Moonshot
"On July 20, 1969, three men made history as the men on a mission to land on the moon. The eight-day journey aboard Apollo 11 was one of the most watched events ever. This film tells what it was like to be at the heart of the mission that changed the world. I know, my name is Buzz Aldrin. I was there."
THE MOON was once a source of bizarre science-fiction and fantasy stories because it was such an unexplored mystery.
All that changed on July 20, 1969. History was made as the first men landed and walked on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was one of the most watched events ever and the amazing story is recreated in the docu-drama Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, on ITV at 10.50pm on Monday, exactly 40 years after the landing.Starring Daniel Lapaine (Hotel Babylon, Muriel's Wedding) as Neil Armstrong, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville) as Buzz Aldrin (pictured) and Andrew Lincoln (Afterlife, Teachers) as Michael Collins, this drama documentary weaves the story of the men who undertook the mission with HD Nasa footage of Apollo 11 to bring together a unique testimony of this historic event.
Written by Tony Basgallop (Hotel Babylon) and directed by Richard Dale, (Diana: The Last Days of a Princess, 9/11: The Twin Towers), Moonshot is the story of the moment that united 600 million people around the world.
Dramatising key moments and events in the years spent preparing for their mission, the film builds a picture of the astronauts' lives on the ground and how they shaped what happened in space and on the moon.
In 1961 President Kennedy told the world that that the United States would land on the moon by the end of the decade. This began the series of Apollo missions that would culminate with Apollo 11 - the first moon landing.
Moonshot follows the astronauts as they go through NASA's intense selection procedures and reveals the arduous Apollo training process that has such an impact on their families and friendships.In 1967, the dangers of the mission were brought home when three astronauts were killed by a fire on the first Apollo spacecraft, affecting everyone in the close knit space community.
Then, in 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned flight to orbit the moon and the mission was a big media event.
The nation crowded around their television sets to watch, prompting a concerned Buzz to tells Neil Armstrong: "My face doesn't fit on the screen, like some of the other guys. Too big, too long."
Neil also has his concerns about the media and he tells Buzz: "If they want to talk about the technical aspects then sure, I'm happy to answer but for some reason they just want to know how everything feels."
Buzz replies: "Even if you could tell them they wouldn't get it. Because when you're up there in space looking down there's nothing wrong with the world, but when you're down here looking up, everything's different."
The film captures the deliberations involved in selecting the crew. In one scene, the NASA official leading the process tells Neil Armstrong that Buzz Aldrin has a reputation for speaking his mind.
He gives Neil a choice between Aldrin and fellow astronaut Jim Lovell, forcing him to think about who he would be able to work with - and who he could trust with his life. Armstrong chooses Aldrin, but which of them would take the first steps on the moon would be decided by NASA. [D-Man2010]The fact that this docudrama on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 is a British/German/ French/American co-production and scripted by a Hotel Babylon writer might lead you to dread a mushy mess, but it turns out to be solid, worthy and well put together. It interleaves news footage with dramatised scenes that imagine what it was like behind the scenes at Nasa and among the astronauts' wives. James Marsters (Spike in Buffy) plays Buzz Aldrin as a restless, shoot-from-the-hip type; Daniel Lapaine is excellent as unflappable Neil Armstong; and Andrew Lincoln makes up the numbers as Michael Collins, the module pilot who never got to walk on the Moon. Instead of focusing on the engineering feat, the film dwells on tensions between Aldrin and Armstrong and their awe at being in space. It's impressively done, but bathed in the kind of rich, orchestral music that sounds stirring and self-important. Plus why is Anna Maxwell Martin wasted in a non-role as Armstrong's wife? [D-Man2010]
historical