Directed by: David Sington
Rating: PG

(Courtesy photo)

The astronauts interviewed in the new documentary In the Shadow of the Moon are definitely old-school guys. But they have an awareness of the times that is a little surprising, and surprisingly inspiring. The same can be said for In the Shadow of the Moon. It is like something out of the NFL archives: magisterial, reverent, and beautifully executed. Directed by Nova veteran David Sington, In the Shadow of the Moon showcases the only men who have ever set foot on a different celestial body. The film goes into meticulous detail about the journey of the men who landed on the moon, with stunning footage not previously released by NASA. The approach serves to both humanize and lionize them at the same time. It is a little long at times, with a musical score that hits its emotional peak early, then tries to sustain itself over 93 minutes. In the final tally, In the Shadow of the Moon is not as insightful as I’d anticipated, nor quite as rousing. But it is a very worthy, very easy to watch movie that should prove compelling to all viewers, whether or not you are a great lover of the space race.

The movie adaptation of the The Right Stuff simplified and whitewashed many of the less romantic details of Tom Wolfe’s 1979 study of the NASA space program. In the Shadow of the Moon is far more sterile. If there are uncomfortable details to be shared, Sington did not go looking for them. This film is clearly from the perspective of a fan. But the astronauts themselves do share some of their more vulnerable moments, and it is like peeking in on the private lives of giants. They declare without hesitation that they became national heroes without doing a thing. But by the time these men did reach the moon and return, they had more than fulfilled their advanced badges of heroism. These men truly elicit awe by the simple fact that they are the only humans ever to look down on the earth from a different rock in the solar system. When they talk of experiencing a new perspective, it’s hard to argue. Much has been made of the caliber of those first teams of astronauts; it’s validating to discover 30 years later that they still carry themselves with uncommon composure and the ability to articulate their experiences.

Sington might have fashioned the same material into something crisper and more focused. The movie follows a general timeline, but moves about a bit when disparate events connect themselves thematically. It would have been nice if he hadn’t directed the astronauts themselves as if they were in some sort of pharmaceutical ad (lots of super close-ups while fiddling with the focus). The musical score from Philip Sheppard is standard heroic, and it almost never stops. The men and the footage are more than enough to elicit our emotions, and we don’t need a musical score to constantly tell us how to feel. Ron Howard was executive producer of In the Shadow of the Moon, and as a filmmaker he is not generally drawn to messy subjects. While Shadow does show how accurate Howard’s Apollo 13 was in terms of art direction, it is just as squeaky clean.

(Courtesy photo)

And that's ok. Trying to find a disparaging side to the Apollo space program would not be time nobly spent. There is one odd moment during the closing credits, when each astronaut comments on the conspiracy theory suggesting the moon landings were all staged. This is one of the more moronic theories out there, yet just by having the astronauts comment on it—and leave it for last—gives the viewer a slightly odd send-off. What will linger in memory are the images taken from the space capsules. The pictures and footage, while often grainy, are simply more amazing than any special effect could suggest. In the Shadow of the Moon is not a great piece of movie journalism, but it is a very satisfying gift of historic goodwill.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California, and works for the Cartoon Network. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.