Apollo Landing Celebrations Mount Up

With excitement building as we near the 40th Anniversary of the first human Moon Landing, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of events and media happenings being lined up to mark the occasion.

Over on my main downthetubes forum, for example, we have a “Moon Landing 40th Anniversary: A Comics Celebration" – a gallery of illustrations and comic art inspired by the Apollo expedition and space exploration. In addition to the one page “Return to the Moon” strip, so far we have art from the likes of Andrew Cheverton, Bob Bello, Ian Duerden, Martin Baines and many others. Check it out if you have time, there’s some smashing work on display.

In the UK both the BBC and ITV have been screening a range of programmes: I enjoyed “In Search of Neil Armstrong” last week and will be checking out ITV’s “Moonshot” next Monday night, although goodness only knows why they have decided to put it on so late, after the news.

I’ve also spotted a reprint of the Daily Mirror for 21 July or thereabouts in WH Smiths, complete with DVD of footage of the Apollo landing: it will be interesting to see what Garth was up to (and The Perishers!) on that momentous day in 1969…

The British Film Institute’s “One Giant Leap” season in London continues this coming week with screenings of the films 2001: A Space Odyssey, Countdown and Moonwalk One, the premiere of newly remastered Director’s Cut in high definition of Theo Kamecke’s film, commissioned by NASA to cover their historic Apollo 11 moonshot. With an atmospheric original score by Charles Morrow and a moody narration by Laurence Luckinbill, Kamecke’s documentary has been described as perhaps the most significant time-capsule record of Apollo 11 ever made.

Finally for this round up, while it won’t be out until November, the Oscar nominated documentary about the Apollo missions, For All Mankind, is set for both DVD and Blu-Ray release.

During the Apollo lunar missions from 1968 to 1972, those onboard were given 16mm cameras and told to film anything and everything they could, in space, in orbit, and on the surface of the moon itself. Two decades later, filmmaker Al Reinert went into the NASA vaults to create this extraordinary compendium of their journeys and experiences.

Assembled from hundreds of hours of the astronauts’ own footage, with a soundtrack made up of their memories and a specially composed score by Brian Eno, the film takes the form of one journey to the moon and back again, building with elegant simplicity and exquisite construction to create an overpowering vision of human endeavour and miraculous experience.

At once intimate and awe-inspiring, For All Mankind is a genuinely mesmerising first-hand document of one of the high points of the 20th century. Released as part of The Masters of Cinema Series, Criterion’s beautiful high-definition restoration of the film will be a comprehensive, director-approved special edition.

The release will include a new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Al Reinert; audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon; a gallery of Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean’s artwork, inspired by his life as an astronaut, with commentary and a filmed introduction; and a special booklet, featuring essays, credits, stills, a new interview with Brian Eno, and more.

DVD Catalogue No: EKA40313
DVD Barcode: 5060000403138
DVD RRP: £19.99
Blu-ray Catalogue No: EKA70011
Blu-ray Barcode: 5060000700114
Blu-ray RRP: £24.99
Release Date: 16 November 2009
Certificate: Exempt
Running Time: 79 minutes approx.
Format: Colour
Genre: Documentary
Director: Al Reinert