In the Shadow of the Moon
Director: David Sington. Cinematography: Clive North. Film editing: David Fairhead. Music: Philip Sheppard. Producer: Duncan Copp. With: Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Alan Bean, Dave Scott, Eugene Ceman, Michael Collins, Edgar D. Mitchell, Harrison Schmitt, John Young. UK/USA. 100 min. 2007.
This aptly titled documentary gives a vivid account of the Apollo moon-landing mission, oscillating between eye-dazzling space footage (much of it never seen publicly before) and talking-head interviews with ten of the twelve astronauts involved. British filmmaker David Sington has extensive science-documentary experience, but despite this (or because of it?) the movie is oddly unexciting; like the space program itself, which ran from 1968 to 1972, it’s rousing and romantic in theory but a matter of cut-and-dried engineering and logistics in practice. For more soul-stirring encounters with the title satellite, watch any outstanding science-fiction movie made since “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the original “Solaris” transformed the genre from mostly kid stuff to an intermittently excellent medium for film-philosophical ruminations. – David Sterritt
