Search - Journey to the Moon: The 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 on DVD

A Pleasant Surprise (three and a half stars)

John W. Dacey | Sherman Oaks, Ca USA | 07/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My first thought on initial viewing was:"What a rip-off, I've been mislead and want my money back!" I decided to cool down and just watch the entire thing and THEN decide. Firstly, the whole thing is done on the cheap, so no new interviews and recently stated proclamations by Armstrong, Collins or Aldrin, which was really what I came for. I can live with that,though. The voice-over is colorless and uninspired, it sounds like something on a one-reeler the A/V boys wheeled into science class a minute ago and the narrator even calls it a "Saturn Vee", not once but TWICE! The soundtrack was a solo acoustic guitar strumming melodiously but really, what more do you need? They were capable and it was pleasant to listen to. The "extras" were old NASA public relations films concerning Apollo 11 (in a general sense) which was narrated by Burgess Meredith, Apollo 12 & 13 (as post-mission reports) Apollo 17 ( no matter how they tried to 'spin' it, I'm STILL mad congress cut NASA's funding for more moonshots!), a pretty dull film on the slide-rule jockeys that actually got 'us' to the moon and JFK's Rice University speech ("We choose to go to the moon..."). Additionally, there is an Apollo 11 'slide show' and the visual gem of the whole disc, a 'slide show' of images of the universe courtesy of the Hubble telescope which is truly WONDERFUL! This is not to say the vintage Apollo shorts are not. They are. I know for sure I saw some of these in the day at IPMS meetings, there was always a member who worked for North American Rockwell or TRW that had access to these films and brought them to meetings, I would've watched until the last dog was hung! For me, the best part is on Apollo 12 when Alan Bean is feeding numbers to Pete Conrad during the latter's 'pinpoint' landing at "Snowman" crater. Bean-o is so cool and reassuring and even enthusiastic as Pete is getting it done, about 180 degrees opposite that of the same procedure on Apollo 11 (Mike Collins referred to the trio as 'amiable strangers') Conrad, Bean and Gordon made their encore mission seem like three frat rats on a road trip by comparison. So, yeah, I ended up being pleasantly surprised and a satisfied customer over/after all. It's not as well produced as "In The Shadow of the Moon" or "For All Mankind" but those two films had a one day lunch budget that far exceeded what "Mill Creek Entertainment" probably has for their yearly operations! Thanks Amazon, keep the suggestions coming!"

Good addition to your space collection.

Mary Evans | 07/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A good companion to "In the Shadow of the Moon".
I would buy both. This DVD reminds me of "For All Mankind" because it is made from the classic 16mm film footage. The soundtrack is also very nice."

We Choose the Moon !

Craig Miller | 07/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary is made from rare NASA film footage and radio transmissions.
It tells the story from launch to landing and includes over 3 hours of additional footage from the NASA archives. My favorite bit is when Buzz says (while climbing out of the capsule for the first time) "I'll be sure not to lock the door behind me." priceless!"

A Real Disappointment

Jen Rogers | Buffalo, NY USA | 04/11/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Words cannot convey my disappointment with this DVD, which touts itself as a commemorative documentary about one of mankind's greatest achievements, yet is full of errors and omissions. It was slapped together from stock footage and canned interviews from other sources. It purports to give a history of the steps to the moon, yet ignores Project Gemini, which proved the feasibility of working in space with the first American space walk and the rendezvous & docking maneuvers which made the Apollo moon missions possible. There is no excuse for the voice-over announcer to refer to the mighty Apollo booster as the Saturn Vee! It is hard to believe that any adult in the year MMIX couldn't recognize a Roman numeral. I expected to relive a cherished memory of my childhood, but instead worried about how little research and effort was put into a chronicling such a momentous event. Some better choices would be the excellent TBS documentary "MOONSHOT", "Walter Cronkite Remembers"(CBS), or HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon"."