The Last Man On the Moon

The Last Man On the Moon

By Mark Craig

  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release Date: 2016-02-26
  • Advisory Rating: NR
  • Runtime: 1h 36min
  • Director: Mark Craig
  • iTunes Price: USD 9.99
  • iTunes Rent Price: USD 3.99
6.5/10
6.5
From 79 Ratings

Description

When Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan stepped on the moon in December 1972 he left his footprints and his daughter’s initials in the lunar dust. Only now, over forty years later, is he ready to share his epic but deeply personal story of fulfillment, love and loss. Cernan’s burning ambition carried him from a quiet Chicago suburb to the spectacular and hazardous environment of space, and ultimately, to the moon. Five years in the making, The Last Man on the Moon unveils a wealth of rare archive, and takes Cernan back to the launch pads of Cape Kennedy, to Arlington National Cemetery and to his Texas ranch, where he finds respite from a past that refuses to let him go. Sharing home movies, scrapbooks and intimate moments with his closest friends and family, he brings his spine-tingling experiences to the big screen more vividly than any moonwalker has done before.

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • Monumental

    5
    By arcticwing
    For those who think America was never that great.....see this. Wonderously illuminating
  • We never went to the moon

    1
    By Ironworkers 86
    All lies....
  • Extremely well done

    4
    By Furutan1
    My parents' generation may have survived the depression, went through world war, and experienced the boom of subsequent decades, paying the greatest price and enjoying the greatest benefit, it was my generation that experienced the true wonders of the twentieth century. We had Viet Nam, but we also had Woodstock. We saw the loss of Camelot, but we also had the British invasion and - even better - space program. We survived disco and came into our own in the free-spirited and adventurous eighties. No one born after the early sixties can come within a mile of truly understanding how it was. We had all the model kits. We knew every detail of how things worked on the missions. We knew the correct pronunciation of Gemini (like Jiminy Cricket). Every mission was an unbelievable thrill. And suddenly it was gone. The spirit of adventure was taken away and replaced by the self-indulgent seventies. We later had the Shuttle but that was tame, and now it too is gone. For us, the cancelling of Apollo was crushing. The Apollo XVIII spacecraft were built and ready to go. They pulled the plug because of the cost of fuel and mission support. It was like falling in love and being in love, dropping off your fiancé and saying goodnight, calling the next day to hear that your mate for life had vanished. Gone. The only criticism I have is about the inaccuracy of the CG scene depicting the moon flight. The LEM was not extracted in orbit but after the S4V had sent them on the moon trajectory. The clip would have been appropriate for the Apollo 5 mission - the testing of the LEM in orbit. This movie is a very important one and it rightly deserves to be in that special collection that includes The Right Stuff, From the Earth to the Moon, Apollo 13, and a handful of others. Unlike one documentary about the Challenger that promised to aways remember the crew (but only mentioned the names of three of the seven), this film, The Last Man on the Moon, is all about heart. It is all about humanity, and it shows a lot that was only hinted at in other films. There may have been one huge error — showing the earth orbit extraction of the LEM (named "Spider") of the Apollo 9 mission (McDivitt, Scott & Schweickart) while describing the Apollo XVII flight — but this film is otherwise flawless. For people of my generation, especially those who were boys during the Mercury through Apollo days, this film is important. It reminds us of what we human beings once were and who we could be again. I salute the filmmakers and participants, and particularly the astronauts living and dead who represented the rest of us in this dream of reaching the heavens. One other thing the current generation just doesn't get is what a nigh-impossible feat this was. The Apollo missions had to hit a reentry target of only 6.2 miles across, shooting from a distance of 238,900 miles, traveling between two moving objects flying at over 24,000 MPH, and using a guidance computer that was so primitive that the current iPhone is 120 million times more powerful. Not only that but the moon landing took place only _12 years_ after the launch of the first manmade object ever to orbit the earth (Sputnik I).
  • "...with peace and hope for all mankind."

    5
    By FunkyChicken29
    Everybody knows the first words ever uttered on the moon, but do you know the last words ever spoken there? This documentary is enlightening and inspiring, and really makes you ask, what are we doing as a country and as a species?
  • Excellent Documentary!

    5
    By Gpsman123
    This was very well done. Totally worthwhile for everyone to watch this. Very timely to watch it now to celebrate and remember the life of Gene Cernan, who passed away in January of 2017.
  • Ho hum...

    3
    By 747whaledriver
    You know, I admire the Apollo astronauts and I no doubt couldn't repeat what they did. It was bold, gutsy, and very diffficult on them -- and their wives, children, and extended families. If the movie was made about anybody but Cernan... I think Gene was a screw-up and why Deke didn't can him after screwing around and crashing a helicopter from very low-levelflight, I'll never know. Cernan was a first-class screw-up, and his arrogance nearly cost him his life. Gordo would have been a much better choice. So would Jolly Wally, but they both ran afoul of Chris Kraft and got booted out of a lunar flight. Dick Gordon would have been the ideal candidate, but he was cut (I believe) with Congress killing Apollo 18 and 19. What Deke should have done was can Cernan and put Dick Gordon in his place: only God knows why he didn't... Politics. It killed Apollo 18 and 19. It killed the Challenger crew and the Columbia crew both. Why Deke didn't can Cernan is beyond me. I admire Gene for making the last flight and all, but I don't think he rated the flight. Sorry. The film should have emphasized the science, but once again, it focused on the superficial.
  • Must watch documentary

    5
    By yuttgutt
    Amazing review of Gene Cernan's life. Great insight into the workings of an astronaut. Sad that his personal life suffered due to being away most of the time from home. Glad that he did shared his family, personal struggles with the viewers.
  • Wow!

    5
    By Frank C 66554321.
    A portrait of an Astronaught, Gene Cernan, who went into space 3 times and was the last man on the moon. Amazing, touching, sad and beautiful to behold film. Most of it is from the perspective of the 82 year old Cernan, who is a amazing man, who lived a amzaing life.
  • Great Documentary But Leftl Perplexed

    4
    By Nack01
    This doumentary brought back memories and filled in gaps of history I was unaware of. I enjoyed it immensely. After viewing it I had this nagging thought as to why Gene pursued the circuit of speeches and book signings at the expense of his first wife. She seemed to be the best thing in his personal life other than his daughter Tracy. So, I'm left wondering if Gene was addicted to the fame and adoration of years past. Did all that traveling generate income? I would have made different personal choices but that's what separates people.
  • What an incredible life.

    5
    By klatuklatu
    I definitely recommend this. An insiders view of what it was like to be in the Apollo programme. Very uplifting too. An incredible American from an incredible time.

Comments

keyboard_arrow_up