posted 07-20-2018 09:00 AM               

'Apollo 11' film to show first moon landing like never before

A new cinematic space event film promises to show audiences the historic Apollo 11 first moon landing mission like they have never seen before.

"Apollo 11," from director Todd Douglas Miller, will feature never-before-seen large format film footage of the 1969 mission that landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon. The feature-length documentary is executive produced by CNN Films and produced by Miller's Statement Pictures.

posted 11-28-2018 03:40 PM               

"Apollo 11" is included among 16 world-premiere films in U.S. Documentary Competition:

APOLLO 11 / U.S.A. (Director: Todd Douglas Miller, Producers: Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Petersen, Evan Krauss) — A purely archival reconstruction of humanity's first trip to another world, featuring never-before-seen 70mm footage and never-before-heard audio from the mission. World Premiere

posted 12-09-2018 04:43 PM               

In May of last year, [director Todd] Miller received a startling e-mail from [National Archives supervisory archivist Dan] Rooney. "I was used to the way in which archivists and librarians communicate, which is typically very monotone, very even keel," Miller said. "But I get this e-mail from Dan, and it's just insanely long and full of exclamation points and bolded words." Rooney's staff had located a cache of largely unprocessed film that he identified as the "65mm Panavision collection." (In this format, the negative is shot on 65-mm. film and then printed as a 70-mm. positive.) "The collection consists of approximately 165 source reels of materials, covering Apollo 8 through Apollo 13," Rooney wrote. "Thus far, we have definitively identified 61 of those 165 that relate directly to the Apollo 11 mission, including astronaut mission preparations, launch, recovery, and astronaut engagement and tours after the mission."

posted 12-28-2018 10:54 AM               

"We are so excited to bring this exceptional project to institutional giant screen theatres and to share this extraordinary moment in time with audiences," said Patty Collins, Director of Global Sales at MacGillivray Freeman Films. "What could be more perfect for the giant screen than man's first steps on the moon?"

A feature-length, 90-minute version of the film, Apollo 11, will be distributed theatrically by Neon; CNN Films retains television rights to both versions of the documentary feature.

"MacGillivray Freeman have been the 'gold standard' in large-format film for a very long time and we're really excited to be working with them on this amazing project. We can't think of a better partner to bring this remarkable discovery of 65mm footage to the giant screen," said Miller.

posted 01-25-2019 02:15 PM               

'Apollo 11' lands at Sundance with never-before-seen mission footage

Attendees at this year's Sundance Film Festival are getting a first look at never-before-seen footage from the first moon landing mission.

Billed as "a cinematic event fifty years in the making," director Todd Douglas Miller's "Apollo 11" premiered Thursday (Jan. 24) as one of the festival's opening night films. The 93-minute documentary, presented by Neon and CNN Films, was crafted from a newly-discovered trove of large-format, 65mm footage and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings to provide a new look of one of the most iconic and historic moments in human history.

posted 01-26-2019 01:36 PM               

Both Neon and CNN Films held parties for the film's premiere at their respective lounges. Neon partnered with Lyft for their lounge, decorating the walls with stills from "Apollo 11," as pictured here:

Here with (left to right): director Todd Miller, Rick Armstrong, composer Matt Morton and producer Tom Petersen.

posted 01-26-2019 01:45 PM               

After the premiere screened, we were all invited up for a Q&A:

On Friday night (Jan. 25), "Apollo 11" was screened at the Sundance Mountain Resort, where the festival first began. Here, joining myself, Todd Miller, Rick Armstrong and Ben Feist are Ryan Turner and Danielle Roosa, the granddaughter of Apollo 14 command module pilot Stu Roosa.

posted 01-26-2019 01:56 PM               

• New York Post

  ...there's a new documentary that absolutely must be seen by anyone who's ever owned a telescope or pretended a stock pot was their astronaut helmet. Called "Apollo 11," the movie tells the story of the 1969 moon landing using spectacularly restored old footage, much of which has never been seen before. The picture is, at times, so crisp and clear — think follicles of hair, sandwich wrappers on the Mission Control desk — that it could've been shot last week.

• The Wrap

  Mostly, this is a blow-by-blow of the mission, condensing eight days in space to less than 80 minutes of screen time. Restricted to existing footage plus some explanatory graphics, the filmmakers manage to explore all facets of a mission that mostly ran like clockwork – and while you wouldn't be in the theater if you didn't know how it ends, they manage to throw in enough small surprises and inventive touches to keep a familiar story from flagging.

