Apollo Missions

Way back in 1968 I first got interested in astronomy.  I began with binocular observations of the moon in late November.  In December, Apollo 8 and 3 astronauts successfully orbited the moon and returned safely.  The next craft to go that way would be Apollo 11, followed by #12-17.  Those of us lucky to be alive during those heady days all have our own memories, and we continue to treasure them.  Sometime in the late 1980s I got interested in Brian Eno's ambient music, including one of my favourite albums, called Apollo.  The music is all instrumental, and was used as background for a film of the same name.  The original film, which I was never able to track down, had no speaking, just images and music.

That film was re-imagined, reworked, and renamed in the late 1980s.  This time around dialogue was added to the images, but only voices of Apollo astronauts, mission control, and John F. Kennedy.  Al Reinert, the director, got cooperation from NASA, and Criterion bought the rights to it.  I didn't even realize the film was showing on Criterion until I bought an updated and expanded version of the CD by Eno, but the CD notes talked a lot about the movie, and lo and behold, I instantly put it into the queue and it has now been watched and loved.

What Reinert did was assemble NASA footage from the archives, much of it never seen before, and make the lunar missions into one big mission, showing scenes even from earlier Gemini flights.  It becomes one brilliant film, and instead of focusing on science, he lets the astronauts, in their own words, describe their feelings and response to what they were doing.  Thus we get a totally different take on the Apollo missions, much more spiritual and aesthetic than the science ones we were given back in the day.  We see candid moments aboard the spacecraft never seen before, and we follow along from the Earth to the Moon on a voyage of discovery that has yet to be surpassed in human history. 

 Along with the feature come 4 extras, filling in even more information that the movie could not show.  For example, the movie has no talking heads, but the extra features do interview many of the astronauts years later.  A short feature talks with Alan Bean, who became an amazing artist upon his return (he died in 2018).  The whole collection is available for purchase on DVD, and looks like something I will purchase if it leaves Criterion before I can watch it again a few more times.  If you do not subscribe to Criterion Channel already, you should.  This is only one reason out of about 2,000 to do so.  And if the Apollo lunar missions seem a bit unexciting to you, or you don't really know that much about them, then you need to watch this film.

A don't miss film now showing on Criterion.  

 

My 2nd film choice was selected from the list of movies leaving December 31st. Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble In Paradise is the best 1930s sophisticated comedy even filmed. From 1932, it is rich with visual humour and very funny dialogue, and features some very good acting.  It begins in an operatic Venice, where someone is singing O Solo Mio.  It turns out to be a garbage barge man.  If you have ever been curious about pre-code Hollywood movies, and how totally amazing they could be, you only have to watch this one (in a pristine print, thanks Criterion).  Unforgettable, and eminently rewatchable.  There is another film by Lubitsch I will try to screen before it disappears in the new year.

                                    Now showing on Criterion Channel, and not to be missed!

We are enjoying an extension of Autumn this week, and I hope to complete my epic walk from A'burg to Essex tomorrow.  I only have just over 6 km left to do.  It's supposed to be mild with only a slight chance of rain.

In CV 19 news, our schools will be closing at the end of Friday.  Our county now appears to be the worst in Canada.  Certainly not my doing.  Tomorrow it will likely be announced that we will be returning to full lockdown, starting Monday.  Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of idiots.

Mapman Mike