Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)

Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)

Director: Frank Pavich

There are certain documentaries out there that really dive into what it means to really make a film, a side of movies we hardly ever see, the creative side, the side that struggles to make ideas come to cinematic life. All we have to do as an audience is sit, and take in the movie; sometimes we forget just how grueling an experience making a film can be. I mean, it’s not just shooting a film, you have to go through the whole process of writing the script, of casting it, of assembling the team that’s going to help you bring your dreams come to life. One of my favorite documentaries that explores this side of filmmaking is Lost in La Mancha (2002), which chronicles the rise and fall of what could have been Terry Gilliam’s take on Don Quixote, a film that was to be called ‘The Man Who Killed Quixote’. Unfortunately for Gilliam, the whole project collapsed on him through a combination of raging storms that destroyed equipment and a protagonist who fell ill, amongst other catastrophes. Many millions were lost and the film never got made, but what an incredible spectacle it is to watch it all happen! That documentary is special because they actually filmed the whole disaster as it occurred. I always recommend it because it’s a brilliant peek into the frustrations of a filmmaker who desperately wants to make a film, yet the universe conspires against him. Gilliam is still trying to get that film made believe it or not, I hope he finally gets there because there’s nothing worse than a director who never got to make that one film he or she has always wanted to make. This brings to mind Jodorowski and his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi, Magnus opus, Dune. A film that sadly never got made. This documentary goes into all the pre-production work that went into the film, and the reason why it never took off.

Jodorowsky (left) next to what would have been one of the Emperor's Saudukar Warriors. To the right, Michel Seydoux one of the films hopeful producers.

Alejandro Jodorowski was eighty four years old when they shot this documentary, but boy, his mind is as clear as if he was 30! I mean at 80, most people are with one foot in the grave, begging for forgiveness, yet here is Jodorowski alive and kicking, still a creative force to be reckoned with. I mean, to this day, Jodorowsky still directs films! His most recent one is called The Dance of Reality (2013), which I will be seeing and reviewing here soon. He writes for a French sci-fi show called ‘Metal Hurlant Chronicles’ and every now and then continues writing incredible comic books and graphic novels. I love the guy, I want to be like him when I get old, just writing and creating cool stuff. Which is why I think it’s such a tragedy that he didn’t get a chance to make his version of Dune. If his pre-production archives are any indication, this movie was going to blow everyone’s mind!

The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Alejandro Jodorowsky

To hear Jodorwski talk is pure delight, he speaks like a genius mad man, a point that the documentary makes clear. There cannot be great art without some madness. Hearing Jodorowsky say how his Dune was going to change the world, you believe him. Then you see the story boards for the film, and it becomes evident, this film was going to be something special. But it was not to be, the powers that be shied away from greatness. I mean, here’s a project that has influenced many others after it, and it wasn’t even made! Can you imagine how it would have influenced other filmmakers, had it actually gotten made? Jodorowsky planned this movie so well that he had this giant ass storyboard book he printed that included every scene, shot and camera move. There’s a myth amongst movie buffs that says that many a Hollywood director/producer copied from this book, George Lucas included. Elements from Dune have always popped up all over the Star Wars saga and I’ve always noticed them. Could it be that George Lucas simply loved Frank Herbert’s Dune and was influenced by it? Or did Lucas get a peek at a copy of Jodorowsky’s storyboard book? I don’t know the answer to that one my friends, but there are some blaring similarities between what could have been Jodorowsky’s Dune and George Lucas’s Star Wars.

H.R. Giger working on conceptual artwork for Jodorowsky's Dune, these paintings would go on to be some of Giger's most recognized works. 

There’s this moment in the documentary where Jodorowsky totally looses it and his anger emerges, you can see he is truly upset that after so many plans and after so much time spent, his version of Dune never took off. He is so passionate about the film that I’d give him the money if I had it! Instead, he offers the film to any other young director out there willing to take a crack at it, Nicolas Winding Refn the director behind Drive (2011) and Only God Forgives (2013) seems to admire Jodorowsky enough, so much so that he dedicated Only God Forgives to him, maybe their kinship will give us Jodorowsky's Dune someday? Here's hoping!  Let’s see, many directors have been about to make the new Dune, but as of yet, nothing. It’s so sad because you can see that what happened to Jodorowsky is the typical situation in which Hollywood detects weirdness and runs away from it like a child running away from the boogeyman. Movies with strange premises, films that they don’t know how to sell, films that don’t follow a formula or a structure, auteur directors with a knack for the bizarre, these are just some of the things that Hollywood tries its best to run away from. It’s sad seeing true artistes like David Lynch, Terry Gilliam and Alejandro Jodorowsky struggling to make movies. I mean, here’s a bunch of directors who can truly add something to cinema, yet these are the voices that Hollywood silences. Worst part is that they shut the door on Jodorowsky and crew, yet just a few years down the road the project gets done with an even bigger budget and with a similar production plan. I’m sure this was a slap in the face to Jodorowsky, getting doors shut in your face only to see Hollywood copy your idea and do it their way.

