Apollo 11 (2019 film)
Archival footage of the first Moon landing.
Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Todd Douglas Miller that chronicles the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight to land humans on the Moon. The film is composed entirely of archival footage, including previously unreleased 70 mm film, and contains no narration, interviews, or modern recreations. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received critical acclaim, winning multiple awards.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Todd Douglas Miller
- Producer
- Todd Douglas Miller
- Thomas Petersen
- Evan Krauss
- Starring
- Edwin Aldrin
- Neil Armstrong
- Michael Collins
- Charles Duke
- Bruce McCandless
- Music
- Matt Morton
- Studio
- CNN Films, Statement Pictures
- Distributor
- Neon (United States and Canada), Universal Pictures (International)
- Released
- 24 January 2019, Sundance, 1 March 2019, United States
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Production
Todd Douglas Miller began work on the project in late 2016 after completing a documentary short about Apollo 17, following a suggestion from British archival producer and film editor Stephen Slater to create a similar documentary for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. CNN Films became a partner in the project. Miller adopted a direct cinema approach, using no voice-over narration or interviews beyond contemporary source material. Animated line drawings, based on cel-animated graphics from Theo Kamecke's 1971 documentary Moonwalk One, illustrate parts of the Apollo spacecraft. Three wordless biographical sequences summarize the lives of Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins using family photographs and archive footage. In May 2017, Miller's team, NASA, and the National Archives and Records Administration discovered unreleased 70 mm footage of the preparation, launch, mission control operations, recovery, and post-flight activities of Apollo 11. This large-format footage includes scenes from Launch Complex 39, spectators, the Saturn V launch, astronaut recovery, and activities aboard the USS Hornet. The film also incorporates 35 mm and 16 mm footage, still photography, and closed-circuit television footage. A 47-minute edit titled Apollo 11: First Steps Edition was created for museum IMAX theaters, featuring extended large-format scenes. High-resolution digital scans of all ground-based activity reels were made at Final Frame in New York City, with specialized climate-controlled vans transporting the archival material to and from College Park, Maryland.
Accuracy
The film takes some liberties with the mission timeline. For instance, an incident on day 8 of the return voyage, when Michael Collins's biomedical sensor was disconnected and he joked about stopping breathing, is depicted in the film as occurring during the approach to the Moon, before the separation of the command module Columbia and Lunar Module Eagle.
Release
Apollo 11 had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 24, 2019. It received a limited IMAX release in the United States through Neon on March 1, and was released in the United Kingdom on June 28 through Universal Pictures and Dogwoof. Universal Pictures released the film for digital download, DVD, and Blu-ray in the U.S. on May 14, 2019, with extra features including a featurette and a theatrical trailer. Dogwoof released it on DVD, digital, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2019.
Reception
On its opening weekend, Apollo 11 grossed $1.6 million from 120 IMAX theaters, finishing 15th at the box office. The following weekend, it played in 405 traditional theaters and grossed $1.3 million, finishing 10th. In its third weekend, it grossed $1.2 million from 588 theaters, a drop of only 2%. Critics praised the film and the quality of the footage upon its Sundance premiere. On Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 192 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.9/10, and the site's consensus describes it as edifying and inspiring. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim. David Ehrlich of IndieWire complimented Miller's ability to make the Moon landing sequence feel unique and thrilling, noting the clarity of the footage. Owen Gleiberman of Variety called the footage quite spectacular and compared the film to Damien Chazelle's First Man. Glenn Kenny of The New York Times called the film entirely awe-inspiring and noted its ability to generate suspense. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four stars, describing it as an adrenaline shot of wonder and skill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Apollo 11 (2019 film)?
Apollo 11 stars Edwin Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Charles Duke and Bruce McCandless.
Who composed the music for Apollo 11 (2019 film)?
The music for Apollo 11 was composed by Matt Morton.
How long is Apollo 11 (2019 film)?
Apollo 11 has a running time of 93 minutes.
How much did Apollo 11 (2019 film) earn at the box office?
Apollo 11 grossed $15.3 million.
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