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Apollo 11 IMAX documentary
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:38 am    Post subject: Apollo 11 IMAX documentary Reply with quote


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Damnit! Not playing at any IMAX near me from what I can tell. Anyone seen it?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSS8AtjvAcY

100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Quote:
Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film edited, produced, and directed by Todd Douglas Miller. It focuses on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight to land people on the moon. The film consists solely of archival footage, including 70 mm film that was previously unreleased to the public, and does not feature narration or interviews.


Apollo 11 on Blu-ray from Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2UC9Axr
Apollo 11 on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca: https://amzn.to/2D4gphd
Apollo 11 on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/30TYILI

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Last edited by kal on Thu May 30, 2019 12:16 pm; edited 2 times in total
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wanderer




Joined: 11 Jan 2015
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PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes! Saw this at the AMC Block 30 cinemas down in Anaheim this past Sunday as I was in LA for a few days. They've done a great job at refurbing this cinema complex and the seats, audio video and acoustic treatments in the cinemas are great. IMAX projector had an alignment issue where the red panel was about 3 pixels higher than the green\blue, but other than that it was good.

Movie content was simply stunning and they did an awesome job on the restorations of the different types of film materials used. Clearly 70mm in many parts with other film types like 16mm, TV footage thrown in as well. Fascinating watching the various scenes where you see the TV footage you might be familiar with, then watching a high quality restored film source from a totally different angle capturing that entire sequence and viewing both side by side at the same time on screen. I learnt a lot about the mission I didn't know, including how the various module positions changed, spun around, etc.

Aspect ratio was generally full screen so I presume close to 16:9 in this theatre. The 70mm stuff was breathtaking though, and I can't even imagine what that would look like at the actual shot screen ratio as there is just so much visible resolution in the image. Watching what are 50 year old film soures showing real life scenes and then having it appear as though it was shot yesterday is amazing. Thank you to the NASA people here who clearly got and used the best quality film and cameras available at the time. Watching the small black and white TV monitors throughout the mission control scenes while viewing the whole control room in vibrant detail and color, well it's hard to describe how good that looked. Sound mix will likely end up blowing a bunch of IMAX subwoofers as there is plenty of ongoing LFE.

They did a great job as well preserving the original color balance of the film sources and not force mapping them to new primaries, etc, or trying to equalize out the color imbalances between different film stock sources. There is also no colorist teal mapping here, for those who hate that.

Hopefully this gets a ridiculously high bitrate encoding for a future Bluray release. On a CRT projector this material will look really, really good Smile
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great writeup wanderer - Thanks!

wanderer wrote:
Fascinating watching the various scenes where you see the TV footage you might be familiar with, then watching a high quality restored film source from a totally different angle capturing that entire sequence and viewing both side by side at the same time on screen. I learnt a lot about the mission I didn't know, including how the various module positions changed, spun around, etc.

That's the part I'm really interested in myself having seen so many documentaries and various footage over the years.

Kal

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wanderer




Joined: 11 Jan 2015
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PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kal, you'll definitely want to see this when you can. I forgot to mention with the audio that they have a lot of high quality in capsule audio, etc, as well. Seeing Aldrin and Armstrong in high quality 70mm that looks like it was shot yesterday was something.

If anyone views the trailer for this and is wowed by the footage, color and detail, I can tell you the film is actually a whole lot more impressive than the trailer.
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garyfritz




Joined: 08 Apr 2006
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PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

They say it's "launching exclusively in IMAX for one week only." I'm guessing that means after the first week you can see it at a normal theater. Which might be the only option, for now at least. It looks like it's currently only showing at 2 IMAX theaters, and those are only 30 miles apart: Air & Space Museum in DC, and Udvar-Hazy museum in Chantilly VA. Meanwhile it looks like practically every other IMAX is showing Captain Marvel!? They have this just-released amazing historic space movie, and they're all showing a live-action cartoon? (Which I'm looking forward to seeing, but IMAX is better used for something like Apollo 11 !)