A promotional poster for the would be film. 

Jodorowsky says he was relieved when he saw Lynch’s film because according to him it was terrible, which is kind of weird seeing one ateur hit on the work of another like that, but Jodorowsky makes it clear, he knows Dune was taken from Lynch and that it was a film done primarily by the producers, he actually aknowledges Lynch as a true creative force. Many film buffs and critics don’t consider Lynch's Dune a true David Lynch film, Lynch himself included. You ask me, I don’t hate Lynch’s Dune (1984), I in fact love it. Out of all the adaptations of Herbert’s work, it’s the biggest and most epic of all, production wise. And even with all the bitchin’ and moaning you hear about how supposedly “bad” Lynch’s Dune is, when we get down to it, it’s a pretty close adaptation of Herbert’s book. But rest assured my friends, Jodorowsky’s Dune would have been something else entirely different. There’s this line in the documentary that has to be the best line in it where Jodorowsky says that when you adapt a book, you cannot do it exactly the same, you have to rape it. And then he says, “that’s what I was doing, I was raping Frank Herbert!” Then he pauses and says: “but in a good way…” Jodorowsky’s mind, it really is  brilliant, I hope that when I am 84 I can be as cool and as sharp as he is. This documentary is a testament to his genius.  It lets us see once again how afraid Hollywood is of anything different, or anything with the desire to “change the world!” This documentary is a fascinating peek into Jodorowsky’s mind, anyone who appreciates art, Frank Herbert’s Dune novels and filmmaking in general will have an amazing time watching this, highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 out of 5  

     

Crumb (1994)

Title: Crumb (1994)

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Review:

Robert Crumb stands proudly high and above the world’s cartoonists, leading the pack as the world’s best doodler. The guy is a genius; his drawings and cartoons comment on the American way of life. Crumb is the ultimate watcher, his view is that of a god viewing American society from up above. This is probably the reason why he did a self portrait which depicts him as having a third eye on his forehead. He doesn’t pass judgment with his comics; he simply states and shows things for what they are, if you don’t like it, well, tough luck, but that’s the way life is. His art is not filtered; his comics are blunt, over the top exaggerations of real life. How did Crumb get so good? Well, the guy has never stopped drawing. If you were to ever meet the guy in person, you are likely to see him with a pen in hand, doodling something on anything, be it a sketchbook, a napkin, or a place mat in a restaurant.  Crumb’s been drawing comics since he was a kid, he and his brothers had their own little comic book company, and the three would draw and write their own comic strips and sell them to their friends. Coolest part about the whole thing is that he never went to art school; he learned by doing, the pure definition of ‘a natural’.

The guy is one of my personal heroes because my artistic life echoes his in some ways. I also did comics when I was a kid and sold them to my friends, I love drawing ‘old school’ black and white comics, with pencils, paper and ink. No computer boloney, just old school, hand drawn, home grown sketches. I will be self-publishing a magazine this year which will be available to you, my dear readers sometime soon, so look forward to that! But watching a documentary like Terry Zwigoff’s  Crumb is inspiring in many ways because here’s a guy who is completely devoted to doing what he is best at. Here’s a guy who draws for a living, and he does it 24-7; literally, I don’t think Crumb ever stops drawing! Proof of this is his work, if you one day decide to explore Robert Crumb’s body of work you will see that it never seems to end, there’s volumes and volumes of his stuff! I admire the guy for all these reasons, because he is a true blue talented individual with dedication to spare. The other side of the story is that all this talent comes with a life that many would consider downright bizarre. One of my greatest heroes is undoubtedly a ‘weirdo’. But hey, that’s the name of one of his magazines, so it’s not like he’s hiding the fact.

