Rating: 
Summary: For All Man Kind!
Review: I have long been a fan of the U.S. space program. I think it is a very noble endeavor. As far as the public goes, we may be amazed at the technical achievements of the space program and in awe of the fact that mankind has left this world and set foot on another... And since most of us will not ever get the chance to set foot on another planet we can only imagine what an extraordinary adventure going into space and visiting the moon could feel like. This film captures through its imagery and ethereal music and the conveyed feeling of these Astronauts thoughts of what it could be like for the rest of us had we been there. It gives us a third person perspective of being on the moon. The viewer is the camera, not just watching the spectacle of what Astronauts do in space but standing there beside them on the moon. Feeling what they felt, experiencing what they experienced. After watching this I came away with the since that I had been there and had at least glimpsed a tiny bit of the emotional experience that those few men must have been consumed by. It made me think of the beauty of nature, the universe and what it all means. I've watched this movie twenty times now, and each time I get that same feeling of humility. It's a good thing and I think everyone should see it because it's for all mankind!
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive DVD
Review: I have purchased every decent looking DVD about NASA and the space program that has come out. Hightlights: Apollo 13, From the Earth to the Moon. Lowpoints: Madacy 5 DVD Set. Anyway, this DVD gets 1 less than the maximum 5 stars only because Apollo 13 and From the Earth to the Moon (FtEttM) are some of the best DVDs out, and this one doesn't quite match those ones. The main feature IS good, but somehow seemed a little dry. What you get is actual NASA video footage with the Astronauts talking over the top. The talking sometimes matches what you are seeing and sometimes doesn't, so it is a little wierd. Also, it is not a great way of explaining what you are seeing in the video footage. If you already have FtEttM, the best explanation is that this DVD is like FtEttM with audio commentary by the real astronauts. If you want to know about the Apollo program, and you don't already have FtEttM, you should get that instead unless you are obsessed with seeing the "real" footage. To tell you the truth, as I watched this DVD, I was constantly trying to match up the real astronauts with the characters in FtEttM. Here are a couple of other minor complaints: It is hard to know who is talking, as the person talking rarely matches the person shown on the screen. Maybe you can tell if you have subtitles turned on, but that would be annoying. Secondly, the footage is not in any kind of chronological order, you could be looking at footage from Apollo 11, then the next face you see is Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) and then you are looking at Ed White doing his space walk on his Gemini mission. He wasn't even alive during the Apollo missions to the moon. I would have much preferred if they would have lumped all of the pre-Apollo footage together, Apollo 11 footage together, etc. HOWEVER, after saying all of that, there is one feature that totally redeems this DVD. The Al Bean photo gallery and commentary are excellent. You need to watch the Introduction and then look at all of the pictures to get all of the commentary. In case you don't know, Al Bean was the fourth person to walk on the moon (Apollo 12) and since then has painted many scenes from the moon landings. His paintings are fabulous and there is an interesting story behind each one. Sorry to mention this *again*, but if you saw From the Earth to the Moon - you will remember how Al Bean was portrayed in the episode about Apollo 12. It is great to find out that he is really like that and all of the crazy things that he and Pete Conrad did are true. On a side note, I checked into buying prints of Al's paintings and they are available on the web but they are NOT CHEAP - $250 minimum. He does have a coffee table book that looks pretty good, but I haven't bought it yet so I can't say too much about it. Maybe I will review it when I get my copy. Any way, if you are a space nut, you should get this DVD. However, if you want to learn about the Apollo space program, this would not be my first choice (see hints above). Overall, it is worth the price and I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: UNBELIEVABLE!
Review: I have to STRONGLY disagree with the person who gave this 3 stars. That was far too picky. Yes, the footage is not in true chronological order. It is, however, in a kind of mission order that makes it seem like one big mission. You can choose subtitles to show which mission or crew is being presented, but I've heard that some might be incorrect. Anyway, I almost didn't buy this because of "3-star Curmudgeon". Thank goodness I ignored him. I would have missed THE MOST SPECTACULAR FOOTAGE I'VE EVER SEEN!!! If the Apollo (and Mercury/Gemini) programs remotely interest you, you need this DVD! Absolutely perfect!!!! Gave me goosebumps! !6! stars!
