Posts: 143
From: Cumbria, UK
Registered: May 2006

posted 04-04-2007 09:31 AM               

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I have read many reviews of "For All Mankind", a great many of which appear to paint a very "Jekyll and Hyde" picture of the film. I am lucky enough to own all the Spacecraft Films Apollo DVDs, so my question is - is the film worth buying?

The astronaut narrative appeals, as does the Gene Cernan audio track, but does the editing of the missions detract enough to warrant giving the film a miss? Or does the footage more than make up for any misgivings?

Posts: 379
From: Yadkinville, NC
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 04-04-2007 09:51 AM               

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If you're looking for facts and figures about the space program, I would pass this one up. It's not shown in any kind of chronological order, and non-lunar missions are also included in the mix.

Another big problem: There's an option where you can choose to identify each person or crew shown on screen, and many of those IDs are completely wrong. I found that to be very off-putting.

However, the footage is tremendous and the voice-over commentary is outstanding. It paints a much better picture of what it was actually like to fly in space, as opposed to being a traditional "who, what, when, where, how and why" documentary.

Also, one of the special features is Alan Bean's descriptions of several of his paintings. That's a huge plus, in my opinion.

So, it really depends on what you're looking for. I think the pluses outweigh the minuses, if only by a slim margin.

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 04-04-2007 10:32 AM               

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I was initially very disappointed with this production. But now I view it more as an impressionistic depiction of what it was like to travel to the moon. Still, there are moments where you have to bite your lip to keep silent about what you're seeing...like Gemini EVA footage on an "Apollo" mission and Gemini re-entry footage used to depict TLI.

I agree with all of Rick's comments. The Bean extras are very nice to have.

If you're looking for a good history overview, I recommend the PBS Nova "To The Moon" DVD instead.

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

Posts: 3386
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 04-06-2007 12:21 AM               

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I first saw 'For All Mankind' on BBC television, which we could barely receive here in the Netherlands. There was a lot of atmospheric interference that night and I was watching the picture fade in and out, which was frustrating because I liked what I was seeing.

Later I exchanged videotapes with a British collector and finally I could watch the whole thing in perfect quality. That was before the DVD days, of course. I now have it on DVD (obtained through this forum) and it still is a great movie because of the atmosphere it conveys.

Posts: 399
From: Irvine, CA
Registered: Oct 2002

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-06-2007 03:24 PM               

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It's also the only place that I have seen that has live spacecraft shots from inside the cabin during an Apollo launch (Apollo Soyuz).

The sound is very nicely remastered, a cool soundtrack by Brian Eno, and the extras are great too.

Posts: 916
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000

Posts: 170
From: Tucson, Arizona
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 08-19-2009 05:36 PM               

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Al Reinert's "For All Mankind" has been re released (2009). Newly restored high definition digital transfer, cleaned up 5.1 Digital Dolby audio. Looks a lot better, did an A to B comparison against the 1989 release and it does look sharper, cleaner and more vibrant images and Dolby (5.1) audio much improved. New packaging. Decent 24 page illustrated booklet.

The added documentaries, "An Accidental Gift" and "On Camera" are great! "An Accidental Gift" is a behind the scenes of "For All Mankind" with excellent explanations of the film vault (cold storage locker is neat) under the watch of Morris Williams. Seeing the original film containers, how they are stored, seeing copies made off the originals verse the copies of copies is great. How the astronauts learned to become photographers and the explanation of the 16mm camera on the LM and what is neat to know is how the Saturn V stage separation film was shot and how it was returned to earth... they had there own re entry heat shields and parachute recovery systems and beepers. C -130's recovered them in mid air out over the Atlantic.

"On Camera" is a combination of astronaut interviews. Source material is from Al Reinert, "The Wonder of It All" and "The Other Side of Moon".

New video program on Alan Bean's artwork and the other "extras" from the original 1989 release are also included.

This re-release is definitely highly recommended must have for Apollo enthusiasts.

Posts: 1309
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 2004

Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 12-27-2009 05:21 PM               

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I got the "Masters of Cinema" DVD edition of For All Mankind from my girlfriend for Christmas. Finally a Region 2 release of this wonderful film, plus it has some nice extras!

Adam

Posts: 836
From: South East, UK
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 01-11-2010 07:44 AM               

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I think the best recommendation I can give this film is after watching it for the first time over Christmas I had an incredibly vivid dream that same night about landing and walking on the moon myself!

I think the only thing that lets the DVD down is the subtitles. I would have liked an option that just identifies who is speaking at any one time. For my money knowing who is on screen is not necessary as they can be easily identified in most cases anyway. I know the subtitles that cover what is being said identify the speaker but having all those words on the screen tend to detract from the images.

Posts: 576
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 01-11-2010 05:54 PM               

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I highly recommend the film. In the days prior to Spacecraftfilms, it was the only window I had into the other missions' footage. The soundtrack is perfect as well, complementing the images to a "T".

I find it is a great film to show people who dont know much about the missions, just what about them is so magical for me.

Posts: 47
From: Dacula, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2008

posted 01-13-2010 03:00 PM            

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I have always had particular interest in interior cabin shots of the Apollo CM, and this film does a great job of showing this.

And it does so with extreme clarity due to the masters being used.

I highly recommend the movie. I have the new version that explains a lot of the behind-the-scenes mechanics, and actually addresses why Gemini films show up in a Moon-centered movie.

I enjoyed it and thought it was worth it.

Posts: 70
From: Brentwood, Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 01-22-2010 02:09 PM               

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For All Mankind (1989 documentary) 24 men who traveled to the moon, told in their words in their voices. Directed by Al Reinert.

The documentary much loved and discussed on this forum is being shown on UK TV on Fri 22nd Jan on BBC FOUR at 11.55pm.

Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009