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Summary: Apollo 8's story is really the heart of this documentary
Review: ...P>For anyone who is an Apollo or NASA buff, there's really nothing new here. What I found of particular interest was the focus on the contributions of Apollo 8. In fact, Apollo 8's story is really the heart of this documentary. However, the movie never once overlooks the importance of the Gemini program, or the other important events in the race to the moon. I especially liked the small segment on John Houbolt and his rather aggressive quest to make NASA see that Lunor Orbit Rendevous was the only way to get to the moon.No two-hour documentary on the moon landings can be comprehensive, but this is an essential documentary for anyone interested in this era of US history. The interviews alone are worth the price of the disk.
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Summary: A Tale Well Told
Review: As a NASA employee of the (then) Manned Spacecraft Center, I was the rendezvous training instructor for Apollo 11. I was interested in hearing the history of Apollo before 1965, when I joined, and particularly the genesis of lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR), which became my preoccupation and specialty. I do regret that in this telling, as in nearly all others (Apollo 13, etc.), there is no indication that there was a separate organization of support engineers for the astronauts (Flight Crew Operations Directorate), which often had issues with the flight controllers, who were not the sovereign "Masters of the Universe" they portray themselves to be in memory. We often found ourselves arguing issues of on-board capability and autonomy vs. ground control with the Flight Operations Directorate (Chris Kraft, Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney, et. al.). After Apollo, these guys won that argument with the result that both the shuttle and space station are -by design- annexes to the Mission Control Center.
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Summary: I've Seen Them All, and This One is Far and Away THE BEST!!!
Review: Being born in Houston in 1955, I literally grew up with the NASA space program in my back yard. I think I have probably watched every film and video made about the United States' amazing race to the moon. There is no doubt in my mind that "To The Moon" is the best. There have recently been some programs on TV, as well as web sites, which try to provide proof that Man never reached the moon. Anyone who watches this amazing documentary will scoff at such suggestions. In addition to stunning film footage that I have never seen anywhere before, this documentary has some very integral commentary from the men who made the trip to the Moon and back. These men were extraordinary pilots and explorers, not actors. The emotion displayed by these heroes is the thing that reached out and grabbed me. The best scenes in this movie took place thirty years after the last lunar visit. Being filmed while sitting around a table in a hotel room somewhere discussing their memories, these men obviously remain in such absolute awe and wonder that their raw emotional display will bring a tear to the eye or a lump to the throat of even the most cynical non-believer. If you want to get the real story of NASA's amazing success, as well as the heart-wrenching failures, this is a MUST SEE!
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Summary: Not without its problems
Review: I am more sanguine about the quality of this production than most of the reviewers here. 2.5 stars from me. This is a decent telling of many aspects of the Apollo program. There are some important interview segments. Curiously lacking are such astronaut interviews, in detail, for the actual moon landing mission! The music is awful and pedestrian. There is little of the sense of wonder, effort, and the various machinations behind the scenes that led to the development of the program. I would suggest that far more inspiring and of immense technical quality, though a dramatization, is From the Earth to the Moon. And as for a documentary, I suggest For All Mankind, which was up for an Academy award. In fact, I noted that many of the documentary segments in To The Moon cooberate these far better efforts.
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Summary: A Marvelous Trip to the Moon
Review: I grew up in the space biz, and worked in it for about a decade, so I know a lot of its history - ins and outs that the majority of folks just never hear about or have forgotten. But this NOVA special had a few surprises even for me, and lots of wonderful details and glimpses into the background - both political and personal - of the players during the early, "golden" years of the American space program. HIGHLY recommended to anyone with an interest in space, or in mid-20th century American history.
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Summary: Outstanding documentary of the Moon flights.
Review: I liked the amount of detail that was put into this documentary and it was nice to see John Houbolt getting the credit for the idea of using a command module and shuttle to land on the moon(I have never seen this mentioned before).His fight with the incompetent beaurocracy was epic.The DVD shows how dangerous the Moon landings were as Apollo 11 went 4 miles past their landing site,to avoid boulders,and landed with only 21 seconds of fuel left(a very nice re-creation).The information on the danger involved in the spacewalks was something that I hadn't seen in other documentaries and the statement on how vital the Apollo 7 tragedy was to safeguard the eventual flights(by forcing them to make improvements)was food for thought.If it hadn't happened,then the Moon landing might have failed.A great DVD.
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Summary: The one to buy!
Review: Im a big NASA nut, and this is simply the best all-in-one documentary of the first act of the Space Age from the American point of view. For the USSR side of the story, check out the RED FILES spotlight on Sergei Koroliev...that makes an excellent companion pice the the NOVA special.
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Summary: Wonderful documentary and a lot I didn't know
Review: Lest anyone think this is the same old story of the moon shot, "One Small Step For Mankind" and all that, Nova's "To The Moon" is actually two fascinating hours of many of the stories that have been overlooked about man's journey to the moon. Few people know about the man who advocated the method of travel, called Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous, or why he was unpopular even after his contribution led to man getting to the moon. Few people know why Kennedy vaguely said we should get a man to the moon "by the end of the decade." Few people know the history of the Gemini program, lost between the Tom Wolfe heroics of Mercury and the Cold War glories of Apollo. Few people know about the later astronauts--in fact, how many people can name an astronaut after the Apollo 11 crew? (If you saw "Apollo 13" this might not be as hard.) The clips of the last mission on the moon, with happy-go-lucky geologist Harrison Schmidt dancing around digging for moonrocks, is worth the price of the DVD alone. Highly recommended as an educational tool as well as a fun ride. Public schools would be wise to teach kids history in this lively way.
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Summary: The Best Brief History of Apollo
Review: Nova should be commended for producing this excellent documentary. The important decisions, such as the choice of Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, are covered in a comprehensible yet comprehensive manner. The background of Apollo, especially in the now almost forgotten Gemini program, is covered, as are the evolution of the Saturn launchers, CSM, and LM. A natural focus of the DVD are the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions, which are covered in some detail, but other less memorable yet important (i.e., the 'Genesis rock', the Apollo 13 near disaster, etc.) areas are covered thoughtfully as well. The editing and factual accuracy is absolutely superior, and the overall value is unbeatable. If you only own one documentary on the Apollo program, make it this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: The DVD is very interesting and discusses a lot about the early development of the space program and the push toward the moon. It includes parts of the Soviet space program that were new for me. Unfortunately, there are not enough cool space pictures for my taste. The program could trade a few of the animations (better than those
I remember seeing in the late '60s) for more real shots of the moon and space.
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