   

And this is where Zwigoff’s documentary comes in and opens the flood gates of Crumb’s life for everyone to see, and it’s a pretty freaky affair. I mean, I love the guy’s work and how truthful and unfiltered it is. One thing I love about his stuff is how autobiographical it is, he isn’t afraid to expose himself to the world. Reading some of his comics is like taking all your inhibitions and throwing them out the door, it’s talking about all those things about sex you wanted to talk about but were afraid to ask. When asked about some of his more offbeat ideas and sexual habits his answer is “I don’t know, you tell me!” As if saying, why are humans the way they are? I don’t have the answer, if you have it then I’m all ears! But honestly, who’s to explain humanities often times bizarre behavior? On this documentary you’ll learn about Crumbs obsession with voluptuous ladies, especially those with a –pardon my French- huge ass. He has a foot fetish; the guy even likes riding piggy back on girls! Crumb has a love/hate relationship with women; he admires their beauty, but at the same time he comes off as misogynistic. So be ready, Crumb truly exposes himself here, he is who he is whether you like it or not. But that’s nothing, Crumb is “normal” when compared to the rest of his family, which by the way you get to meet on the documentary.

And here’s where the documentary gets extra weird in such a strange way that you won’t want to stop watching. You won’t believe how freaky some people in the world can get. For example, we meet Robert’s Crumb’s brother, Charles Crumb; an obsessively reclusive individual who lived with his mother most of his life. He never left his apartment, didn’t care much for personal hygiene, basically, this was an individual filled with self loathing. The saddest part about the whole thing is that before the documentary was released he committed suicide! And that’s just brother number one, Crumbs other brother, Maxon Crumb likes to sit on a bed of nails and eats a string every now and then so that it will “cleanse his system”; “it takes three days to come out the other end” he says. And let’s not get started on Crumb’s mother! Crumb also has sisters, but for whatever the reason they declined to appear on the documentary. One wonders what other levels of weirdness they would have brought to the table! You kind of get the feeling that even with all his sexual antics, and his dark outlook on life, Crumb turned out pretty much alright.

Terry Zwigoff

Crumb was directed by Terry Zwigoff, the director behind Ghost World (2001) and Art School Confidential (2006), two films that have a lot to do with Crumb and his world. Ghost World is a film that’s about this young girl who has an affair with an older guy named Seymour. Seymour is one of these hard core collectors of old records and old art, one could easily think that Steve Buscemi is playing Crumb, hell, the character even looks like Crumb! Art School Confidential is all about an art school student who painfully discovers that art school isn’t as cool as he thought it would be and that it’s all very fake. He ends up meeting a reclusive character who resembles one of Crumbs own freaky brothers. Basically, Zwigoff has always been an expert on Crumb; he took six years to make this documentary! This is the reason why the rest of his films are somehow related to Crumb’s artwork and lifestyle. Three films that are all linked together. Seeing them back to back is a good idea, you’ll feel like you’re watching films that exist within the same universe. Sadly, Art School Confidential turned out to be such a somber and downright depressing film with a not so happy ending that it ended up being a flop, so Zwigoff hasn’t made a film again. But Crumb garnered critical acclaim and attention when it was released. Jeffrey Anderson, critic for the San Francisco Examiner called this “the greatest documentary ever made” and “one of the most bravest and honest films I’ve ever seen” which is absolutely true, I agree, Crumb the documentary is a lot like Crumb’s comics; he isn’t afraid to put himself, and his flaws out there for all to see. I agree very much with Roger Ebert’s take on this film. In his review he says that this documentary “gives new meaning to art as therapy”, which is exactly how Crumbs comics function, you kind of get the feeling that Crumb works many of his own issues through his art, as many good artists do. Brave in deed, and well worth a watch; highly recommended. 

Rating:  5 out of 5   

      

The Atomic Cafe (1982)

Title: The Atomic Café (1982)

Directors: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty

Review:

If you knew your country had just blown approximately 80,000 people away, would you be parading on the streets all happy and jolly about it? I know I wouldn’t. No matter what my political views might be, I would not be happy and jolly with such knowledge. I’d probably be depressed for a long time at how crazy the world we live in is. Yet this is exactly what happened during 1945, when knowledge spread that the U.S. had “won the war” by blowing the people of Hiroshima away Americans where ecstatic, jumping and dancing on the streets as if the best thing in their lives had just happened. Where all these people nuts? 80,000 lives where blinked away in a matter of seconds and your freaking ecstatic? I mean, no matter what the Japanese did to the U.S.; it’s still thousands upon thousands of innocent people being blown away, innocent people paying for the actions of their countries military. The bombing of Hiroshima didn’t kill the government officials who were at war with the U.S., that atomic monstrosity blew away innocent men, women and children who probably never picked up a gun in their lives; effectively burning them to a crisp in a matter of seconds. This to me is one of the darkest days in human history, along side Hitler and his holocaust; what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the greatest horrors humanity has ever known!

