Movie review: In the Shadow of the Moon

To some, the race to the moon was a political stunt to win the Cold War. But not as far is its astronauts were concerned.

It’s easy to look at a documentary about the moon landings and wonder if there’s really anything else that can be added to the legendarium of the Apollo program. Surely there’s no footage, no anecdote, no revelation that hasn’t been covered elsewhere? I’m happy to say that, on all counts, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Which is not to say that you won’t see all that now familiar footage of jettisoned fuselage falling away into orbit, or of Neil Armstrong taking those first, tentative steps on the lunar surface. The fact is, however, that for any aerospace geek that footage never really gets old; having the chance to watch it in a respectfully hushed cinema, accompanied by the film’s awesome soundtrack is simply icing on the cake.

In the Shadow of the Moon gathers together the surviving astronauts from each Apollo mission. One notable omission, and one that his comrades make reference to, is Neil Armstrong himself; Armstrong is known for his keeping very private, however, and it does seem to allow the other Apollo crew to be a little more relaxed.

Along with footage of their training, the program’s build-phase, and the launches and landings themselves, the film spends a lot of time focusing on these men, flashing between the craggy faces of their aged selves in the present, and the youthful cheer of them in the sixties, looking up to the stars. One of the most fascinating aspects of the movie is looking at the young men, and then seeing just how changed they were after the Apollo missions, and looking at the men they are now. There’s a youthfulness to them, a sense that these maverick rocket and jet test pilots who became American icons have never really grown up, while simultaneously returning to Earth with an incredible new outlook on life.

Of course, all the archival footage is pretty fracking great too. From the early disasters of the Atlas rockets, to the plywood dummies of the Apollo re-entry vehicle, and everything in between, In the Shadow of the Moon bookends the classic footage with material from the NASA archives that’s never been seen before. There’s the chilling aftermath of the Apollo 1 incident that saw crew Roger Chaffee, Ed White and Gus Grissom incinerated in their capsule during a test countdown; incredible footage of earth from the first mission to leave Earth orbit, and footage of the astronauts filming it and exclaiming in awe; remarkable footage of take-offs showered in flame and ice; and, of course, incredible images of the men actually on the moon, exploring the lunar surface.

It’s also a great snapshot of the era; while some of them relate feeling guilty that they were shirking their duty by not serving in Vietnam, others felt making it to the moon was the solemn burden left to them by President Kennedy following his famous speech in 1963.

I came away from the film with an incredible sense of the wonder of space exploration, of the daring and skill of these men and the respect they had for each other. In the same manner that the Apollo crewmen came back to Earth with a greater sense of just how valuable our own fragile planet is, In the Shadow of the Moon leaves the viewer with a greater sense of the true promise of space exploration, and the pioneers who have made it possible.