‘Apollo 11’ brings never-before-seen footage of the moon landing to light

Posted on March 12, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

Fifty years ago, mankind first stepped foot on the moon when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, along with pilot Michael Collins, completed the task set forth eight years before by President John F. Kennedy. To this day, it is one of the most amazing achievements undertaken by humanity.

The moon landing is also one of the most documented moments in human history, including countless documentaries and last year’s feature film, “First Man,” which followed Armstrong’s personal journey from the Earth to the moon and back.

So, even a self-proclaimed space nut such as myself had to wonder” is there anything else to show about the Apollo 11 mission?

The new documentary, “Apollo 11,” from director Todd Douglas Miller, proves the answer is a resounding yes.

He accessed hours of previously-unseen footage, much of it shot in beautiful 70mm, filmed onsite and preserved for the past five decades in the National Archives. On a television screen, this footage would be beautiful. On the big screen in a theatre, is is simply breathtaking. The opening shot of the documentary shows the rocket being moved toward the launchpad. I am not ashamed to admit that those moments brought tears to my eyes from their sheer beauty combined with the knowledge of the blood, sweat and tears they represented.

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