For All Mankind (1989)

This movie documents the Apollo missions perhaps the most definitively of any movie under two hours. Al Reinert watched all the footage shot during the missions--over 6,000,000 feet of it, ... See full summary »

Director:

Al Reinert

Stars:

Jim Lovell, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jim Lovell	...	Narrator - Apollo 8, Apollo 13 (voice) (as James A. Lovell Jr.)
Russell Schweickart	...	Narrator - Apollo 9 (voice) (as Russell L. Schweickart)
Eugene Cernan	...	Narrator - Apollo 10, Apollo 17 (voice) (as Eugene A. Cernan)
Michael Collins	...	Narrator - Apollo 11 (voice)
Charles Conrad	...	Narrator - Apollo 12 (voice) (as Charles P. Conrad Jr.)
Richard Gordon	...	Narrator - Apollo 12 (voice) (as Richard F. Gordon Jr.)
Alan Bean	...	Narrator - Apollo 12 (voice) (as Alan L. Bean)
Jack Swigert	...	Narrator - Apollo 13 (voice) (as John L. Swigert Jr.)
Stuart Roosa	...	Narrator - Apollo 14 (voice) (as Stuart A. Roosa)
James Irwin	...	Narrator - Apollo 15 (voice) (as James B. Irwin)
Kenneth Mattingly	...	Narrator - Apollo 16 (voice) (as T. Kenneth Mattingly II)
Charles Duke	...	Narrator - Apollo 16 (voice) (as Charles M. Duke Jr.)
Harrison Schmitt	...	Narrator - Apollo 17 (voice) (as Harrison H. Schmitt)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Buzz Aldrin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Anders	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

This movie documents the Apollo missions perhaps the most definitively of any movie under two hours. Al Reinert watched all the footage shot during the missions--over 6,000,000 feet of it, and picked out the best. Instead of being a newsy, fact-filled documentary. Reinart focuses on the human aspects of the space flights. The only voices heard in the film are the voices of the astronauts and mission control. Reinart uses the astronaunts' own words from interviews and from the mission footage. The score by Brian Eno underscores the strangeness, wonder, and and beauty of the astronauts' experiences--experiences which they were privileged to have for a first time "for all mankind."

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Plot Keywords:

moon | astronaut | space | mission control | nasa | 

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Taglines:

A Film by Al Reinert

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Erövringen av rymden

Filming Locations:

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$770,132 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apollo Associates, FAM Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening scene, President John F. Kennedy stands at the podium, giving his famous speech about the government's plan for lunar travel at Rice University. In the scene, President Kennedy's voice-over says, "We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all mankind." President Kennedy in actuality, said, "...used for the progress of all people." Director Al Reinert, using creative license, decided to splice President Kennedy's words, dubbing "mankind" over "people," using a part of the President's speech earlier on in his address.

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Goofs

When showing the scenes of trans-lunar injection (firing the rocket to leave earth orbit for the moon), scenes of a Gemini spacecraft reentering the atmosphere are shown instead.

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Quotes

T. Kenneth Mattingly II: I had the only window at this point, and I looked out, and doggone if the moon wasn't visible in the daylight right straight out the top of the window. I know they're doin' their job right because the moon's right straight ahead and that's where we're pointed and they're gonna launch us right straight to this thing.

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to the men and women who have given their lives in the exploration of Space. Apollo 1 January 27, 1967 Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom Edward H. White II Roger B. Chaffee Soyuz 1 April 24, 1967 Vladimir Komarov Soyuz 11 June 30, 1971 Vladislav Volkov Georgi Dobrovolski Viktor Patsayev Challenger January 28, 1986 Michael J. Smith Dick Scobee Ronald McNair Ellison Onizuka Christa McAuliffe Gregory Jarvis Judith Resnik

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Connections

Referenced in Drive (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Fly Me to the Moon"
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Courtesy of Warner Brothers Records
Written by Howard Bart
Licensed by Almanac Publishing/Hampshire House

User Reviews

Our Promise to Jack

This was effective for this viewer. Usually what that means in cases like this is that it made me cry.

The hook is that it reviews its subject through the eyes of the astronauts. I was wary of this. I got involved in the program later, during the beginning of the shuttle era and even then the astronauts were pretty much there only to have been taken there. They were chosen — some of them — for how good they looked on newsprint.

The magic of the program and its heroes were a few visionaries and an army of competent engineers.

Yet it was effective because we see the story through the eyes of witnesses. There role here is simply as witness, and if you were alive during this time, you will be impressed at how it affects you.

There were all sorts of paths that could have been followed in this. The quest of man to explore; the mysteries of the unknown; the vast game being played by two enemies to demonstrate superiority of ideology; the hidden weapons programs.

They cover all these slightly except that last, and that's excusable because these witnesses saw none of that. But the story that dominates is the Kennedy one. Its hard to imagine today, but we loved our president and he deserved it. He was intelligent and articulate. His advisers came off not as louts or bullies, but men (and a few women) smart enough for difficult times. He was the Peace Corps president.

Kennedy promised to go to the moon and return without consulting anyone at NASA, and riding on the crest of a national enthusiasm for science and hardware. The nation really was engaged. And then he was killed, and with our rising self-doubt (Vietnam, race) we decided that as a people we owed it to him, or what he stood for. So when it happened, and the world watched, re affirmed the man and what he stood for. It was a good feeling, not pride as much as wonder about who we discovered ourselves to be.

This will evoke that same feeling again, the original tears, followed by tears of disappointment at the massive collapse of esteem which followed. A serious of botched opportunities to be worthy of the accomplishment.

Its an effective documentary in that regard, all the more so since everything was designed to be photographed, and was. If you really want to learn of this program, you need to go elsewhere, But this delivers on the promise.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.