) are particularly poignant, simultaneously sorrowful and emboldening. 

What really makes this film compelling viewing, however, is the use of extensive footage from NASA’s archives. The spectacular imagery of Atlas rockets launching from enormous fireballs into space, or of astronauts looking back at the Earth, is nothing short of breathtaking. To the filmmakers’ credit, aside from some color correction on nearly forty-year-old footage, there are no computer enhancements to speak of used in this production. One would assume that, given their budget, that NASA would have some of the best cameras money could buy at their disposal. Moreover, considering that the footage was recorded by either fixed remote cameras or astronauts pulling double duty as amateur photographers, it’s amazing that the results are as potent and lucid as they are. One extend shot, taken by a booster rocket as it is falling back to earth, is simply transcendental, and rivals anything that Industrial Light and Magic can conjure.

One aspect of the film that may trouble some viewers is the filmmakers' repeated habit of using alternate footage to illustrate the message of the film. For example, you may see footage of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, but it will be footage taken from Apollo 17 used to s

While this is a topic that has been covered before, In The Shadow Of The Moon breathes new life into our understanding of the space race and proves itself to be not just one of the definitive documentaries on the subject, but a rousing good documentary in general. If you were sentient back then, this will easily generate a torrent of memories, and if you are younger than thirty, you can see firsthand what the fuss was about.

Disc Specifications
ThinkFilm's DVD of In The Shadow Of The Moon is presented in a 1.78.1 aspect ratio that is anamorphically enhanced. The image is quite flawless, which is surprising considering the age of most of the footage. There are occasional segments where the filmmakers let the overexposed end of rolls go by, giving some footage an orange-ish hue, which actually enhances the historical authenticity of the material.

The only sound option is English Dolby Digital 5.1, which doesn't do a lot of good for the interview segments, but will rattle your brainpan whenever the Atlas rockets are lifting off. Subtitles options are limited to English and Spanish.

Bonus Features
While not jam-packed with them, In The Shadow Of The Moon has two particularly worthwhile extras. First: there are over an hour of deleted and extended scenes, which serve to fill many of the gaps from present from the feature film (covering, for example, the Gemini missions, which happened between the Mercury and Apollo programs). It's almost a bonus mini-documentary and is eminently watchable. The second feature of note is the commentary track, which features director David Sington, editor David Fairhead and archive producer Chris Riley. Simply put this is one of the most listenable commentaries that I've heard in a long while. There's never a wasted moment as they explain everything from the selection of the footage, and how it was arranged, to some of the happy accidents that ultimately benefited the production. The commentary is especially important, since much of the footage is shown out of order, or footage from one mission is used to illustrate the recollections from a different one. For example, as Buzz Aldrin is speaking, you may see images of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, but the footage of the departure may have come from Apollo 17. Viewers may cry foul at this documentary shell game, but the filmmakers are upfront about how documentary filmmaking is as much about creating an entertaining viewing experience as it is illustrating history. In the commentary, they take great pains to inform the viewer whenever this occurs and to explain which footage is from which mission, so there is no real attempt to deceive the audience.

Scoring Apollo features film composer Phillip Sheppard, which is a nice feature sure to be appreciated by all the soundtrack wonks out there. It was okay, but I wasn't particularly as moved by it as I was by the audio commentary.

There is also what is billed as An Exclusive Message From Ron Howard, who presents this film. It's a rather pointless exercise that must only exist to satisfy Opie's ego. There really is no need for it to be included, as the filmmakers, outside of their commentary track, are happy to remain in the background.

Finally, there are trailers for this and other films.

The Bottom Line
In all seriousness, this is probably my favorite documentary since When We Were Kings. It effortlessly transports the viewer back in time, clearly capturing this remarkable achievement.