Storyline
When Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan stepped off the moon in 1972 he left his footprints and his daughter's initials in the lunar dust. Only now, forty years later, is he ready to share his epic but deeply personal story. Cernan's burning ambition carried him to the spectacular and hazardous environment of space and to the moon. But there was a heavy price to pay for the fame and privilege that followed. As his wife famously remarked, 'If you think going to the moon is hard, try staying at home.' 'The Last Man on the Moon' combines rare archive material, compelling Visual FX and unprecedented access to present an iconic historical character on the big screen.
Writers: Eugene Cernan, Mark Craig, Eugene Cernan, Alan Bean, Charles Duke, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan, Charles Duke, Richard Gordon, Christopher Kraft, Gene Kranz, Jim Lovell, , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Alan Bean -
Eugene Cernan -
Eugene Cernan
Charles Duke -
Richard Gordon -
Christopher Kraft -
Gene Kranz -
Jim Lovell -
Taglines:
One man's part in mankind's greatest adventure.
It seems to me that nowadays we are no longer as attuned to, or turned
on by Space Exploration as generations were in times past. It's
probably not too much of an exaggeration to say it could be seen by
many as 'old hat'. The reasons for this, I speculate, may be variously
due to the Un-manned, technically advanced nature of many of today's
missions (which has removed the key human interest element from the
story) as well as our obsession with matters more material or tangible.
This feature length documentary which I watched today was shown as part
of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It harks back to the
pioneering age when Space Exploration was front and centre in the
public's consciousness and for Americans it's every success was
regarded as a source of intense National pride in their Cold-war
Space-Race against the Soviet Union. Astronauts were routinely and
quite rightly feted as All-American heroes. Here was a time when the
various Apollo missions were a Prime-time ratings winner, transfixing
an anxious TV-watching public who tuned in on a daily basis for the
latest updates knowing as they did the inherent danger involved.
I came to this as a casually interested viewer with, at best a passable
knowledge of the history of Space Exploration. Without a doubt my
interest has now been piqued. It's a thoroughly enjoyable documentary
which deserves to be shown (and seen) on the large screen. Gene Cernan
is the hero and focus of this story; he being the last of the 12 men to
set foot on the moon. However Gene or any of the other players are not
presented as mere cardboard heroes; instead the very real man as well
as Astronaut is revealed- there is no excess light shown on Gene the
astronaut to the exclusion of Gene the man, husband and Father. For
instance sadness and regret at being away from his daughter for
extended periods are juxtaposed with the euphoria of being one of the
lucky few to know what it really feels like to get your space-boots
covered in moondust.
The fact that Gene is now in his 80's as are most of the other
Astronauts featured makes it a timely production and it also lends a
poignancy and a gravitas to it. Gene comes across as a proud but very
grounded man capable of making telling insights and being able to
reflect meaningfully on his achievements without ever wearing them
haughtily. The contributions from former fellow Astronauts, Mission
control commanders and family members by turn combine to create a full
and rounded picture of the man. The Last Man on the Moon is very deftly
paced and well edited. Its shot through with the most amazing and
varied archive footage including everything from amateur home-movies to
NASA archived material. When viewed through the prism of today's
super-advanced technological times there's a
flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants feel to much of the Mission control
and Space footage which I found fascinating. There's a great
swinging-sixties soundtrack to boot.
Definitely recommended. One final thought; does anyone else think that
Gene Cernan is a ringer for Clint Eastwood?
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