For All Mankind (1989)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Al Reinert

Release Date:

1 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Tagline:

A Film by Al Reinert

Plot:

This movie documents the Apollo missions perhaps the most definitively of any movie under two hours...

Plot Keywords:

Astronaut | Space | Space Program | 1970s | 1960s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins

Cast

Jim Lovell	...	Narrator (Apollo 8, 13) (voice) (as James A. Lovell Jr.)
Russell Schweickart	...	Narrator (Apollo 9) (voice) (as Russell L. Schweickart)
Eugene Cernan	...	Narrator (Apollo 10, 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)
Neil Armstrong	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stephen Bales	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Steve Bales)
Frank Borman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Walter Cunningham	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ron Evans	...	Himself (archive footage)
Fred Haise	...	Himself (archive footage)
Christopher Kraft	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Chris Kraft)
Gene Kranz	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim McDivitt	...	Himself (archive footage)
Edgar D. Mitchell	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Ed Mitchell)
Bob Overmyer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Buck Owens	...	Himself (voice) (archive footage)
Wally Schirra	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dave Scott	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alan Shepard	...	Himself (archive footage)
Deke Slayton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Thomas P. Stafford	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Tom Stafford)
Edward H. White II	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Ed White)
John Young	...	Himself (archive footage)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Singapore:G | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

Company:

Apollo Associates

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.

Quotes:

Narrator: I had a bet with somebody who didn't, uh, really felt that Neil spent a great deal of time before he went figuring out his famous words, and they were not extemporaneous, on-the-spot, historical words. He actually felt that these words might have even been written for Neil by somebody else...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drive (1991)

Soundtrack:

Drift

If only I could have afforded a laserdisc player

I won't reiterate all of the praise of this film except to say that if I had just few more spare dollars when it was released on laserdisc, I would have bought a laserdisc player just for this title (and 2001). Fortunately years later I've already purchased a DVD player and For All Mankind has finally been released on that format.

To me the defining moment of this film is the lunar lander slowly returning to the command module. At first we only see the cratered surface of the Moon moving below at incredible speed. Then we see a tiny motionless speck above it. Was it a defect in the lens? Of course not. It's the lunar lander slowly returning from the surface. It seems to take much longer than it really does because there are no cuts and no narrator explaining what we already know we're seeing. There's only a dot turning into a space ship. What more could you add to this amazing sight?