Posts: 27 From: St. Louis, MO., USA Registered: Apr 2013
posted 03-03-2019 09:56 AM
Hands down the greatest and most cinematic Apollo documentary ever! I felt like I was actually there through the entire Apollo 11 mission! My heart was pounding leading up to and thru the launch! Must see in IMAX no other better way to experience it!
It flowed so well that the movie was over before I knew it... I wanted to go right back out and buy a ticket for the next showing but had other things to do. I will go see again later this week!
stsmithva Member
Posts: 2041 From: Fairfax, VA Registered: Feb 2007
posted 03-03-2019 07:57 PM
I just got home after seeing it with my family at an IMAX theater. I absolutely loved it. Even better than I was hoping for. I'm so glad they decided not to have a narrator, and made the editing decision to include looooong shots, like Eagle ascending to Columbia.
After they read off the astronauts' pulse rates during lift-off, my wife leaned over and said, "Mine was higher than that just watching this!"
The soundtrack, with the 1969 instruments Robert wrote about, was superb. I liked how lyrics in "Mother Country" lined up with what we were seeing several times.
Really worth a pretty long drive to a movie theater showing it. Sit up front!
p51 Member
Posts: 1746 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
posted 03-03-2019 10:34 PM
I looked it up, it's not scheduled to play anywhere near where I am, sadly.
Space Cadet Carl Member
Posts: 290 From: Lake Orion, MI Registered: Feb 2006
posted 03-04-2019 06:49 AM
I just saw "Apollo 11" in IMAX in Livonia, MI. I've always been told how witnessing a Saturn V launch sounded and felt like a low chest-pounding stacatto, sort of like being inside a drum being pounded on. Well... the big IMAX sound system actually does do a fairly good job trying to reproduce that low, pounding rumble inside the theatre. A great film. Loved it.
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1204 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 03-04-2019 03:46 PM
Just saw it in an IMAX theatre, and it is AWESOME!!! Two thumbs and two big toes up!!!
Larry McGlynn Member
Posts: 1380 From: Boston, MA Registered: Jul 2003
posted 03-04-2019 06:08 PM
Saw it yesterday afternoon. It was our daughter's birthday, so I took her (and my wife) to a movie that I wanted to see. We all loved it.
The beauty of this film is that Todd Miller let the mission speak for itself. No interviews and no narrator. Just the air to ground and ground audio loops as well as Cronkite as the contemporary narrator. That was exciting enough.
The IMAX presentation also helped show the grand scale of this endeavor.
GoesTo11 Member
Posts: 1355 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 2004
posted 03-04-2019 11:44 PM
I'm seeing this in IMAX Thursday afternoon. For those who already have, were your screenings well attended?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-05-2019 11:15 AM
I cannot speak to individual screenings, but "Apollo 11" brought in $1.6 million in its opening weekend, averaging $13,750 per screen.
The film outperformed the Mister Rogers documentary, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and the Academy Award-winning "Free Solo" during their respective bows.
apollofilmbuff New Member
Posts: 2 From: Buffalo, NY, USA Registered: Mar 2019
posted 03-05-2019 12:05 PM
I was super excited when I came across the trailer for Apollo 11 on YouTube a while back. When I heard that it was coming to IMAX for just one week, I knew that I had to see it. I had been binging on my newfound interest in Apollo documentaries since the beginning of the year though I have always been a fan of space in general most notably the shuttle and more recently, SpaceX.
When I searched for theaters that were showing Apollo 11 on IMAX in Buffalo, the closest location was two hours away but I still knew that I wanted to see it in a format befitting such a grand event. I ended up making a day of it and drove the two hours to Syracuse with a close friend and grabbed lunch after the movie.
We were not disappointed. As others have stated, seeing such hi-fidelity visuals in such a large format accompanied with the booming sound of the Saturn V and the great music to wrap up the package was a treat. Wow was that 70mm restored footage a beautiful sight to behold. Even though we all know the story and have seen some of this footage before (especially in Moonwalk One), it has never felt so real and been as polished as any recent blockbuster. Simply spectacular.
There is a local arthouse theatre showing it for the general release and I'm considering finding another friend who might want to see this again with me on a not so big screen.
As for how well attended it was, the showing I was in definitely wasn't full by any means but there were a fair number of people for a Sunday at 12pm.
