In the Shadow of the Moon

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In the Shadow of the Moon

PG

2007

1h 40m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

111 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In 1961, NASA started its Apollo program to realize President John F. Kennedy's dream of putting a man on the moon. This documentary retells the story of the program's mission through archival footage and interviews with all the surviving astronauts, except Neil Armstrong. With the U.S. racing to beat the Soviet Union into space, NASA began a series of test flights, culminating in Armstrong's 1969 walk on the moon and briefly uniting the world in awe of the United States' accomplishment.

Critics Consensus

Director David Sington poetically interwove 20th Century's cosmonautic history with its effect on the public's view of their country, their heroes and their future.

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Feb 22, 2008

B

The crowd-pleaser has enough ambition to pitch a one-size-fits-all philosophy based on the Apollo crew's revelation that looking down from space, our problems seem trivial.

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

Nov 2, 2007

2/5

Respectful, enthusiastic and occasionally rather touching as the men, now in their seventies, recall how it felt up there. Yet the really important question never gets asked: what was it all for?

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Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Nov 2, 2007

The shots of the Moon, even after so many effects-heavy studio films have tried to recreate the look, are uncanny.

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Nov 9, 2018

5/5

A captivating and revelatory experience from beginning to end.

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Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

Dec 15, 2010

4/5

Lofty recap of the Apollo moon program.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Times

Oct 18, 2008

The single most stirring and satisfying feature of 2007.

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Howard F

@LaurelOak Sep 10, 2025

Great story of the Apollo program, told by some of the astronauts that went to the Moon. A great companion piece for "From the Earth to the Moon". Very well put together.

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Jan 5, 2020

This is for a different movie with the same name....I don't know how to delete this review?

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Sep 30, 2019

Netflix took me on a journey with this film: they slipped into my DMs, took me on an enjoyable date, got a bit drunk and rambled on about nonsense and then brutally molested me with a patronizing plot twist that took a sharp triggering political turn. #DeportPoliticsOutOfMyMovies

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David B

@RT87165717 Dec 30, 2018

A true gem,please,please,do watch this,the music is fantastic,the film puts goose bubs on your arm.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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Aug 8, 2017

An amazing subject, the documentary is a bit too Hollywood. More details and less schmaltz would have helped. Worth seeing for the footage alone.

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Jun 18, 2016

A real candid look into the minds of a few extraordinary men who have travelled further than anyone other human being who have ever lived on this planet. Hopefully, since journeying to the moon, this is a wake up call for planet Earth for humans to realize how lucky we our to live on this great planet called Earth, but also we must continue exploring the vastness of Space including Mars and other bodies in our Universe as soon as possible.

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Synopsis

In 1961, NASA started its Apollo program to realize President John F. Kennedy's dream of putting a man on the moon. This documentary retells the story of the program's mission through archival footage and interviews with all the surviving astronauts, except Neil Armstrong. With the U.S. racing to beat the Soviet Union into space, NASA began a series of test flights, culminating in Armstrong's 1969 walk on the moon and briefly uniting the world in awe of the United States' accomplishment.

Director: David Sington
Producer: Duncan Copp
Distributor: ThinkFilm
Production Co: Discovery Films, Film4
Rating: PG (Mild Language|Incidental Smoking|Brief Violent Images)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 7, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 40m

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