Movie Review: In the Shadow of the Moon

In the Shadow of the Moon should be required viewing for every Houstonian: after all, the movie celebrates what many consider to be the greatest achievement (moon landing!) of Houston's greatest contribution to the country (no, not barbeque...NASA!). This incredibly moving documentary film (presented by Rom Howard, who already explored this subject to fascinating event in Apollo 13.

This time around, we get to see the actual Jim Lovell, who was played by Tom Hanks in the fictionalized Apollo 13, talking about his experience, along with most of the other 23 men who have ever visited the moon. The filmmakers wisely decided to stick entirely to period footage of Apollo missions, narrated by the astronauts themselves. A narrator would be entirely superfluous. When you hear Buzz Aldrin (the second man on the moon) talking about his first steps, or first glimpse of Earth from the shuttle, no scriptwriter could improve on the moment.

Yes, you know how the movie ends: we did, in fact, land on the moon, and we've all even seen the footage. But Houstonist found ourselves getting chills several times during the film: it really captures the craziness and spirit of adventure of the mission to the moon, and the payoffs--that Neil Armstrong footage included--haven't lost their power over time,

On another note, Houstonist was also amazed by the astronauts themselves. Their intelligence and articulate speaking really made the film. We hadn't realized how instrumental they were in building the entire space program and, literally, their own shuttles, but now we're looking at them with a new respect. (There's also a few awesome shots of our fair city, if you need another reason to go all the way to the Angelika.)

Grade: A