For All Mankind

Between 1968 and 1972, 24 astronauts were ‘shot into space’ as part of NASA’s Apollo space programme. All nine missions including six moon landings were recorded by a plethora of on-board cameras. Producer-director Reinert looked through some 2 million metres of footage and over 90 hours of interviews to create his wonderful, unrushed documentary For All Mankind. The 35mm reels proved of astounding quality. After the launch spectacle, viewers find themselves in the serenity of space where Reinert allows the awe-inspiring slow motion footage and the astronaut interviews speak for themselves without any 'talking heads'.

For All Mankind is a unique documentary, an almost philosophical meditation on a project that once, for the merest instant, seemed to bring humanity together, above and beyond political contrasts, purely because of the ‘super human’ aspect of the moon landings.

Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks

Years before the eventual release of the film, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois’ introspective, sublime soundtrack was released as 'Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks' (1983) which became an influential ambient classic.

“The idea was to try to create a kind of groundbreaking space music,” said Eno in a 1998 interview. Eno wanted to avoid the media sensationalism concerning the Apollo 11 mission and conversely tried to express what space travel would be like: dark, spooky and unsettling, but also comforting and relaxing with an element of homesickness.

Screening of the 2022 Criterion restoration.