Customer Reviews

NOVA - To the Moon

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lest anyone think this is the same old story of the moon shot, "One Small Step For Mankind" and all that, Nova's "To The Moon" is actually two fascinating hours of many of the stories that have been overlooked about man's journey to the moon. Few people know about the man who advocated the method of travel, called Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous, or why he was unpopular even after his contribution led to man getting to the moon. Few people know why Kennedy vaguely said we should get a man to the moon "by the end of the decade." Few people know the history of the Gemini program, lost between the Tom Wolfe heroics of Mercury and the Cold War glories of Apollo. Few people know about the later astronauts--in fact, how many people can name an astronaut after the Apollo 11 crew? (If you saw "Apollo 13" this might not be as hard.) The clips of the last mission on the moon, with happy-go-lucky geologist Harrison Schmidt dancing around digging for moonrocks, is worth the price of the DVD alone. Highly recommended as an educational tool as well as a fun ride. Public schools would be wise to teach kids history in this lively way.

Nova should be commended for producing this excellent documentary. The important decisions, such as the choice of Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, are covered in a comprehensible yet comprehensive manner. The background of Apollo, especially in the now almost forgotten Gemini program, is covered, as are the evolution of the Saturn launchers, CSM, and LM.

A natural focus of the DVD are the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions, which are covered in some detail, but other less memorable yet important (i.e., the 'Genesis rock', the Apollo 13 near disaster, etc.) areas are covered thoughtfully as well.

The editing and factual accuracy is absolutely superior, and the overall value is unbeatable. If you only own one documentary on the Apollo program, make it this one.

This NOVA documentary, originally aired in July 1999, features two hours of the American efforts to reach the moon at its finest. The footage of the famous Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights is very riveting, featuring interviews from astronauts such as Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford, Eugene Cernan, Buzz Aldrin, David Scott, and Wally Schirra, as well as with Robert Seamans, Christopher Kraft, and Gene Kranz. It is hard to accurately portray through a video the details of the American space program, but this video comprehensively contains all the candor and excitement of the American manned moon program. John Houboult's Lunar Orbit Rendezvous scheme is detailed, with his efforts to sell the idea to top NASA management. Then, it moves on to the Gemini flights, emphasizing the first rendezvous of manned spacecraft on Gemini 6/7 in 1965, Gene Cernan's EVA troubles that plagued Gemini 9, and Gemini 12. Finally, it details the Apollo program that placed man's footprints on the moon, focusing on the engineering flights of Apollo 8 and 11, and then the scientific and geologic flights of the lunar landing missions that followed, ending with Apollo 17. All this was very fascinating, and thrilling to watch.

This video is great for it's personal perspective from the men who planned and flew the missions. It makes a great companion to Tom Hanks' From the Earth to the Moon. After you have heard about it and read about it, see the actual footage, hear the dangerous conditions the public never knew about.

This is a wonderful documentary that fills in a lot of holes left by other "Moon Shot" videos. I loved the detail regarding Lunar Orbit Rendevous. They do a great piece on the Marshall Space Center where the space capsules for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were designed. I really enjoyed the detail surrounding the work on the Saturn V, and the "All Up Test" that was needed to get the rocket program back on track. It was thrilling to relive the Apollo 11 landing from the eyes of the men in the control room, and their comments about the "Tranqulity Base" transmission. They did a very nice job on the Apollo 15/Dave Scott discovery of the Genesis Rock, and the story of Jack Schmitt, the only geologist astronaut in the program on Apollo 17. This was the perfect video to add to my space program collection.

This DVD is simply excellent. Even though it is obviously a TV show, and still feels a bit like a TV show, with all the gaps and moments full of suspense right before the (non existent) commercials. It does a bit more than document the struggle to get to the moon, (from a very subjectively American perspective.) What this DVD mainly carries as a message is the struggle that goes into any project. Be it the first Moon landing, be it just a small improvement, like additional handles on a space capsule. The show keeps the story on a very realistic, very personal level. Interviews with astronauts and experts turn the great leap for mankind back into small steps, which make a story a great story. You should watch this DVD if you are working on a complex project and would like to get creative inspiration. You should probably watch this DVD with your team and discuss how you would have solved many of the problems. You will probably miss extensive footage of the first lunar landing. There is hardly any of it on this DVD. There is also no mention of the Russian Lunohod project. But again, this documentary describes something more universal than the race to the moon. It describes the possibility of success in seemingly hopeless situations. It describes the real possibility of success through the synergy of a team even under the most impossible deadlines. It explains that what sometimes looks like a failure, can still be a step toward a much greater achievement. This documentary is very, very inspiring.

I liked the amount of detail that was put into this documentary and it was nice to see John Houbolt getting the credit for the idea of using a command module and shuttle to land on the moon(I have never seen this mentioned before).His fight with the incompetent beaurocracy was epic.The DVD shows how dangerous the Moon landings were as Apollo 11 went 4 miles past their landing site,to avoid boulders,and landed with only 21 seconds of fuel left(a very nice re-creation).The information on the danger involved in the spacewalks was something that I hadn't seen in other documentaries and the statement on how vital the Apollo 7 tragedy was to safeguard the eventual flights(by forcing them to make improvements)was food for thought.If it hadn't happened,then the Moon landing might have failed.A great DVD.

Being born in Houston in 1955, I literally grew up with the NASA space program in my back yard. I think I have probably watched every film and video made about the United States' amazing race to the moon. There is no doubt in my mind that "To The Moon" is the best.

There have recently been some programs on TV, as well as web sites, which try to provide proof that Man never reached the moon. Anyone who watches this amazing documentary will scoff at such suggestions. In addition to stunning film footage that I have never seen anywhere before, this documentary has some very integral commentary from the men who made the trip to the Moon and back. These men were extraordinary pilots and explorers, not actors. The emotion displayed by these heroes is the thing that reached out and grabbed me. The best scenes in this movie took place thirty years after the last lunar visit. Being filmed while sitting around a table in a hotel room somewhere discussing their memories, these men obviously remain in such absolute awe and wonder that their raw emotional display will bring a tear to the eye or a lump to the throat of even the most cynical non-believer.

If you want to get the real story of NASA's amazing success, as well as the heart-wrenching failures, this is a MUST SEE!

...P>For anyone who is an Apollo or NASA buff, there's really nothing new here. What I found of particular interest was the focus on the contributions of Apollo 8. In fact, Apollo 8's story is really the heart of this documentary. However, the movie never once overlooks the importance of the Gemini program, or the other important events in the race to the moon. I especially liked the small segment on John Houbolt and his rather aggressive quest to make NASA see that Lunor Orbit Rendevous was the only way to get to the moon.

No two-hour documentary on the moon landings can be comprehensive, but this is an essential documentary for anyone interested in this era of US history. The interviews alone are worth the price of the disk.

We have seen many videos and documentaries about the space program and in my opinion this is the best. Although it is only two hours long, it is remarkably comprehensive in the amount of material that it covers. From Sputnik to the final Apollo mission, it captures the excitement of the race with the Soviets to get to the moon. Unlike other documentaries, however, it manages to cover some highly technical subjects such as the debate over the viability of Lunar Orbit Rendezvous -- making them remarkably easy to understand. Another bonus of this video is that it includes a remarkable amount of information about the Gemini program as well as the Mercury and Apollo programs -- something lacking in other videos I've seen. This video is excellent for all ages. My whole family, including our children (age 3 and 6) enjoyed it. Bottom line, this is one of the best videos about the space program out there.