We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard. …We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all mankind.- President John F. Kennedy.

In the early 1960’s, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a struggle for supremacy in space. The Russians sent a probe up first (Sputnik). We responded by sending up a monkey. They responded by sending up Yuri Gagarin. We responded by being crazy enough to televise our spaceflights in the Mercury and Gemini programs. President John F. Kennedy then raised the ante: He set the goal, before the end of the decade, that the United States would land on the moon! Between December 1968 and November 1972, 9 manned flights to the moon accomplished this, with Apollo 11 landing on July 20 1969 and Neil Armstrong uttering the immortal words “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind”.

For All Mankind, however, by Al Reinart, doesn’t focus on the politics. Reinart wasn’t interested in this movie for that reason. He became interested in wanting to make something after discovering that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had tons of footage of the spaceflights. Some of this was home movie footage from the astronauts themselves, while a lot of it was footage shot in case of accidents to be able to analyze what went wrong afterward. Most of it had never been seen before by the public, which prompted Reinart to collect some of it together. The result is a stunning motion picture: A salute to the thrill and wonder of exploring in space, and to the men whom risked their lives for this once in a lifetime experience.

Although considered a “documentary”, For All Mankind doesn’t follow the traditional blueprint. There is no formal narration and scant title cards (Something which I remembered turned me off when I first watched it, especially since it’s under the “National Geographic” label). There is a music score, but, for the most part, the images onscreen are supplemented by either the original soundtrack from the mission and mission control or, most of the all, from the words of some of the astronauts themselves. T.K Mattingly, whom flew on Apollo 16, remarked, upon seeing the moon out of the window before launch, that “I know they're doin' their job right because the moon's right straight ahead and that's where we're pointed and they're gonna launch us right straight to this thing.” It’s humorous when another astronaut recalls how the occupants had to relieve themselves in a bag on the spacecraft (While the other astronauts scramble around and strap on oxygen masks during the event!) On the topic of spacewalking, and indeed on the experience of being in space in general, one astronaut gets profound, saying “You’re the representative of humanity at that point in history; having that experience, essentially, for the rest of mankind.” The one problem with using the astronauts themselves is that they are never identified during the movie! I suppose it was deliberate from the filmmakers: The astronauts themselves are not as important as they words, thoughts and emotions that they express about their experience.

Much of the footage itself is startling and quite extraordinary. Astronauts are suited up in a pre-flight process that seems to take hours, and involves many technicians with the bulkiness of the suit. The footage of the launch and staging sequences are also great to look at (One never fully realizes just how intricate the whole process is). On the moon itself, we see the astronauts waiting tensely before landing. On the surface, they jump around on the gravity deprived surface, like children in a playground. There is footage taken from a manned lunar rover as well.

As far as accurate, chronological history goes, For All Mankind is definitely not accurate. The movie combines footage from not just Apollo, but also from the Gemini program with the spacewalks that are done. Missions are not in chronological order, either: One scene, we may be watching something from Apollo 8 (The first mission to orbit the moon), and then go to Apollo 11 (The first actual landing) or to Apollo 17, which had lunar rovers driven on the surface. The movie is best seen, to me, as a collage of the space program. There is also at least one artistic license taken (According to IMDB, part of the Kennedy quote above is actually a combination. In the speech shown in the movie, he actually said “of all peoples” in that particular speech. However, another line from a speech where he said “mankind” was spliced in, so as to match the mood of the movie). It is not accurate in a chronological sense, but it is accurate in depicting the thrill and the amazement that people had with traveling in space.

For its usage of remarkable footage, the memorable words of the astronauts themselves and for capturing the thrill and wonder of modern day exploration, For All Mankind is certainly a must see!

I watched the VHS edition, which is hosted by National Geographic (Though it was not produced by the society). There is, though, a terrific DVD produced by Criterion. Among other things, according to the amazon.com summary, the DVD includes subtitles that identify astronauts and mission control specialists onscreen! It also includes audio commentary from producer and director Al Reinart and Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. Other extras listed include some artwork and further NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS