IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON

Year: 2007
USA: THINKFilm
UK: Vertigo Films
Cast: Ron Howard, Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke, Harrison Schmitt
Director: David Sington
Countries: USA / UK
USA & UK: 100 mins
USA Rated: PG for mild language, brief violent images and incidental smoking
UK Certificate: U contains mild language
USA Release Date: 7 September 2007 (Limited Release - New York and Los Angeles)
UK Release Date: 2 November 2007


Synopsis

Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. They remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON brings together for the first, and very possibly the last, time surviving crew members from every single Apollo mission which flew to the Moon, and allows them to tell their story in their own words.

This riveting first-hand testimony is interwoven with visually stunning archive material which has been re-mastered from the original NASA film footage - much of it never used before. The result is an intimate epic, which vividly communicates the daring and the danger, the pride and the passion of this extraordinary era.

The participating astronauts include Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). Shot by cinematographer Clive North, the astronauts talk directly to camera about their unique experience in an eloquent, witty, emotional and very human way.

The producers Duncan Copp and Chris Riley spent many weeks in the NASA film library examining cans of film some of which had not been opened for over 30 years. This search uncovered many gems, astonishing space shots which have been re-mastered from the original film rolls to reveal the Apollo program with a visual clarity and impact it has never had before. The mute 16mm rolls shot in Mission Control have been laboriously lip-synced with the 16-track audio recordings of the mission controllers' voice loop to re-unite the pictures and sound of many historic moments for the first time, lending a striking immediacy to many dramatic scenes.

Editor David Fairhead and director David Sington have woven this material together with a beautiful orchestral score from composer Philip Sheppard to create a moving, nostalgic and inspiring cinematic experience.