Apollo 11: Men on the Moon (Spacecraft
Films)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Main
Programs: A
Like the Apollo 8:
Leaving the Cradle set Apollo 11: Men on the Moon is another
outstanding series brought forth by Fox in working from the NASA archives. The Apollo 11 mission is of course the
mission that changed mankind and became the biggest breakthrough in America’s
history. Similar to the Apollo 8 set,
this is also a three-disc box, which breaks down the entire mission in a very
comprehensive way.
Disc One is entitled On
the Way to History and covers the beginning stages including that of the
Saturn V rocket, which is the largest and most powerful vehicle in
history. This rocket also has the best
streak completing 13 out of 13 successful missions. Making Ready also features the actual building of the
launch vehicle, and also covers similar material as with Apollo 8 such as
altitude chamber, rollout to the pad, and other operations. Departure contains footage form the
actual launch with the crew suiting up and preparing. You can also use your ‘angle’ button to toggle back and forth
between 15 separate launch views.
Fly Me to the Moon explores the docking of with the lunar module and
then covers the third stage, which is the actual trip to the moon. This section also covers some of the
televised transmissions on the way to the moon. Tranquility Base is the moments before landing when the
spacecraft was on the far side of the moon.
No transmissions could be taken at this time, but the footage was
rolling as the astronauts filmed certain examinations making sure that the
craft was ready for landing. The final
Lunar Landing was shot through the lunar module’s pilot window, which shows the
decent of the craft onto the moon.
Disc Two – Lunar Surface
Eva is a collection of footage on the actual lunar surface and their ability to
withstand the lunar environment. This
is perhaps the material that most of us have seen over and over again. All of this footage was taken on 16mm with
some of it being a stationary camera that was fixed to the lunar module. While
some of this material seems lengthy and at times redundant its significance is
just as important. You can access
different camera perspectives during certain segments here by using your ‘angle’
button on your remote as well. There
are also two commentary tracks that can be accessed, one is the air to ground
transmission and the other is Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from the post
flight debriefing.
Disc Three – Coming Home
is broken into two sections. There is Onboard
Film, which is the 16mm footage of the ascent from the lunar surface as
well as many shots inside the Eagle and Columbia crafts. Mission Accomplished is the return
home on July 24th 1969 and shows everything from re-entry to the
actual laboratory work on the samples that were collected. There are also some bonus items on Disc
Three such as the training sessions that were used to accustom the astronauts
with the lunar surface to the landing training. The final supplement is preflight interviews taken from the press
prior to flight.
As with Apollo 8:
Leaving the Cradle, the material
here is also in full-frame and is of similar quality. We are lucky to have this material in any form, with the material
covered here being slightly more interesting than that of Apollo 8. Since more of this footage was 16mm, it
appears to have been handled slightly better due to its importance. The audio is decent, but plays in a 3.1 type
of configuration similar to a Pro Logic II setting.
This is by far the most
interesting of any of the launches, but Apollo 8 is a great set to own as a
companion piece to this. In fact,
anyone interested in this material will certainly love any of this material the
Fox is putting out including the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 sets that are due out
soon. Apollo 11 will always be
remembered, but this is the most comprehensive material ever issued to cover
such a historical event. One step for
man, one giant leap for DVD! Also check
out Criterion’s release of For All Mankind, which offers a slightly
better looking picture and a Dolby 5.1 mix.
- Nate Goss