• IndieWire

  It's rare that picture quality can inspire a physical reaction, but the opening moments of "Apollo 11," in which a NASA camera crew roams around the base of the rocket and spies on some of the people who've come to gawk at it from a beach across the water, are vivid enough to melt away the screen that stands between them. The clarity takes your breath away, and it does so in the blink of an eye; your body will react to it before your brain has time to process why, after a lifetime of casual interest, you're suddenly overcome by the sheer enormity of what it meant to leave the Earth and land somewhere else. By tricking you at a base sensory level into seeing the past as though it were the present, Miller cuts away the 50 years that have come between the two, like a heart surgeon who cuts away a dangerous clot so that the blood can flow again.

• Variety

  "Apollo 11" has no narration, no talking heads, and so for 93 flash-cut minutes we're simply gazing at these marvelous and inexplicable images of things that happened long ago. There's a fantastic design to it, of course; the machines are like a heavy-duty form of magic, and the voyage comes off like clockwork. But what the images channel is the wonder of the unprecedented.

• The Hollywood Reporter

  Much of the footage in Apollo 11 is, by virtue of both access and proper preservation, utterly breathtaking. The sense of scale, especially in the opening minutes, sets the tone as rocket is being transported to the launch pad and resembles nothing so much as a scene from Star Wars only with the weight and grandeur that come from 6.5 million pounds of machinery instead of CG.

posted 01-26-2019 07:10 PM               

Ken and Niels, I think you're going to love this film when it comes to theaters. As Rick Armstrong put it at last night's screening, his jaw was on the floor from start to finish — and this wasn't even the IMAX cut.

Mike Collins saw an early cut of film's first 30 minutes in IMAX and Buzz Aldrin has seen the full film as screened at Sundance. They both had some very nice things to say about the film.

quote:

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Originally posted by NeilPearson:
Has any work been done, or is going to be done, with footage from the other missions?

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posted 01-26-2019 09:23 PM               

Enjoying my time with the Apollo 11 documentary film crew and director Todd Douglas Miller, at a private screening in NYC. The movie opened yesterday at Sundance Film Festival to great reviews. Well done.

posted 01-28-2019 11:00 AM               

'Apollo 11' trailer, poster show enormity of first moon landing mission

To paraphrase the words spoken by Buzz Aldrin when he first set foot on the moon, the new trailer for "Apollo 11" is "magnificent resolution."

Released on Monday (Jan. 28), four days after the documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the two-minute video offers a glimpse of some of the film's never-before-seen footage from the historic first moon landing mission 50 years ago.

posted 01-28-2019 01:20 PM               

Thanks you for digitally preserving the film. Where will the film be stored long-term?

posted 02-13-2019 02:05 PM               

'Apollo 11' documentary to launch onto IMAX screens on March 1

"Apollo 11" now has a launch date.

The Todd Douglas Miller documentary, which features never-before-seen 70mm footage and previously unheard audio from the historic first moon landing mission, will exclusively debut in IMAX theaters for one week only beginning March 1.

The feature-length film, which premiered to critical acclaim at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, will then open in movie theaters everywhere on March 8.

posted 03-01-2019 01:30 AM               

Eleven hidden space history details in new documentary 'Apollo 11'

In the new documentary film "Apollo 11," audiences are treated to a sweeping view of the first moon landing mission, packed with both iconic and seldom-seen details.

Absent of narration and interviews, "Apollo 11" lets its visuals and archival audio speak for itself. The result is an immersive experience that engages the general public and space history enthusiasts, alike.

Here, for the benefit of all, are 11 details to look for when watching "Apollo 11."

posted 03-02-2019 04:17 PM               

If you can see it in IMAX, do it! But hurry — it is only showing in IMAX for about a week and then will receive a general release in theaters.

I cannot say enough great things about this film. It will be an automatic "buy" for me whenever the Blu-ray is released. The music fits the mood perfectly, and the personalities of the crew members come through clearly. There was a LOT of footage I have not seen before as well.

And the video quality... just stunning. I seriously considered going back to the box office to buy another ticket to watch again, it was that good.

Seriously, do your self a favor and go see this movie in the theater!

posted 03-02-2019 10:03 PM               

The footage that struck me the most was from the launch, as it gives the viewer a chance to see the diversity of those who made the trip to the Cape and makes one feel among the thousands of spectators who witnessed this epocal event. The footage of the launch itself is especially memorable when viewed in an IMAX theater, as the viewer feels the sound that the Saturn V produces. Although there is no talking head to explain everything that happens in the film, this lends it a majestic quality that will add to its appeal.

posted 03-03-2019 07:02 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Buel:
The lack of talking heads/narration sounds unusual though...

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With the "Apollo 11" doc, the only nit I would pic (and it is a very, very minor one that does not detract from the experience) is that there was no indication of the fact that it took around 4 hours before the astronauts exited the LM on the lunar surface before the moon walk happened. In the doc, it seems as though they landed and almost immediately stepped outside — I thought that a note could have been made on the screen to say "four hours after the landing" or something like that.