Space Cadet Carl Member
Posts: 290 From: Lake Orion, MI Registered: Feb 2006
posted 03-05-2019 02:01 PM
Agree. Visual and sound are both spectacular. Again, the IMAX sound system did a decent job reproducing that low, pounding stacatto that eyewitnesses talked about.
ea757grrl Member
Posts: 777 From: South Carolina Registered: Jul 2006
posted 03-05-2019 03:16 PM
Just back from seeing this at an IMAX screen just outside Charlotte, NC. It was a long trip for me, but very much worth it. In IMAX it's an immersive experience and it really serves the large-format footage and the multi-picture design at a few points. The "Mother Country" sequence discussed upthread is a thing of beauty. The film effectively builds suspense at all the right moments, even if you know how the story went. It doesn't overstay its welcome. And best of all, it does it with beautiful understatement, through skillful and informed use of the source material. It's a movie that doesn't need to show off, because the archival footage is plenty powerful.
There were very few quibbles I found - the version I saw had the "Krantz" caption misspelling, and I saw a few clips from the Apollo 8 recovery and about five seconds from the Apollo 10 recovery, too. But none of that takes away from how powerful this film is, or how well it works. Go see it - preferably in IMAX, where you can enjoy the full sensory experience, and the giant goosebumps that'll come with it.
backof Member
Posts: 34 From: Katonah, NY USA Registered: Oct 2005
posted 03-05-2019 08:21 PM
I saw it over the weekend in IMAX as well. I echo what everyone else has said. It's a great documentary.
Tells it like it was in a straightforward manner. Telling the story without narration, save for the few very appropriate recordings of Walter Cronkite, really added drama to the story. Watching this makes you wonder how so many other documentaries manage to make one of the most dramatic events of our lifetime seem so boring.
tedc Member
Posts: 188 From: Renton, WA USA Registered: Mar 2002
posted 03-05-2019 09:31 PM
Went today to see it in Tukwila, WA. Now that's how you do a documentary. Excellent.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-06-2019 03:54 PM
Matt Morton's wonderful "Apollo 11" score will be released digitally on Friday (March 8), with vinyl and CD releases to follow.
Posts: 4 From: Boulder, CO, USA Registered: Jul 2016
posted 03-07-2019 10:10 AM
I was an engineer on the launch team at KSC for Apollo 11 and in my opinion, this is the best space documentary I have ever seen. I was the first person in the IMAX theater for the first showing in the Denver area and loved it so much I went back to see it again a few days later. Simply outstanding.
Buel Member
Posts: 828 From: UK Registered: Mar 2012
posted 03-07-2019 10:42 AM
This is fascinating! Can you start a thread on here and share a few memories, please?
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3463 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 03-07-2019 11:45 AM
I saw the film on Monday, along with some local aerospace leaders, and was in awe of the whole IMAX 2D production. The liftoff scene of the five F-1 engines coming to life, along with the intense sound and vibration, was spectacular to say the least!
Being here for Apollo 11 and seeing on the film all the bird watchers from the press corps, VIP viewing site areas, and all the people on hand from the river banks in Titusville and elsewhere, really brought back some childhood memories of mine in that hot summer of July 50 years ago.
All the image coverage of the LCC firing room, MCC, and elsewhere (on the USS Hornet as well) were so fascinating to me and I even knew, worked with later on, and in several instances acquired their space collections, several of the people featured in many of those places all throughout the movie. People like Guenter Wendt, Walt Kapryan, Jack King, Hans Gruene, Ron Woods, Tony Broadway, some press/PR reps, along with others, including Bob Gordon who I saw escorting astronaut families in Houston.
I'll have to see it all over again to take everything in, one more(+) times, and perhaps recognize more local space folks and nationwide space leaders and pioneers, mainly from those that attended the liftoff and working from inside both the LCC and MCC.
apollofilmbuff New Member
Posts: 2 From: Buffalo, NY, USA Registered: Mar 2019
posted 03-08-2019 08:00 AM
If anyone wants more from Todd Douglas Miller and Matt Morton, check out this short too: The Last Steps.
I'm seriously thinking about seeing it again this weekend. It'll not be quite as grand being at a small local theater instead of IMAX but, I don't think that I can wait until it's released on Blu-ray to see it again.
