Product Details

• Actors: Andrew Lincoln, Daniel Lapaine, James Marsters, Anna Maxwell Martin
• Directors: Richard Dale
• Format: Color, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (PCM Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002KGREEM
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,328 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Instead of a conventional documentary, the History Channel re-creates the first manned lunar landing as docudrama. The story begins in 1969, just before the famous flight, then backtracks to the early '60s when Michael Collins (Andrew Lincoln), Neil Armstrong (Daniel Lapaine), and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters) made the transition from pilots to astronauts. As in Ron Howard's Apollo 13, their wives also come into focus on occasion, particularly Janet Armstrong (Bleak House's Anna Maxwell Martin), who witnesses a NASA spokesman inform a friend that a failed mission has taken her husband's life. Jan knows the same thing could happen to Neil. Following an introduction by Aldrin, the opening credits describe Moonshot as a fact-based drama, drawing on first-person accounts, interviews, and NASA transcripts. Once the men leave Earth, some of the suspense dissipates, since most viewers already know what happens next, i.e. the eight-day orbit, the Eagle's landing, and Armstrong's giant leap. And if it isn't as action packed as, say, The Right Stuff, director Richard Dale (9/11: The Twin Towers) still touches on some of the philosophical dimensions of space travel: divergent personalities aside, the men inside the craft have to put self-interest away to complete their mission, and death can come at any time, no matter their collective skill. Except for the dramatic music, this is a surprisingly thoughtful representation of an event usually presented in hyperbolic terms. Bonus features include biographies and slide shows of the Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury missions. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Relive the breathtaking story of Apollo 11 and the first manned landing on the Moon as HISTORYTM takes viewers aboard the rocket and on its eight-day round trip to outer space for a close-up look at one of the most stunning and courageous personal and technological achievements of man. Interlaced with original NASA footage transferred to high definition, Moonshot covers the crew s earliest days at NASA to the moment when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step on the Moon. From home life and families, to the argument over who would be the first to walk on the lunar surface, this is the remarkable story of one of the most chronicled events in history. Using a script based on transcripts from the mission, contemporary documents, books and interviews, Moonshot incorporates news footage from around the world, including that of the iconic CBS anchor Walter Cronkite. Together, the drama and original material present a vivid yet intimate glimpse at one of the defining moments of modern history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the Documentary with Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton, January 2, 2010

By	Michael Burton (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This wasn't what I expected.

There is a documentary with the same name, based on the book by astronauts Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. The cover art is almost identical, too. The documentary is available here in VHS.

This disc is a dramatization of the Apollo 11 mission done for the History Channel. It mixes in a good bit of actual hi-def footage from NASA. The result looks great. It's mostly entertaining, and fairly informative. You should take some of the events shown with a grain of salt, due to filmmakers' continual tendency to try to crank up the drama -- in particular, you might want to look at a map of the moon, and at footage of the actual descent and landing of Apollo 11 -- but this film seems to stay a lot closer to reality than Hollywood's "Apollo 13" did.

The product description says both "widescreen" and "1.33:1". The program is actually widescreen, 1.85:1.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different perspective on an often portrayed event., December 31, 2009

By	Jennifer Oleszkowicz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Moonshot (DVD)

Moonshot is an interesting look at the human side of one of The United States' biggest scientific (and political) accomplishments. The now legendary astronauts are portrayed as humans with quirks and flaws and also with the courage and determination to undertake a challenge that was just as likely to kill them as it was to change history. I enjoyed it far more than I would have enjoyed a more typical documentary featuring the same information and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the people behind the infamous video clips.

5 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The History Channel Should Know Better, November 13, 2009

By	Charles A. Acquisto Jr. "NASA Enthusiast" (Longmont, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Moonshot (DVD)

First the good...there wasn't anything good.

Why. The History Channel should never air something with so many untruths. Period.

From the "wrong timeline" absurdity of Mike Collins smoking while at NASA. He quit before he was selected, per HIS OWN BOOK "Carrying The Fire".

To stomach turning false friendships...Buzz Aldrin DID NOT coax a neck-sick Mike Collins out to jog, per BOTH OF THEIR BOOKS.


I could go on, but I won't...If you are buying this because the History Channels logo is on it, you might want to question your History Channel DVD purchase of the past...I am thinking of returning "The Nixon Tapes - How Do We Know For Sure That It Wasn't Rich Little."