Product: For All Mankind [VHS] (1989)
Rating: 5.0
The Real Deal
Science fiction movies and computer digital effects are great, but they don't compare to seeing actual footage shot in space, such as the case for this documentary. The scenes are spell-binding as ships manuever in the cold blackness of space, eventually landing on the surface of the Moon. The feature follows the sequence of an Apollo mission from the astronauts' dressing rooms, through the launch of the mighty Saturn V rocket and traveling through space, climaxing with views on the Moon's surface. Scenes are inter-mixed with footage from different Apollo missions, but it's not that displeasing and shows particular highlights such as Man's first step on the Moon, to later missions when astronauts had a lunar vehicle for traveling on the barren landscape. Brian Eno's music is perfect for this feature; if you could hear music out there - this would be it. Listening to the astronauts as they narrate this feature is nice and makes you feel even closer to them as you watch them progress through their missions. What's great is that it is all real footage, there are no actors and no FX, you get to see how it really happened.