Product: For All Mankind [VHS] (1989)
Rating: 3.0
4:3 unpleasant - Not a documentary
I am sorry to say that despite the fine remastering, I was disappointed to see they retained the 4:3 ratio - I am sure it could be argued that any cropping to bring the image to full screen size would diminish the piece as well. This was not a documentary in the strictest sense of the word, as it was a mish-mash of all the missions assembled into a somewhat logical, though inaccurate order. The overlaid commentary that described the specifics of the technology was 'treated' to blend in with the actual voice transmissions, which I found distracting and misleading. I think the best way to handle this material would have to been to shift the footage to the left or right and use the remaining screen-space to describe mission number, objectives, crew and other details and any narrative should have been done differently. Keeping all of this in mind, if you are willing to put up with the issues I describe above, go ahead and get it.