Jurg Bolli Member
Posts: 1147 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Nov 2000
posted 03-08-2019 10:10 PM
I just saw it tonight, not IMAX, but it was great and very impressive. Lots of scenes that I have never seen before, the movie is extremely well done.
Philip Member
Posts: 6149 From: Brussels, Belgium Registered: Jan 2001
posted 03-09-2019 07:55 AM
Could anyone elaborate on the claim of "new found footage" used in this documentary?
capoetc Member
Posts: 2303 From: McKinney TX (USA) Registered: Aug 2005
posted 03-09-2019 08:10 AM
Just check the third post in this thread.
Rooney's staff had located a cache of largely unprocessed film that he identified as the "65mm Panavision collection." (In this format, the negative is shot on 65-mm. film and then printed as a 70-mm. positive.) "The collection consists of approximately 165 source reels of materials, covering Apollo 8 through Apollo 13," Rooney wrote. "Thus far, we have definitively identified 61 of those 165 that relate directly to the Apollo 11 mission, including astronaut mission preparations, launch, recovery, and astronaut engagement and tours after the mission."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-09-2019 09:31 AM
Much of the new found material was shot for "Moonwalk One," director Theo Kamecke's 1970 film contracted by NASA. Much of the film was never used, and none of it had been used (or seen) in its full 70mm frame.
The footage spans pre-launch preparations at Kennedy Space Center, the launch itself, scenes from within Mission Control in Houston as the mission is ongoing and post-flight, aboard the USS Hornet and at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-09-2019 09:47 PM
The New York Times video
The moon is looking more full than ever. The director Todd Douglas Miller assembles beautifully restored archival footage, blends that with audio from the astronauts and a vibrant score to create a fresh look at a moment that has been woven into American consciousness. In this scene, Miller discusses his use of split screen to depict the point when the Eagle lunar module separates from the Columbia spacecraft and prepares to land on the moon.
p51 Member
Posts: 1746 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
posted 03-09-2019 10:43 PM
I just finished seeing at a couple of hours ago, at the only theater in the area that showing it. It wasn't in IMAX, but it was still extremely impressive.
I wouldn't have thought there was any new film out there, but this movie was definitely well worth the ticket price, and whatever the DVD is going to cost, as I'm surely going to buy a copy of it when it comes.
Space Cadet Carl Member
Posts: 290 From: Lake Orion, MI Registered: Feb 2006
posted 03-11-2019 06:22 AM
Apparently the "new" 70mm footage was shot for Theo Kamecke's surreal 1970 documentary Moonwalk One. Some of what we saw on the big IMAX screen last week appeared in a very cropped form in that 1970 documentary. The original 70mm film sat in the can for a half-century and this is the first time the entire wide format has been screened... using the latest high resolution scanning and color correction techniques. What a treat!
sterk03 Member
Posts: 28 From: Northampton Registered: Feb 2018
posted 03-11-2019 07:16 PM
Can anyone tell me why the movie is only one week for IMAX and will it be out again during July for the 50th anniversary?
MarylandSpace Member
Posts: 1406 From: Registered: Aug 2002
posted 03-11-2019 07:16 PM
I am hoping to see it tomorrow.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-11-2019 07:24 PM
quote:Originally posted by sterk03: Can anyone tell me why the movie is only one week for IMAX and will it be out again during July for the 50th anniversary?
The IMAX engagement was limited to one week in part because the same theaters were already committed to showing "Captain Marvel," which opened on March 8.
"Apollo 11" opened wide the same day. As Deadline Hollywood reports:
Apollo 11 launched in regular theaters after exclusive landings in IMAX locations around the country last weekend. In total, the Neon release grossed $1.3M in 405 theaters, averaging $3,212 bringing the Sundance premiere's cume to over $3.78M. Also noteworthy is that Apollo 11 made the overall box office top 10 as of Sunday afternoon.
Looking ahead, a 40-minute cut of the film, "Apollo 11: First Steps" will open in IMAX and other giant screens at museums and science centers in May. On May 14, the film will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD (a deluxe version of the Blu-ray with additional material not seen in theaters will follow in the fall).
In July, "Apollo 11" will air in its full 93-minute format on CNN.
Additional IMAX screenings of the full-length documentary are also planned as one-off special events, dates and details to be announced.
