Apollo 11 launches to the Moon in technical perfection. Documentaries can be very mechanical and overfamiliar with its editing structure. Interviews, sentimentality and archival footage used for elaborating backgrounds. And with last year's flawless dramatisation of the Apollo 11 mission, that being Chazelle's 'First Man', being concerned about information regurgitation was most definitely my first thought. Was I about to watch the exact same film? Well, I can only describe this as the perfect companion piece to 'First Man'. The aforementioned masterpiece (I seriously recommended you watch that film immediately) focused intently on Armstrong's family life and himself as a determined spaced out individual. Miller's documentary is far from a replication.
Utilising never-before-seen archival footage, filmed in glorious 70 mm, Miller strings together the sequences and events in chronological order to essentially recreate the Apollo 11 mission. Switching between the three astronauts traversing space and the white-collared workers in Mission Control, Miller celebrates mankind's landmark's fiftieth anniversary by showing appreciation to everyone involved. History will remember Armstrong, Aldrin and to a certain extent Collins. But very few people could name the flight officers and capsule commanders who closely puppeteered the events. The purpose of Apollo 11, as a documentary, is to immortalise this incredible achievement.
Miller is so focused on the mission, rarely deviating to illustrate concurrent events except for one news programme mentioning the Vietnam War, that it is absolutely incredibly refreshing to witness such a contemporary taut documentary. Seven days condensed down perfectly to ninety minutes. Impeccably edited. In fact, I will solidify my sentiments by stating that this has some of the best editing I've ever witnessed. Period. From the onscreen countdowns accompanied by an intense score to the parallel screen cuts of both Earth and the Moon. It can only be summed up as perfection.
Some of the footage that was recovered from NASA's secretive vaults were honestly unbelievable. Armstrong taking his first step on the Moon? Wow. Just wow. This beautifully woven documentary structure allows young aspirational astronomers, such as myself, to immerse themselves into an event that they were not alive to observe. I can only imagine the trepidation and excitement of watching this first-hand, and I'm truly jealous to those that had that chance. The absence of interviews, narration and background development meant that Miller embraced its contemporary roots. It mimicked the machinations of the mission itself, producing a seamless documentary. My only criticism, and I'm truly nitpicking here, was the last few minutes which were somewhat anticlimactic. Ending the documentary on Kennedy's congratulatory speech left me thinking "...is that it?".
Still, minus the unsatisfactory conclusion (which in itself is such a minuscule criticism), this may just be the best documentary I've seen. Showcasing some of the best technical talent available right now, whilst immortalising one of the greatest events in history. The perfect lift off to celebrate this incredible achievement.