Mass Grave of Atomic Victims

The Atomic Café is an amazing documentary that shows us how after such a brutal show of force every country and their mother wanted an atomic bomb! It shows us how after the Russians got a hold of atomic weapons as well, atomic paranoia spread through an entire generation, taking over their minds for a very long time. Such was the aura breathed in the United States during the late 40’s and early 50’s. This paranoia is what The Atomic Café captures so well. The documentary expertly gathers military films that prepared their soldiers for an atomic attack; news footage that informed movie goers that the United States had just won the war! It shows us news paper articles from that time and radio shows; T.V. commercials that would sell people the idea of living in an Atomic neighborhood where all the houses had their own underground nuclear shelter! The nuclear paranoia was not only mass hysteria, it was also extremely profitable. The Atomic Paranoia took over the world, they made songs about the atomic bomb, even alcoholic drinks where named after the bomb.

Nagasaki being blown away!

The film shows us how the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima weren’t enough to satiate the hunger of knowledge for this new terrifying weapon, oh no, we had to know more! So what did the U.S. do? They blew up a couple more atomic bombs in different parts of the world to find out the destructive capabilities of this new atomic monster. But of course, the majority of these tests didn’t take place in the vicinity of the United States, their new weapons were tested near Japan and in the Marshall Islands where the largest Nuclear test ever was conducted, this test was called ‘Castle Bravo’. Watch this documentary and you’ll see news footage that actually calls the nuclear blast ‘a beautiful site’ to behold. Want to see how the United States military convinces the natives of Bikini Island to get the hell out of their little island because they want to tests atomic weapons on it? Look no further then the military films gathered in The Atomic Café. I can completely relate to this, the U.S. military actually tested their weapons in a small island next to Puerto Rico called Vieques; that is until the people of Puerto Rico and Vieques kicked them out, people where dying of cancer left and right!  

See how the government prepared children to react when a nuclear blast hit U.S. shores! They even created a cartoon character called ‘Bert the Turtle’ that sang a song that taught kids to duck and cover! As if this would help at the hour of a nuclear blast! Ducking and covering would only get you charred to a crisp in this position, nothing else. This is really an outstanding documentary; it is chilling because it is real. I cant recommend it enough As some of you many know, I’m a humanist, and things like war and nuclear weapons simply make no sense to me. Seeing all these people in such a state of paranoia simply made me feel sorry for them, seeing the government manipulate and openly lie to them made me feel even worse. Ever seen a government tell people not to worry so much about a nuclear explosion? Because in a nuclear explosion on 15% of the population would die? That worrying so much over so little makes no sense? Such things where said to Americans by their government during those nuclear scare days. Hell, I couldn’t believe it when I saw the footage of a nuclear test where they actually had soldiers walk towards the nuclear blast! How freaking stupid where those guys? Guinea pigs for sure!

Stare right at it kids, dont worry, the radiation is the least of your worries!

We don’t have such worries during our times, but who knows when our governments might decide to start up another nuclear paranoia? The people of Japan actually lived through a post-apocalyptic time thanks to the bombs, this is something that is still reflected in the films they make. The best example is of course, Gojira (1954) a film that completely mirrors how the Japanese people felt about the bombs and atomic power. The creature known as Godzilla embodies everything that they feared about Americans and their atomic weapons! Godzilla was a creature that destroyed Japan with its atomic breath, I'm sure that this is no coincidence. Thankfully, there are a couple of treaties in the works to make nuclear testing illegal, but unfortunately they aren’t in effect yet. Believe it or not countries don’t want to sign these treaties! I guess that would make them look all weak or vulnerable? This of course means that any country with ‘weapons of mass distruction’ is still capable and willing to blow us the hell away as we comfortably eat our dinners in our living rooms, watching Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Heaven help us, and don’t forget to “duck and cover”; which will do absolutely nothing to save you, have a nice day.

Rating: 5 out of 5 

'Castle Bravo', the biggest Nuclear Test ever conducted by the U.S.!

