Product Description

During the Apollo lunar missions from 1968 to 1972, those onboard were given 16mm cameras and told to film anything and everything they could, in space, in orbit, and on the surface of the moon itself. Two decades later, filmmaker Al Reinert went into the NASA vaults to create this extraordinary compendium of their journeys and experiences. Assembled from hundreds of hours of the astronauts' own footage, with a soundtrack made up of their memories and a specially composed score by Brian Eno, the film takes the form of one journey to the moon and back again, building with elegant simplicity and exquisite construction to create an overpowering vision of human endeavour and miraculous experience. At once intimate and awe-inspiring, FOR ALL MANKIND is a genuinely mesmerising first-hand document of one of the high points of the 20th century. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Criterion's beautiful high-definition restoration of the film for its UK home viewing première in a comprehensive, director-approved special edition. *****DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION including: -- A new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Al Reinert -- Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, remastered from the original sound stems -- Audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon -- An Accidental Gift: The Making of "For All Mankind," a new documentary featuring interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, and NASA archive specialists -- A gallery of Bean's artwork, inspired by his life as an astronaut, with commentary and a filmed introduction -- NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage -- Optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission control specialists -- New optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired -- A luxurious booklet, featuring essays, credits, stills, a new interview with Brian Eno, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3241 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-11-16
• Rating: Exempt
• Formats: Dolby, PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 79 minutes

Synopsis
FOR ALL MANKIND tells the true story of the 24 men who travelled to the moon as the entire US watched in awe. Sorting through nearly one hundred hours of film and sound recordings recovered from NASA --shot between December 1968 and November 1972, in the heyday of the space programme-- director Al Rienart has pieced together a seamless documentary commemorating man's landing on the moon. The film is a montage of images with voice-over interviews and comments from the participating astronauts of the moon landing. Brian Eno, famous for his ethereal music, provides the score. FOR ALL MANKIND presents an exhilarating portrait of an incredible human achievement, and was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar in 1989.

Customer Reviews

For all Mankind

I find this compelling. It preserves and communicates all the feelings and emotions of the astronauts on the hazardous Apollo missions better than any other film has. They tell the story, as it happens, through their own "home video" taken throughout all the Apollo missions. It's an irony that we've become so familiar with the jerky, spontaneous style of home recording recently- a result of You Tube, mobile phones and films like Cloverfield. This film made use of the intimacy of this style long before any of those were around.

I first saw this documentary film when it was screened on the BBC around the time of the 20th anniversary of the moon landings in 1989. I recorded it on videotape and watched it over and over again throughout my late teenage years. Unfortunately, my life moved on and the VHS format became obsolete. By the time I finished university, my parents had thrown it away. So, now I'm reserving a DVD copy and expect to be hooked all over again.