A new Apollo 11 documentary produced by CNN Films and Statement Pictures has opened to critical acclaim. The 93-minute documentary is directed by Todd Douglas Miller and features never-before-seen footage of NASA’s mission to the Moon.

Apollo 11 first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2019, where it won the Special Jury Award for Editing. Over the past week, journalists and movie critics have been sitting down to prescreenings ahead of its theatrical release next week. Thus far, the documentary has received universal praise for its faithful recounting of one of humankind’s greatest achievements.

The team behind the Apollo 11 documentary sifted through almost 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio and film including breathtaking hyper-detailed 70mm footage that had been forgotten for decades. Director Todd Douglas Miller chose to forgo narration, cutaways and recreations in favour of original audio and a stunning score. The result is what one Washington Post critic described as a “virtual round-trip ticket to the moon”. Popular movie review website Rotten Tomatoes currently scores the documentary at 100% while IMDb has it at an 8.4/10.

Apollo 11 will be released in the US on 1 March. Thus far, the UK is also expected to receive a limited release. It is unclear how much of the rest of the world will receive theatrical releases.

Interesting in learning more about the Apollo programme? Take a look at our 5-part The Apollo 11 Story series.