Capitalism: A Love Story (2010)

Title: Capitalism: A Love Story (2010)

Director: Michael Moore

Review:

I’m not a political person at all. In fact, I despise politics with every fiber of my being. Doesn’t matter what side of the fence politicians come from, they always lie, they always steal, and they always squeeze the life out of the very people they are supposed to be protecting. Take one look at today’s headlines and you will see what I mean. Look at the revolts going on in Thailand and in Greece. Take a look at what is happening in Puerto Rico. People are on revolt in the streets. Fighting to survive, fighting to request a bit more of the proverbial pie. A piece they very much deserve. After all, doesn’t every man and woman have the right to a job, and to have enough money to live and survive in this world? Problem is, the 1% who are rich are greedy selfish bastards who want to gorge on the pie all by themselves. And what about the poor, the needy, the less fortunate? The rich seem to turn a blind eye on these. They don’t care if their way of life, their way of doing business is destroying society; all they care about is making the cash, and making obscene amounts of it.

"Be honest! Be fair! Treat people with respect! Why cant we all just get along?"

Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story exposes Capitalism for what it is. A creature that is devouring people whole without remorse. I know many think that Michael Moore’s documentaries are not to be trusted, but usually, the ones saying this are the ones making the money. Of course they don’t want you to see this documentary, it makes them look exactly like what they are. Greedy bastards! There is a saying that says that “a picture can speak louder than a thousand words” and this is the case with this documentary. It has scenes that speak a truth that you cannot deny. Take for example the films opening sequence. A montage of people robbing banks all across the nation. Is this not the perfect example of the state of things? People are so desperate that they have no other choice but to turn to robbing banks. I live in Puerto Rico, and this it is no different here. The crime rate has gone up ever since the economy went bad.

There is another scene that was filmed by a family who’s home was being repossessed. The bank came to this family’s home with the police, bashed the families door down and broke in. The family was being notified that their home was being taken from them. Entire families are being left out on the streets because there are not enough jobs out there and the jobs that do exist don’t pay enough. To top things off, everything is way too expensive. When you have to decide between paying a mortgage of feeding your kids, what will you choose? Should you even have to be put in a position where you have to make that choice? As a result of the high cost of living, foreclosures have sky rocketed and an alarming amount of people are being kicked out of their homes and left out on the streets! There is a heartbreaking scene in which an entire family who was kicked out of their home is living inside of a truck. The community decides to give the family their home back! So the whole community decides to sit outside of the families home, and confront the police and the bank people. And this is just a small example of people fighting for their right to live. Im not an expert in economy, and I’m no expert in politics either. But I know the difference between wrong and right, and things just aren’t right in the world when this kind of thing happens.

What are they afraid of?

Michael Moore shows a letter that some CEO’s from Citibank wrote where they say that they are the new “kings of the world” the new feudalism. And what are they afraid of? As the letter says, they are afraid that the people will fight back, and request more money to survive. This is the way it should be. People shouldn’t have to live in such a struggle. The system happy to make you start life in debt by charging astronomical amounts for college education, so that when you actually get a job, you will be paying that loan your whole life. Lets not forget the fact that if the education is as expensive as it is, poor people wont be able to go to college. And keeping the poor uneducated is part of the plan. Believe me, I did my research on how much an education in film would cost me, trust me, it wasn’t pretty. This is the main reason why I am an independent filmmaker.  Screw the system, Im doing this on my own!

Billionaire CEO’s are running the world. The Presidents of our nation answer to them. They decide what the government tells the people, I guess their big plan right now is, fuck the poor, lets make as much money as we can. I really hate it when rich people think of the poor as something less than them. We are all human beings; we should think of each other collectively, we should all think about each other. With so much money being made by mega corporations, it makes one wonder why they don’t give a little back. Especially when it comes to the less fortunate. I’m all for starting things over or maybe modifying things. But the way things are, just isn’t right. Watching this documentary might get you sad, and even outraged. I was watching it with a friend of mine (Hey Manny, that’s you I’m talking about!) and it really got to us after a while. You just feel angry because they actually know they are doing a lot of wrong, but they don’t care.

The documentary does show a positive side to things. For example, there is a company that is showcased in which everyone in the company is an owner of the company. Everyone makes the same amount of money, every one is dignified, and there are no slaves there. The president of the company makes the same amount of money that some one in the production lie does. People work happily, with a positive vibe to them. It seems that part of the solution is not working for “the man”, but working for ourselves. Some might accuse Moore of being a little melodramatic, and what can I say, he is, but at least he drives the point home, he says what he has to say and isnt afraid to say it. So Mr. Moore, I salute you for becoming the voice of the people. I’m watching The Corporation next; I want to sink myself deeper in despair. But hey, at least Ill know what’s really going on.