Meanwhile I'm having a real hard time finding non-IMAX showtimes anywhere in Colorado. Maybe I'll go see it when I go to California in a week.
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, would love to but the IMAX site SUCKS for showing what's playing where: https://www.imax.com/movies/apollo-11-2019

According to that it appears it's not playing anywhere in Canada which doesn't seem right. (EDit: or may be right based on what gary just wrote)

I won't see this in a regular theater as it'll look better to watch it at home. If I can see it in 70mm IMAX I'll see it in an IMAX theater.

Kal

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jbltecnicspro




Joined: 23 Apr 2016
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PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So it looks like this is an actual documentary then?

My biggest beef with IMAX films is that they tend to be overtly political, to the point of where I feel like they pull a bait and switch. I don't have a problem with politics, but I don't like going to see a movie like "Coral Reef Adventure", for example, only to find that most of the 45 min runtime is spent talking about how bad global warming is and (yes, the main scientist in the movie actually says this) to go out and vote for politicians who will fight global warming. Just shut up and show me some more of the coral reefs! You know... like the title suggests? Smile
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wanderer




Joined: 11 Jan 2015
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PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, this is a documentary film. It's basically footage in sequence from before the launch when rolling out the rocket to the pad, various things in mission control, astronaut prep, people around the launch site and viewing areas, helicopters flying around or taking footage, then the launch... including showing how they are tightening bolts on the boosters with a few mins to launch to stop leaks, then multiple alarms going off with 30 seconds to go, then launch. Then to the moon, landing on the moon, walking on the moon all in HD+ quality and back again. The only non footage parts are some small animations showing how the capsule has to rotate and re-join to itself, etc. The actual launch happens pretty early in the film as they have a lot of footage here.

So much to learn and observe when watching this. People at that time seemed to like wearing white a lot, and krispy kreme donuts were sold in clear sealed plastic individual bags at the time to people in the crowds. It's like watching a 50 year old time capsule that looks like it was filmed yesterday. It also reminds you of how crazy things have become where we just aren't striving to do awesome things like this anymore.

Really hope this gets a BD release as I'll happily buy it. Haven't been able to find anything about a scheduled release though.

This isn't a normal IMAX type documentary as it's made by CNN films.
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jbltecnicspro




Joined: 23 Apr 2016
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PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good to know, thank you! I look forward to this movie's BD release too.
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It also won't have anyone nagging you - per my original post:

kal wrote:

Quote:
Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film edited, produced, and directed by Todd Douglas Miller. It focuses on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight to land people on the moon. The film consists solely of archival footage, including 70 mm film that was previously unreleased to the public, and does not feature narration or interviews.


Kal

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Curt Palme
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PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saw it last night. Loved it, especially how the actors looked exactly like the original astronauts. Wink
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where'd you see it Curt?

Kal

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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The local Cineplex.

A bit off topic... what's with the recent few years fascination with superheroes? Every friggin' preview (well, over 1/2, anyway) were superhero movies. While I liked the Dark Knight due to the opening scene, I have zero interest in any of them. Other previews were remakes, and I think of the 6 or 7 that ran, I might be interested in seeing one flick. Of course, i can't remember which one that was. Very Happy
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Curt Palme wrote:
The local Cineplex.

Ah! So not 70mm IMAX I take it?

Quote:
A bit off topic... what's with the recent few years fascination with superheroes?

I think it's because they can finally do them right. Seems theguardian.com agrees with me:

Quote:
The current dominance of superhero films at the box office can be attributed to a number of factors. The usual plot of an otherwise ordinary human gaining fantastic powers so that he (unfortunately rarely a "she") can vanquish his enemies and be adored by the masses will always be an appealing fantasy. Likewise, the metaphorical saving of major cities, be they New York, Metropolis or Gotham, is a comforting tale in a post-9/11 world. But the main reason that superhero films have become so popular in this millennium is because they can make us believe in the hero and in the spectacular action. Thanks to incredible advances in special effects, especially seamless incorporation of CGI images, live action superheroes finally look believable.


Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/31/marvel-superheroes-true-believers

I think they're also popular because they're for the most part mostly brainless eye candy and that's what people want.

I can take them or leave them. I find some of the origin movies interesting (how someone became who they are) but the later ones that are just all eye candy with wave after wave of fight sequences frankly bore me.

Given the absolutely massive budgets I find they've also become completely formulaic, completely driven by commercial calculation, largely written by committees under strict studio supervision. Nobody seems to take any risks in them. They're commercial machines meant to maximize profit.

A year or so ago Jodie Foster described current big-budget productions as the cinematic equivalent of fracking, mining box office gold while wrecking the Earth. “It’s ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world. I don’t want to make $200 million movies about superheroes.”. See: https://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/jodie-foster-interview-black-mirror-1201912154/

Simon Pegg seems to agree:

Quote:
“I’m very much a self-confessed fan of science-fiction and genre cinema. But part of me looks at society as it is now and thinks we’ve been infantilized by our own taste. We’re essentially all consuming very childish things – comic books, superheroes… Adults are watching this stuff, and taking it seriously!” he told Radio Times, noting the shift from substantive dramas of the ’70s that were popular box office hits to what we have today.
“It is a kind of dumbing down in a way. Because it’s taking our focus away from real-world issues,” Pegg added. “Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions that might make you walk away and re-evaluate how you felt about… whatever. Now we’re walking out of the cinema really not thinking about anything, other than the fact that the Hulk just had a fight with a robot.”


Kal

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Curt Palme
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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Correct, not IMAX.

Well I agree with Simon and Jodie. It does indeed seem a dumbing down, but I wasn't going to say it until someone else did. Smile
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tend to agree with them.

Some people will say "well you don't need to go see them if you don't like them then".

The problem is that studios are making considerably LESS movies per year than they were ~10 years ago. They're instead focusing on the mega-blockbusters like these superhero movies. That's not good. All the money/focus is on these 'sure thing' money making movies. The selection of movies to go watch has sunk.

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garyfritz




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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kal wrote:
I think it's because they can finally do them right. Seems theguardian.com agrees with me:

I do too. I've said for years that Stan Lee must have thought he'd died and gone to heaven. When he was slaving away at Marvel back in the 60's, comic books were considered little better than pornography. It wasn't a highly-respected art form. But his fevered imagination came up with all these outrageous characters and story lines. I'll bet in the last 10 years he was nodding his head and saying "OK, **FINALLY** you guys have got it right." Finally they could do a good job of visually presenting what was in Stan's head 50-60 years ago. And the world was finally appreciating his work. I'm glad he saw that before he died.

The fact that he was making a freakin' fortune was probably satisfying too. But if I know Stan, he got more of a hoot from his cameos.

Quote:
Given the absolutely massive budgets I find they've also become completely formulaic, completely driven by commercial calculation, largely written by committees under strict studio supervision. Nobody seems to take any risks in them.

Generally yes, but there are exceptions. I would say the first Deadpool movie was a HUGE risk. Deadpool was always a subversive corner-case character that only appealed to a certain demographic. Giving him his own movie -- complete with authentic Deadpool-style sex, profanity, mindless violence, etc -- was pretty ballsy IMHO. And thanks to Ryan Reynolds and a good script, it worked fantastically.
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sure of course - there are always exceptions. Logan as well was pretty different (dark and gritty).

Kal

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PostLink    Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Apollo II releases on BR in May
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kal
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PostLink    Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool! Can't wait!

Apollo 11 on Blu-ray from Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2UC9Axr
Apollo 11 on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca: https://amzn.to/2D4gphd

Using our affliate links helps support our forum at no cost to you! We thank you!

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