Product Details

• Actors: Charlie Duke, Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Mitchell, Alan Bean, John Young
• Directors: Jeffrey Roth
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Indican
• DVD Release Date: July 21, 2009
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00259HB6A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,399 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

WONDER OF IT ALL - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting moments, but nothing terribly unique, August 24, 2009

By 

Mark Janovec "mjanovec" (Hudson, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wonder of It All (DVD)

The history of the lunar landings has been covered by many documentaries over the years, so the story itself is one that has been well told. The Wonder of It All took a different approach in interviewing only the surviving moonwalkers (who were willing to participate), giving us their perspective on the program. While this gives you more depth into the thoughts of a very select group of astronauts, it doesn't tell you much of anything about the actual history of the Apollo program. A space fanatic will understand all of the details surrounding the stories already (and will have already heard many of the stories contained within...either from other documentaries or from reading the astronaut biographies). As a space fanatic, I don't necessarily mind not having bits of the story re-told to me. The average viewer, however, may not have the luxury of knowing the rest of the story beforehand.

Also, the film itself is largely just shot-after-shot of the astronauts being interviewed. The interviews are grouped together into categories, meant to discuss certain aspects of their lives and their involvement in the program. In that way, it feels somewhat clinical and the film itself is very segmented. The editing also feels somewhat haphazard in spots, which only adds to the segmented feel.

Another film that takes a fairly similar approach, but succeeds to a much larger degree is In the Shadow of the Moon. That film integrates astronaut interviews with the historic footage much more cleanly, letting the astronauts tell the story with a much more natural flow. It's also a visual feast that will excite even the average viewer. Additionally, the producers were willing to use astronauts other than moonwalkers to help tell the story...such as Michael Collins and Jim Lovell. Their inclusions in the film were extremely valuable. In fact, Collins basically stole the show with his great story telling style. And while space fanatics will want both films...because each had details the other is lacking...the film that will have greater appeal to most viewers is In the Shadow of the Moon.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring Inner Space, October 11, 2009

By 

Michael Burton (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wonder of It All [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This is a great companion piece to David Sington's film In the Shadow of the Moon.

Sington's film dealt more with the Apollo program and the missions themselves. This film focuses on the men who actually walked on the moon. During Apollo, we tended to think of the astronauts as identical and interchangeable -- maybe it was the spacesuits that hid their faces; maybe it was the terse technical jargon they spoke -- but here they appear as very different human beings, united by high intelligence and fierce determination. The film examines how, as distinct individuals, they shaped our exploration of the moon, and were shaped by it.

In a very subtle way that might not even have been recognized during the actual interviews, this film turns into an exploration of inner space. Instead of science lessons from Apollo, these are life lessons from Apollo.

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, who left NASA to become an artist, says: "Seems strange to me sometimes that I can care as much about painting a good painting as I did about flying an airplane really well or making an entry in a spaceship. And I think maybe that's a nice thing for people, because whatever dreams any of us have, they're just as strong as the president's dream. They're just as wonderful as anybody else in the whole world, but WE are charged with making OUR dreams come true; they're not. I'd like to be remembered as a guy that did his duty. I tried to do it in the Navy, tried to do it at NASA, and then when I left NASA, I'm trying to do it right now. I'm trying to preserve what I think is worthy of ME to do."

The movie doesn't really cry out for the hi-def treatment of Blu-ray, but it looks good. The supplementary material is a mixed bag. I particularly enjoyed a presentation done by John Young. A behind-the-scenes tour at Kennedy Space Center isn't particularly well done, but the subject matter is so compelling it's worth watching. There are three audio commentary tracks: one with Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charlie Duke, and director Jeffrey Roth; another with Apollo 14 astronaut Ed Mitchell and producer Paul Basta, and a third with Roth and Basta. Unfortunately, the two astronaut commentaries slip out of sync with the picture, so you may hear them talking about a scene that appeared a minute before, or a shot that hasn't yet appeared. Frustrating, but worthwhile.

Recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Gem You Can't MIss, October 11, 2009

By 

Z. Shubb (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wonder of It All (DVD)

The Wonder of It All is one of those smaller movies that the studio system doesn't know what to do with, so they just ignore it, and in doing so, deprive the public of the kind of film they would undoubtedly enjoy and savor. The footage is impressive, but more interesting is how the filmmakers have chosen to look at things from the perspective of the moonwalkers as humans, not as the professional heroes we have all been trained to see them as. These men are people first, with real emotions and feelings (though, it might be questions in John Young's segments :-)).

The Wonder of it All is not afraid to ask what it is like to be a man and do these things, rather than what did the training tell you it was like. This is a truly human and emotional film (and I am not even a space buff) that resonates on many levels.