Apollo 11 documents the most spectacular trip human beings have ever embarked upon.
Using film recently discovered and other pieces which have been released in the past by NASA the trip from the Earth to the Moon is presented on the large screen format IMAX. The blending of still photographs, 35 mm film and some newly discovered 70 mm film brings the entire spectacular trip to the audience into the process and the action of this larger than life trip to the nearest body in space.
The burning of the five saturn rockets as Apollo 11 takes off is projected with a close up view and all of the vibration the lift off produced. The in your face exploding fire storm at the back end of the rocket engines burns brightly as the vehicle slowly begins the two hundred forty-thousand mile trip. The sound using long waves provides a bit of vibration in the theater which brings us a feeling of being truly close to the launch pad.
The stills and some motion film especially on the Moon are filled with beauty and provide wonder as we see the LEM sitting on the Moon and the Earth floating in the sky above.
The power and danger of the take off (even when we know it will be successful) are non-the-less exciting as the astronauts sit on top of the 300 plus foot rocket assembly ready to fire and push the vehicles on top into orbit. We also see the staging from inside as the initial large rockets drop back to earth and we watch the astronauts bounce and vibrate as staging takes place.
Each step in the journey is filled with danger, as we know from seeing Tom Hanks in Apollo 13. Apollo 13 failed to produce a landing on the Moon but was an exciting creation to watch on the screen. Like the film Apollo 13 the danger points bring tension even when the history is known.
Apollo 11 allows us to visit history right in front of us on a large screen filled with excitement, history, science and the story of the brave men who took to trip. Imagine if there were film available for the first trip Columbus to the America. The danger and the unknown has only been written about. Here we can see and feel the action and almost be a part of the journey.
On the IMAX screen this is a magnificent film to watch as we remember the adventure which took place fifty years ago.