Rating:
Summary: For All Mankind
Review: I own over 60 VHS tapes, dealing with NASA and no other film can convey the fellings you get from watching this movie. It puts you in the driver seat for the ride of your life. I wish all the young people of the world could watch this movie so that they could feel what we felt when it was happening in real time
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome content almost overcomes NASA marketing
Review: I saw "For All Mankind" in its IMAX incarnation at the Smithsonian. I hate to be a party pooper, but it struck me as more a NASA marketing piece than the awesome piece of space trip I had expected. Admittedly, I am biassed, having seen Spaceborne many years ago. The latter was a short assembled from public-domain footage, and had a much more spontaneous, closer-to-the-moment feeling than "For All Mankind". Still, space footage is space footage: hard to screw it up, especially with a score by Brian Eno. If only Criterion had included Spaceborne (otherwise unavailable) on this disk.
Rating:
Summary: Preparation to Splashdown, Creatively Presented
Review: I usually don't read other reviews when giving my own but decided to thumb through to make certain that I had not reviewed this before. But I noticed that people are dropping stars because they demand that the DVD be placed in chronological order. Or they insist that it not be a mixture of astronauts. Or they criticize the use of astronauts' voices or that they don't know who said what and babble on and on. The critics miss the point, which director Al Reinert addresses in the director's comments. Reinert's decision to mix and merge all the first generation astronaut came by his desire to use only the best footage of all of NASA's film archives. The only way to present them effectively is the way Reinert did, which made better sense than trying to place the footage in chronological order. Reinert also wanted to use a generic approach instead of muddling everything up with astronaut identifications (which is actually an option in the subtitles) that might have turned 79 minutes of enjoyment into a technical approach that takes away from the FEELING of the race to the Moon. And all the astronauts, Reinert said, had no problem with that decision. There are enough documentaries and docudramas out there. In my opinion, the intent of this film was simply to place the majority of the world into the cockpit or LEM, buckle that seatbelt and enjoy the ride, since 99.99% or more of us don't have the opportunity to even ride supersonic, let alone even fly into space or even experience zero gravity. The joy in watching FAM was in how Reinert simply found a way to let us feel the anticipation and drama of preparing for these trips "and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard," as President John F. Kennedy says in his Rice University speech. The quotes that Reinert lifted from the speech empowered the rest of the movie, that Reinert combined the different missions to create a display of a generic preparation- to- splashdown film. It's such a long journey from Earth orbit to the lunar surface, and in that time, there's so much time to wait. In the way Reinert edited his movie (note that he NEVER said it's a documentary), he did a wonderful job of showing the down time that an astronaut had during that journey. Pop on the optional track where Reinert and astronaut Gene Cernan discuss the projects (the movie and Moon race project) to an even finer detail to get the most out of this DVD. The package deserves 5 stars in my opinion. There was nothing that I didn't like, except that it wasn't longer. I first knew of FAM while surfing local channels and saw this great piece with a fresh musical track accompanying it. I taped what I could and held on to the hopes of this appearing in a digital format. What also sold me was the musical score by Brian Eno. He has a way of making music sound timeless, and the score he created still sounds just as fresh. The folks at Criterion did a marvelous job to deliver a great DVD package (details below), and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this again. For those who harp about not knowing who is talking or who is being shown in the movie, the DVD has options to see who is speaking through the subtitles. Another set of subtitles is presented as an option to view simply who is on the screen at the time. I did not get this to view manned space exploration in chronological order (you can get this by viewing the Spacecraft Films series of Apollo, Gemini and the Saturns which have none of the excitement and human interest that FAM does). I just wanted a fresh view of the journey to the Moon, and Reinert delivered exceptionally well, in my opinion. Technical details: 79 minutes in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1; digital transfer from a 35mm print from original NASA stock footage; original mono track was digitally prepared and output as Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo; optional audio commentary by Reinert and Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander; paintings with audio commentary by Apollo/ Skylab astronaut and artist Alan Bean; liftoff audio and film footage from NASA; English subtitles with astronaut identifications; onscreen identifications of President Kennedy, astronauts and key NASA mission control specialists; DVD box says this is an RSDL dual- layer edition, also; 3- page, C- folding pamphlet with Apollo astronaut IDs, production credits and foreword by Reinert. PS- One piece of stock footage that is recognizable is during staging when one of the rocket's rings is ejected. You know it, the ring floats off with flames inside it? It's incredible to see what the camera inside the ring shows, and Reinert describes in his comments how the footage is actually shot and recovered.
