It's clear that some liberties have been taken with authenticity in parts - e.g. near the end there's beautiful collage of space images which, from that time, could only have been highly informed artistic renderings. But with a 75 minute film possessing a title "The Space Movie" you get exactly what you would expect - an overview of some aspects of space. Tony Palmer gives us a romantic, informative and highly rewatchable account of the USA's 1969 Apollo 11 mission.
It's full of passion and spectacle and the dramatic impact of Mike Oldfield's music is about the most complementary soundtrack work I've heard anywhere - including 2001 A Space Oddysey.
I've watched my VHS of The Space Movie dozens of times in the last 20 years. And in the quarter century since it was made, this film has particular relevance in recording how we felt about the potential for space exploration - before NASA budget cuts, system failures and great tragedy made it quite clear that we're Earth-bound creatures.
I also praise the excellent and uncredited narrator - whom I must assume to be Ed Bishop (of "UFO" fame as Cmmdr Straker).
It's full of passion and spectacle and the dramatic impact of Mike Oldfield's music is about the most complementary soundtrack work I've heard anywhere - including 2001 A Space Oddysey.
I've watched my VHS of The Space Movie dozens of times in the last 20 years. And in the quarter century since it was made, this film has particular relevance in recording how we felt about the potential for space exploration - before NASA budget cuts, system failures and great tragedy made it quite clear that we're Earth-bound creatures.
I also praise the excellent and uncredited narrator - whom I must assume to be Ed Bishop (of "UFO" fame as Cmmdr Straker).