Customer Reviews

Man on the Moon [VHS]

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This review is for the 1989 video version. This is the BEST. It has a "you are there" feel. It covers the mission well, and also has clips of the reactions from members of the public, including Armstromg's family.
The "40th Anniversary" DVD is a poor version of this.

I used portions of this program in a course I taught on the "History of Television". What particularly makes this product worthwhile is that it features actual, lengthy segments of what Cronkite and his colleagues reported live on television. Images of the moon landing as covered by CBS news are particularly effective in creating for students today the sense of anxiety, excitement and wonder that people throughout the world felt at what the American astronauts were trying to accomplish. Particularly interesting is the sense of pride that countries around the world expressed towards America for its daring and accomplishment, which is so polar opposite to the mood that is being expressed today towards the U.S. (nearly 40-years later) in the wake of the Iraq war and the seeming American indifference towards issues like global warming.