One of a handful of documentaries made by the Disney studio in the 1950's which showcased the space-travel concepts of Werner von Braun and his fellow rocket enthusiasts. As with the other documentaries in this series the program was split into two parts. The first half dealt with what was known about the Moon at the time, and discussed the problems humans would face in traveling there. The second half presented a fictional representation of the issues and theories discussed in the first half. Unlike "Man In Space" or "Mars And Beyond", however, the story presented in "Man And The Moon" was filmed "live" as opposed to animated. The audience follows the crew of a reconnaissance mission around the Moon as they experience various adventures. The science is somewhat dated by today's standards, and the special effects certainly aren't up to CGI quality, but the result is ultimately entertaining and no doubt caused quite a bit of science to remain lodged in the minds of young students when this film ran in classrooms as well as on television.
2 Reviews
Ambitious and sneaky
jaigurudavid14 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Produced 13 years before the first actual trip to the Moon, this documentary is a fascinating look at the ambition of Werner von Braun. The actual trips to the moon were accomplished with far less expense and hardware than is demonstrated in this documentary, but the mission depicted is technologically feasible.
I found the most intriguing part of the documentary was the sighting of artificial construction on the "unknown side" of the moon. We clearly see the astronauts witnessing (with the help of flares) the existence of something that is obviously of alien origin, but there is no commentary from the narrator or the characters. My guess is that this was a an attempt to motivate the American public to support a U.S. space program which would include a search for extraterrestrial life.
I found the most intriguing part of the documentary was the sighting of artificial construction on the "unknown side" of the moon. We clearly see the astronauts witnessing (with the help of flares) the existence of something that is obviously of alien origin, but there is no commentary from the narrator or the characters. My guess is that this was a an attempt to motivate the American public to support a U.S. space program which would include a search for extraterrestrial life.
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