This weekend will mark the 45th anniversary of
history’s first manned Moon landing; a monumental event which was the
culmination of a nation-wide American effort. But even before Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin made their historic landing and eventual moonwalk, our nearest
celestial neighbor had been capturing the imaginations of filmmakers and
storytellers for thousands of years. To help mark this occasion, here are Reel
Speak’s Top 10 films to feature our Moon.
10. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (2007) – Leave it to the
British to put together what may be the definitive documentary feature about
the United States’ manned Moon missions. This doc utilizes footage available at
the time of the missions, along with NASA films and materials which had been
unseen for 30 years prior to the film’s release. The old material was
remastered in HD for a stunning presentation.
9. MOONWALK ONE (1970) – Another documentary feature, this
NASA-produced film was rejected for a wide-release at the time as no studio
would pick it up; fearing the American public and world had been over-saturated
with Moon stuff (the Space Race began in 1955). The doc was lost for decades
before being remastered and re-released in 2007. The film places the first Moon
landing into historical context, and it is the very first documentary film to
have been made on the subject.
8. TRANSFORMERS: THE DARK OF THE MOON (2011) – The story of
the first manned Moon landing has never been told in a non-documentary film
(somebody fix that, please), and although Michael Bay’s third film of alien
robots doesn’t either, it’s opening prologue consists of a magnificent
re-telling of the landing. It is beautifully shot, gracefully composed, and
backed by a moving score. If the story of Apollo 11 is ever to be told in a
blockbuster film, this prologue is an excellent starting point.
7. LA LUNA (2011) – Pixar’s animated short-film is a
multi-generational father-son story in which the family is charged with
sweeping fallen stars off the surface of the Moon. Charming and touching, it
carries its influence from The Little
Prince heavy on its sleeves, and that’s alright. LA LUNA is this Blogger’s
personal favorite of Pixar’s long list of shorts.
6. A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902) – The granddaddy of all Moon
movies deserves credit not only for starting it all, but for capturing the
imagination of all moonwatchers and aspiring voyagers. It is believed to be the
first science-fiction film ever made, and is often regarded as one of the Top
100 films in the 20th century thanks to its subject matter and innovative
visual effects.
5. MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION (2005) – This documentary film
borrows its title from Buzz Aldrin’s initial description of the surface of the
Moon. The film includes historical footage as well as re-enactments, and was
originaly released in a stunning IMAX 3D format.
4. MOON (2009) – Sam Rockwell’s one-man show involves a
single man caretaking a mining-station on the Moon when things go awry and then
get weird. What makes MOON so great is that the technology and situation feels
like it’s only a few years away; making it the most palatable science fiction
film made in the past decade.
3. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) – Famed director Stanley Kubrick’s
spacebound opus is widely regarded as one of the finest films ever made;
transcendent in its story, execution, and technical wizardry. The Moon plays a
small, yet vital part in the film…and its re-created surfaces are considered to
be very realistic; a massive feat considering it was released a full year
before Armstrong and Aldrin made their landing.
2. THE RIGHT STUFF (1984) – To be certain, man would have
never set foot on the moon if not for the unprecedented bravery and commitment
from America’s first group of astronauts…and THE RIGHT STUFF tells their
stories. Epic in nature, the film combines several genres of film into one long
effective narrative…and sums up what it takes to boldly go where no one has
gone before.
1. APOLLO 13 (1995) – In 1970, NASA’s second manned mission
to the Moon nearly ended in disaster when their spacecraft, Apollo 13, suffered
an explosion which crippled the craft and nearly ended the lives of the three
astronauts aboard. Ron Howard’s thriller-in-space captures the human drama and
tension suffered by the three voyagers, their families, and the thousands of
people on Earth who worked to get them back home alive. Travelling into outer
space is a hazardous venture, and APOLLO 13 manages to tell us about the hazard
inside the hazard…and doesn’t waste a
second of our attentions. The Moon in APOLLO 13 acts as divine inspiration for
the players, and perhaps it all can be summed up by Tom Hanks’ closing monologue;
when will we be going back, and who will that person be.
REEL SPEAK’S TOP
10 MOON MOVIES
1. APOLLO 13
2. THE RIGHT STUFF
3. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
4. MOON
5. MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION
6. A TRIP TO THE MOON
7. LA LUNA
8. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
9. MOONWALK ONE
10. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
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