Événement

Preview - In the Shadow of the Moon

Special Members-only Preview
Reception at 7pm / Film at 8pm

Regular engagement begins Friday, September 14

In today's era of disintegrating levees and collapsing infrastructure, it can be difficult for some to believe that in the span of four short years between 1968 and 1972 nine American spacecrafts carried 24 astronauts to the Moon where 12 of them walked upon its surface. Fortunately, many of those Apollo astronauts are still around to bear witness to the extraordinary effort that got them there in director David Sington's remarkable new film, In the Shadow of the Moon. In stark closeup, Sington presents ten veterans of the Apollo program offering their personal accounts of their Moon experiences. He intersperses their words with beautifully-restored, often stunning archival footage-some never used before-to recreate the heyday of the American space program with an immediacy that makes it seem as if it happened just yesterday. Original orchestral music composed by Philip Sheppard adds sonic luster to the narrative and is particularly moving in an arresting sequence of images of the Apollo 11 launch that brought the first man to the Moon. Those who think they know this story will encounter some surprises, such as the revelation of a speech prepared in advance for President Richard Nixon to deliver in the event the Apollo 11 lunar lander failed to carry Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin away from the lunar surface. And then there's a clip of Gary Moore, host of the TV quiz show "I've Got a Secret" asking Armstrong's parents (whose secret was their son had just become an astronaut): "How would it feel if it turns out that your son is the first man to land on the Moon?" - Bob Suter USA, 2007, 100 min., color & b/w, rated PG . Director: David Sington