Chasing the Moon

From the ultra-cool opening sequence, (the graphics, the historic images from the 50's and 60's, to the dramatic music) you knew well that American Experience was about to present us with a dazzling, fact filled and humane adventure. And a Thouroughly American adventure at that.

Looking back 50 years ago to all involved on every level. These brave, brainy, brilliant Americans were our contemporaries!

Just think about that for a moment. They are US! The best "us" we could ever hope to be.

It's all in "Chasing the Moon" - simply the finest documentary of it's kind.

I have been watching this on PBS, presented in three 2-hour episodes on consecutive nights. I am a product of the 1960s, I was in college during most of the project to send men to the Moon. I clearly remember those days but what this program does is pull back the curtain, it shows us so many interesting things that were totally unknown to the general public in the 1960s.

I was particularly touched by the original footage inside the astronaut's home during a launch, the wife and kids knowing full well that the mission was not 100% safe, that there was a distinct possibility the rocket would blow up or the men would get stranded between the Earth and the Moon. The emotions the wives were experiencing, shown in extreme close-ups. This really humanizes the whole experience.

I know, six hours seems like a very long running time but it is packed with interesting programming, never getting boring. A nice point of interest is the lone woman, a 20-something Mathematician, who became the prime person for providing information and directing spaceship guidance for successful insertion into Moon orbit, then later successful return to Earth. Each maneuver and rocket firing a critical step with zero room for error. Having a female in that role turned out to be groundbreaking.

Extremely well made series, I'm sure it will be available for replay for a long time on PBS. My public library already has the program available on DVD, so anyone who missed this can check with their public library.

"Chasing the Moon" comprehensively covers the history of spaceflight from the closing days of WWII through the Apollo program in a way you've never seen before. It brilliantly blends five narratives. The recollections of the astronauts themselves, insights from NASA administrators and engineers, extensive broadcast TV clips and rare NASA footage, an appreciation of the Russian space program, and the politics that empowered these human and technological achievements. Viewers are transported through the era in a way that allows you to feel that you are there, watching it all unfold live before your eyes.

The six hour film is presented in three parts, so there is a bit of a commitment involved, but you will see oodles of rare newsreel footage that even a space junkie like me has never seen before in a documentary of this type (and I've seen 'em all). Despite its length, "Chasing the Moon" is riveting. Broadcast over PBS on three consecutive nights earlier this month, the film is currently available for viewing on the PBS website, or through the PBS app. Ten out of ten stars.

First, I am very hard to please when it comes to space docs. I was there, I lived it intensely as a young boy. I have a great emotional involvement in the lunar program. So my statements are coming from that overall perspective. Most space docs feature awful music and bloated scripts coupled to grainy and unprofessional film edits. Rest assured, this one is NOT in that category. It is very well made, the music, while not of the same quality as Philip Sheppard's ("In the Shadow of the Moon", "Moon Machines"), still is good enough to be appropriate and to not damage the hearing. And some of it is quite touching - the song "Wait" by M83 features prominently at the beginning and end of the film, to very strong and heartfelt effect.

And it's that effect that bothers me - the overall tone of this film is one of loss, of sadness, of disillusionment. Those things are hard enough to live with in the real world. All of us who were emotionally involved with the space effort and dreamed of having our chance to be a part of a team that would carry us to other worlds, know these feelings as personal realities. To have them touched on so directly was - uncomfortable. I was almost in tears at the end.

As far as the filmmaker's technique - he makes a terrible mistake by not clearly identifying the speakers in all cases. There are only a dozen or so of them, and yet them seem like a battalion, because it becomes impossible to keep track of who has been introduced and who is new. Some of their voices I was very familiar with - but some of these people are completely new to me. What do they look like? Why not put a face and a name tag with the speaker? It seems affected and it is distracting.

The film footage is a real mixture. Some of it is brand new to me. The spectacular footage of the Vanguard disaster is expertly synced to the actual sounds recorded by the reporters present. This is a wonderful idea and gives a wonderful "you are there" quality to the film. But many of the clips are the same tired ones that have been recycled in a dozen space docs. As the film goes on, the new material is harder and harder to come by.

And that brings me to the main problem with the film - after a very, very strong start, by the third hour it begins flags and gets lost in its own discursive sentimentality. The final third borders on chaos, and a person unfamiliar with events would not be able to form a coherent picture of them from this source.

On the plus side - the stories of Poppy Northcutt and Ed Dwight were fascinating. My already low opinion of Chuck Yeager dropped another three notches after hearing Dwight tell his heartbreaking story. At the same time, my respect for Ed White, tragically killed in the Apollo 1 fire, went up by the same amount.

So is this worth seeing? Absolutely. As I said, it's way better than the usual NASA documentary potboilers. But it's not in the same class as David Sington's films, mentioned above. Those films offered something this film does not - hope and solace in an unjust world.

Edit added after 3 viewings - now I get it. It is a great film.

Another edit - sorry bear with me.

I cannot stop watching this film - because it gets better with each viewing. This is an extremely well thought-out film.

I am getting used to the feeling of loss that carries it, but also to the message of hope it contains.

'Chasing the Moon' offers immaculate clarity of archival footage and illustrated press / cultural coverage of the times (like for those who weren't around for it), amongst interesting first-hand accounts of those involved in the Space Race on and off Earth.

It touches on the aspects beyond those of NASA's program, but ones that are still heavily attached to it. Specifically, I'm speaking about the LIFE Magazine 'behind the scenes' footage illustrating the palpable worry of the wives and families who looked on at those small, blurry TV screens, hoping to never hear there was a problem via the audio feed. It was such an intimate element to highlight, a stinging hard-pressed moment of risk and slight relief.

My small critiques are that 1.) as another reviewer commented, it was difficult to distinguish who was speaking on the voice-overs, due to the minimal notations of their names/titles after the first mention. Later on, when it changed from person to person, unless you recognized the voice, you weren't sure who was talking anymore.

And 2.) I think there could have been more light shed on other individuals of the 400,000 engineers, scientists, and technicians involved in the Apollo Space Program. I know everyone is not feasible. But, at the minimum, at least emphasize that immense fact somewhere during the program, to showcase the incredible and expansive effort it was to achieve this feat in under a decade. A few more persons could have been interviewed or given recognition, specifically on the female front. It was nice to see Poppy Northcutt. I, however, think a few others such as Joanne Morgan, Katherine Johnson, Margaret Hamilton, etc. could have been included, just for awareness purposes. (And, to say, there was more than 1 woman because... there were. Even if, they were statistically far less.)

I was not alive to witness the original moon landing, and due to linear time constraints, I cannot see it firsthand in 1969. However, 'Chasing the Moon' allowed me to feel like I did live through that part of the decade, be aware of its environment, see inside the beginnings of NASA, and most importantly-- it gave me the chance to join in on that monumental event on July 20, 1969. The sudden awareness that man was somewhere beyond that horizon, looking back at us on our glowing moon in the sky. (And then to see the actual footage they captured in HQ, wow.) It was a world-wide phenomenon of diligence, discovery, and the shared joy for mankind's accomplishment and those who helped the cause along the way.

It is an excellent series that offers insight to this amazingly complex journey. I hope it gives a new generation of viewers a sense of this piece of history, and more so a new appreciation for what was achieved 50 years ago despite their difficulties and imperfections.

Happy 50th, Apollo 11.