Spaceradiotvtom New Member
Posts: 1 From: Columbus New Jersey USA Registered: Mar 2019
posted 03-14-2019 05:25 PM
The film "Apollo 11" is a fascinating gift. The films made were used for the NASA film "Moonwalk One." So if you have seen other films about Apollo 11 some scenes will look familiar. This is because they are literally narrow views of the actual wide movies made in 1969. I remember the grandstand scenes showing Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon etc. This wide screen version is outstanding.
You will live the movie as if it is happening in real time. A lot of hard work and dedication went into getting it right. A five star movie if there ever was one about Apollo 11, space exploration and what the heavens hold for us. Bravo to ALL those who worked on film. You certainly got it right.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-19-2019 12:14 PM
Adam Savage’s Tested video
For this special episode, we're joined by Todd Miller, the director and editor of the new Apollo 11 documentary film now playing in theaters. Todd shares insights about how archivists discovered and restored previously unseen footage for the Apollo 11 launch, and the painstaking task of matching that footage with NASA audio. We can't recommend the film enough!
David C Member
Posts: 1348 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 03-19-2019 12:44 PM
Haven't seen this yet. Really hope I get the chance to see it in IMAX some time.
lucspace Member
Posts: 489 From: Hilversum, The Netherlands Registered: Oct 2003
posted 03-20-2019 03:52 AM
The Blu-ray version to be released is the full-duration version, fortunately giving Europeans a chance to see the original as well, with the 45 minute version in some theatres soon.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-20-2019 05:25 AM
In addition to the Blu-ray (and subsequent versions), an international theatrical release of the full-length 93 minute version is still in the works. As soon as the details are announced, they will be posted here.
NeilPearson Member
Posts: 170 From: UK Registered: May 2013
posted 03-20-2019 06:06 AM
The interview with Todd Miller was fascinating and the passion he has for the project is evident. It was very interesting to hear that the large format footage actually goes back to Gemini. Editing the full nine-day version down to 93 minutes must have been a challenge and hopefully there will be an extended release in the future!
quote:Originally posted by lucspace: The Blu-ray version to be released is the full-duration version, fortunately giving Europeans a chance to see the original...
Robert, do you know if there will be a separate Blu-ray/DVD release for outside the US? It isn't yet showing on Amazon.co.uk/fr/de etc. but I note that Amazon.com are listing it as being Region A/1, meaning that it won't play on European machines. That said, Amazon often get this region coding wrong because several studios are issuing region-free discs these days.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-20-2019 08:08 AM
I do not yet know the particulars of the Blu-ray release (or the deluxe version to follow later). If Amazon's information is correct, it may be that a region free version is being held off until after the international theatrical release.
Buel Member
Posts: 828 From: UK Registered: Mar 2012
posted 03-20-2019 03:15 PM
Am I right in presuming that this will not be released in cinemas in Europe/UK?
astro-nut Member
Posts: 1025 From: Washington, IL Registered: Jan 2006
posted 03-23-2019 03:12 PM
What a great movie! I went and saw this last week and it was excellent! Cannot wait for this to come out on DVD. I enjoyed this A LOT better than First Man. Just my opinion.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48558 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-23-2019 03:55 PM
quote:Originally posted by Buel: Am I right in presuming that this will not be released in cinemas in Europe/UK?
An international theatrical release (including the UK and other European countries) is planned for later this year. Details will be shared here when announced.
dss65 Member
Posts: 1299 From: Sandpoint, ID, USA Registered: Mar 2003
posted 04-08-2019 07:53 PM
Saw the documentary yesterday, and it was everything you might hope it to be. (I sure would like to see it in IMAX.) The crowd was rather small (although it was the fourth and final showing in town, so I don't know what the total number of viewers was) and largely made up of us folks old enough to remember the actual event.
The audience applauded the film at its conclusion and a couple of friends of mine who are not space geeks absolutely bubbled with enthusiasm as we discussed it outside the theater. I sure hope the 50th anniversary of this amazing accomplishment motivates people to celebrate it in a manner that it deserves.
davidcwagner Member
Posts: 943 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Registered: Jan 2003
posted 04-09-2019 12:04 AM
Just saw it. Must be fantastic in IMAX format. Where can I get the DVD?
posted 03-03-2019 09:56 AM
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