Moonwalk One
In early 1969, Francis Thompson and his partner Alexander Hammid received a call from NASA. They were the creators of To Be Alive!, which won an Academy Award in 1966. The space agency wanted them to make a film about the Apollo program with a budget of several million dollars. MGM was set to provide funding and distribution for this ambitious project called Man in Space. It would include re-enactments on a sound stage. Thompson's company even began shooting footage during earlier Apollo missions. Then reshuffling at MGM killed the big-budget plan. Both men frantically searched for new money but found nothing. Six weeks before the Apollo 11 launch, NASA called again. They could only scrape together $350,000. Thompson turned to Theo Kamecke, who had edited their previous hit. Bill Johnnes joined as line producer because he knew the necessary contacts.
Kamecke faced a frantic schedule to scout locations and select crews for Cape Canaveral. He asked camera crews to resist looking at the launch itself. Instead they focused on the faces of people watching. He stood alone in Launch Control as the only civilian issued a pass to the Firing Room. During the moonwalk he worked inside Mission Control MOCR in Houston, Texas. Stock footage researchers hunted for newsreels and unusual global scenes. Engineers in Huntsville, Alabama had tossed reels into cardboard cartons under a workbench. These were film shots taken by cameras automatically triggered at launch. Most were on 16mm film running at such high frame rates that movement seemed almost frozen. Kamecke selected several reels to take back to New York. An optical house then sped them up while blowing them up to 35mm format.
Charles Morrow composed the score with flexible avant-garde styles. For the Earth Poem sequence he used heartbeat sounds, breathing, and a moving cello line. Telemetry sounds from spacecraft became music throughout the film. None came from Apollo missions because the data was too rapid even when slowed down. The sounds originated from Mariner 4 which flew past Mars years earlier. The rocket launch audio mixed V2 rocket noise with atom bomb sounds. Struck metal played slowly to emulate cathedral bells. This thread connected to the Stonehenge music bookending the film. A pipe organ score linked the flight with micro and macro universes. Laurence Luckinbill served as narrator. He was an actor chosen for his voice and temperament rather than narration experience.
After completion in 1969 public interest had faded due to saturation with space program coverage. NASA screened the film in New York City but distributors found it too long. They cut about fifteen minutes at NASA's direction. This failed to generate renewed distributor interest. The film appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in summer 1971 where it won a special award. Critics described it as a sleeper hit. The Whitney Museum of American Art placed Moonwalk One in its first New American Directors series. It received many favorable reviews there. National theaters subsequently screened the film capitalizing on that publicity. ABC News called it the first documentary worthy of the moon launch itself. Cue Magazine described it in 1972 as extraordinary historical scope.
Archer Winsten wrote in the New York Post in November 1972 that the film deserved to be a companion piece to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterwork 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Earth Poem sequence used Hasselblad stills taken by astronauts on previous missions. These images were sent to an optical house for slow moves across the surface. An animated explanation showed how the Apollo-Saturn rocket functioned. In 1970 cell animation was far cheaper than computer graphics. Each image was drawn on clear acetate like Mickey Mouse cartoons. The 2019 documentary Apollo 11 pays homage by re-using those designs in genuine computer animations. The finished film was assembled and printed by Technicolor in California using dye transfer processes from the 1930s through the 1960s.
A 35mm print of the film was telecined in 2009 for re-release. Theo Kamecke supervised the special Director's Cut edition. The DVD included a director's commentary and the story of making the film. This version premiered on Monday the 20th of July 2009. The original specifications called for 70mm filming but budget constraints forced a switch to 35mm. The launch crews worked with few 70mm cameras and some 35mm equipment. After the moonwalk Kamecke explained that 70mm could not be done within the allowed budget. Film processing costs were too high and lenses required larger crews. The final release used traditional 4:3 screen ratio to accommodate all stock footage. Moonwalk One stands as one of the last American films created using the dye transfer process.
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Common questions
Who created the documentary film Moonwalk One?
Francis Thompson and Alexander Hammid created the documentary film Moonwalk One. They received a call from NASA in early 1969 to produce the project with a budget of several million dollars.
When did the special Director's Cut edition of Moonwalk One premiere?
The special Director's Cut edition of Moonwalk One premiered on Monday the 20th of July 2009. Theo Kamecke supervised this version which included a director's commentary and the story of making the film.
Why was Moonwalk One filmed using 35mm instead of 70mm?
Budget constraints forced the production team to switch from 70mm filming to 35mm equipment. Film processing costs were too high and lenses required larger crews than available during the moonwalk.
What music sources were used for the score of Moonwalk One?
Charles Morrow composed the score using heartbeat sounds, breathing, and cello lines for the Earth Poem sequence. Telemetry sounds originated from Mariner 4 which flew past Mars years earlier rather than from Apollo missions.
Where was Moonwalk One screened at the Cannes Film Festival in summer 1971?
Moonwalk One appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in summer 1971 where it won a special award. Critics described it as a sleeper hit after its initial distribution challenges.