Rating:
Summary: Get this DVD if you want some fantastic video footage
Review: I wouldn't recommend this DVD if you're someone who just wants to learn the basics about the Apollo space program. If you don't already know something about the Apollo missions, you'll probably just find the format of this movie to be confusing. They've taken video footage from eleven different Apollo missions, plus Apollo-Soyuz footage, plus even some Gemini footage, and pieced it all together into one grand hypothetical mission to the moon. It's a nice idea, if you like that sort of thing. But, if you don't already know Apollo, you'll just be wondering why the astronauts on-board this "one" mission are different in every scene, and wondering what's going on with all of the strange audio clips they've pieced together. But, if you're an Apollo enthusiast, yup, you simply must buy this DVD. The fantastic footage alone makes this video worthwhile. There's some stuff here that you'll find in the standard NASA videos. But, there's also a lot of hard-to-find stuff that they dug out of the NASA archives. And, yes, it's all authentic NASA footage, no computer generated stuff (though they did use computer technology to clean up some of the scenes here and there). The primary audio track is put together in the same spirit as the video, clips pieced together from many missions. Some audio clips are from the actual missions. Other audio clips come from interviews with the astronauts. And, of course, there's a director commentary track with guest speaker Gene Cernan. (I always find it interesting to listen to commentary by the actual astronauts who walked on the moon.) They've even thrown in some bonus material of Alan Bean's paintings, as well as Alan Bean's comments about the inspiration to the paintings, and some of his thoughts about flying to and walking on the moon. I give this one 5 stars because it's just plain amazing to watch actual moonshot footage, especially when they throw in so much rare and spectacular material.
Rating:
Summary: This is a the one I was looking for
Review: I wrote an online review for the 5-disc set of NASA's 25 year documentary series. In it I stated that there were too many shots of ground control and not enough shots of the earth from space and breathtaking footage. "For All Mankind" on the other hand is LOADED with awesome views of Earth from space, astronauts doing EVA and life in space. This is the DVD to get if you want to see some very cool footage and learn more about the Apollo program.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtakiing
Review: I"ve been a fan of the Eno Apollo album since buying it around '84 on vinyl. Recently I bought the CD and for grins did a search to see if the movie ever appeared on DVD. Lo and behold here it is and it's been worth the wait. It is a very rare chance to hear astronauts in and out of space talking about their experiences as well as to see the incredible film, blown up from 16mm to 35mm and handled with extreme care and love. Director Reinart (who wrote the screenplay for Ron Howard's "Apollo 13") is a respectful and caring custodian of the grand Apollo missions. His exploration of the thousands of miles of film to bring us this magnificent work is nothing short of saintly. The music is haunting and finally with this DVD has a landscape to adorn. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A montage of disturbing incongruities
Review: I've never felt as ambiguous about a movie as I do with this one. It is a case of all the right ideas used in all the wrong ways. Exclusively using original NASA footage and audio makes perfect sense. Where Mr. Mattingly goes terribly wrong is taking footage from completely unrelated missions and creating his own Frankenstein's moon shot. I'm not picking nits here. The movie depicts a space walk during an Apollo moon mission, using Gemini footage. The astronaut identifications are sometimes wrong. The voice-overs don't match the images. And, by far, the most distrubing inconsistency is the depiction of the Apollo 13 disaster, followed by "everything is fine" dialog and a continuation to the moon! The only redeeming quality of this film is the footage itself. It is stunning, to stay the least. Especially beautiful is the footage on the moon and of the astronauts driving the rover. I shudder to think of anyone watching this film with the assumption that it represents historical fact. If you want pretty pictures, this film fits the bill. If you want history, go elsewhere.
| 