Rating: 5 out of 5

For All Mankind (1989)

Title: For All Man Kind (1989)

Director:  Al Reinert

Comments:

Many people take space exploration for granted. Everyone has got the general idea that space exploration is going on. And even as I type this, theres guys up there in space adding rooms to the space station. But have you ever stopped to really think about how grand it is? Space exploration I mean? Just a few decades ago no one had EVER gone into space! Much less gone to the moon. The Russians where the first guys up there, and even before them, the germans were the first to hurl satellites up into space. But it was in 1969, when the USA decided to join the space race! And a few brave souls were chosen to get their space suits on, sit on top of a bunch of rocket fuel and propel themselves up into space! And not only that, but land on the freaking moon!

For a while there, I was researching information on the whole hoax angle of this issue. You see, some people out there still believe that the lunar mission was a hoax. That humans were never on the moon and that it was all one gigantic hoax to get people to stop thinking about Vietnam. That they filmed the whole thing in sets, and exteriors right here on earth. Theres even a movie that addresses the issue called Capricorn One. Now, I don’t put it past any government to make fools of a whole nation and make them believe a fake story to deviate their attention from a given issue, but honestly, this lunar mission looks solid to me. NASA documented everything, from the preparation of the space cadets, their training…to them getting on the rocket and blasting off. I tell you, its really impressive to see that rocket blasting off into space. It’s a site to behold. NASA had cameras rolling on everything!

They even had cameras on the rocket. The documentary takes us step by step through the whole process that these guys went through. We hardly get to see the astronauts themselves as they narrate the documentary, but we hear their narration, we here them talking about their experiences and we see them in 1969 going through it all. And let me tell you, hearing these guys talk makes you see the planet, the universe and the galaxy in a whole different perspective. I thought it was awesome to hear them talking about how awe struck they were when they got to see planet earth for the first time from space. The thoughts that this kind of experience can conjure up in your head are quite unique! So it’s great to check out this documentary solely for that.

Not only do we hear them talk about the whole experience, but we get to see everything they went through. I don’t know how they were inside of that little spaceship for so long, it looked so cramped in there! You can even see the home movies they recorded themselves inside of the ship. They had some fun up there. Watching this documentary was like experiencing the whole thing with them. You can hear their frightened words, you can see them work to solve problems. There was one moment that was kind of terrifying really, when the ship suddenly has an oxygen leak! They quickly fixed the problem, but man, that must have been intense! Enough to drive somebody completely bonkers. Yet, they had nerves of steal because they solved the whole problem pretty quickly and did not loose it.

One of the most amazing moments for me is when they do their first space walk. When they open up one of the hatches and go out into space. I tell you, those guys were brave! They didn’t know what the hell was going to happen when they opened the hatch up, but they did it! And finally, when they get to the moon! What a memorable moment when they land, walk, hop and start fooling around in the moon. It was funny to see them cutting loose as they hopped through the lonely landscape of the moon. Those first few moments when they hover above the dark side of the moon? Kind of spooky! Its eerie looking at a completely alien landscape like that, its so different and unique. It all looks so desserted. Hearing them talk about how they felt being the only two humans on the moon is interesting.

My only complaint with this documentary is that I wish it had gone on a little longer. Why didn’t they show how the re-entry went? Don’t exactly know why they didn’t really go into that, but basically, we go from walking on the moon, to the guys dropping down in a parachute into the ocean. Wouldn’t the re-entry footage have been exciting to see? And a great and exciting way to end the documentary? I wanted to see what they had to say when they got out, what where their first words when they first got out of the ship? Their thoughts? Unfortunately the documentary just cuts you short right there. An interesting aspect of the documentary is that the images you see are compiled from different space missions, the images you see of the astronauts in space didn’t happen chronologically, the documentary uses images from various space missions, not just the first one.

This is an absolutely amazing and memorable doc. I salute these guys for having had the courage to explore the true unknown, and I continue to salute them for still going up there into space, exploring the universe and what’s in it. The exploration of space will definitely be one of the things that will help us understand our universe better, and the galaxy that we inhabit. In my opinion, it should be a priority to explore it, see what’s out there! Isn’t the curiosity just enough of a reason to go? Here’s hoping the next moon mission happens soon. I read somewhere that it should be on its way in the next couple of decades. Hope I live to see it.

Rating: 5 out of 5