I must confess that I'm rather picky about documentaries.  For a long time I thought documentaries were a waste of good film and time to be brutally honest.  However, as I got a bit older and (I hope) a bit wiser, I've learned that they do have a proper place in the world of films.  I remain picky about them though because some use documentaries not to document, but to make social commentary, or proclaim one viewpoint to the exclusion of all others.  I, on the other hand, have always felt that they should do simply what the genre says, simply document.

I've been an avid follower of the space program since the ripe old age of 6, sitting on the floor and watching John Glenn launch into the heavens in Friendship Seven (Yes, I'm THAT old),  From that moment, I've been hooked   So, when I discovered In the Shadow of the Moon completely by accident while I was watching a DVD called Bordertown, I was immediately interested.  When I saw that Ron Howard's name was attached increased my interest as I felt he and his company had done an incredible job of the movie, Apollo 13.

Between 1968 and 1972, nine missions to the moon were launched, and out of those missions, only twelve men have stood on that barren sphere, the only men to have seen Earth from an alien world.  In his introduction, Ron Howard states, “These are the heroes of some of America's greatest moments in our history, when the world watched and prayed for our success.”  The tagline used to advertise the film summed it up best:  “Remember when the whole world looked up.”  This film will bring back memories for those of us who lived in those heady times.  For those who came along later, it  gives a very clear image of the events and the people who lived them.

Director David Sington showed not only a great sense of how to tell the story, but exceptional wisdom in omitting any audio narration in this film, allowing the ten astronauts who lived the story, to tell it in their own words, along with archival footage from NASA, and other sources.  All of this combines to make this one of the best oral histories of the Apollo program that this reviewer has ever witnessed.  While, regretfully, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong declined to take part in this film, each of the nine lunar Apollo missions were represented by ten extraordinary men:  Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Eugene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Michael Collins (Apollo 11), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16, also Capsule Communicator for Apollo 11), Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 & 13), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), Dave Scott (Apollo 15 and also Apollo 9 which was an earth orbital mission), and John Young (Apollo 10 and 16).  Each of these men tell their stories, sometimes with humor, and some with great sadness.  One perfect example is John Young telling of the days before the tragic Apollo 1 fire when he discussed the wiring of the Apollo craft at the time with Virgil (Gus) Grissom, the Apollo 1 commander.  “The wires were really bad in there.  I'd ask Gus.  I said, 'Gus, why don't you say something about this wiring.  I said it was really terrible   They ought to do something about this wiring.  It's really bad.'    He said, 'I don't.'  He said, 'I can't say anything about it or they'll fire me.'  That's what he told me.  I couldn't believe it.”

While watching the footage of the flights and listening to the men tell of their experiences, you get the nearest thing to a “You Are There” viewpoint that is possible for those of us looking back through the pages of time, and allows the men to share how their voyages effected them both in the immediate days after the mission and in the months and years since.  Also, one important thing for the viewers to do is watch all of the film, including the credits.  In the tradition of many films in recent years, Mr. Sington included some special clips that play during the credits where the retired astronauts comment on the various conspiracy theories that have been put forward by some, claiming that the moon landings were totally fake.  The best one was the comment by Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins:  “I don't know two Americans who have a fantastic secret without one of the blurting it out to the press.  Can you imagine thousands of people able to keep a secret?”  Well said, sir!

David Sington has, in this project, not only achieved making a wonderful and very entertaining documentary, but has created an oral history of the Apollo program from the very men themselves which will be an incredible asset for historians both in the present time and in the future, after these men, and all of us who were alive at that time have shuffled off this world.  He is to be commended for his efforts and is very deserving of the award the film won at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the World Cinema Audience Award.  I strongly recommend it to all who are interested in the exploration of space as a “must see” film.