We’ve been going to the moon onscreen since almost the beginning of cinema, however the nostalgic glow of Apollo 10 1/2 speaks to how we’re now often looking back rather than ahead while going to the moon in movies. It’s a vision that captivated audiences in the decades leading up to the 1969 moon landing, whereas most films about travelling to the moon since then have been period pieces or documentaries covering the 1960s space competition. Let’s take a look at all of the best moon landing movies that have been made over the years.
1. A Trip To The Moon (1902)
Director- Geroges Melles
Georges Méliès, the original and ambitious director, provides his audience with an imaginative turn-of-the-century fantasy extravaganza composed of 30 magnificent tableaux and 18 fabulously complex decors. The eminent members of the famous Institute of Incoherent Astronomy agree that it is about time they delved into the wide unknown by organising an exploration voyage to the Moon under the brave Professor Barbenfouillis’ presidency. Soon after, the brave explorers land their bullet-shaped spaceship on the moon’s supposedly lonely plains, discovering firsthand the wonders of outer space. They are, however, completely unaware that the dry hills have eyes, and that the Moon Emperor’s awful Selenites are on the lookout for invaders.
2. Woman In The Moon (1929)
Director- Fritz Lang
Prof. Manfeldt presented his theory on the occurrence of gold on the Moon at a scientific meeting thirty years ago. The academics in attendance erupted in laughter. Herr Helius has grand intentions to build a spaceship today. They take it all the way to the Moon landing! Windegger, his chief engineer, and Prof. Manfeldt, who is currently living in a small garret alone with his theories, will both be leaving. However, there are conflicts with the investors, who want their man Turner to join the flight as well. The unmanned Rocket H 32 returns crucial information from the Moon’s dark side.
The news of Windegger’s engagement to the lovely Friede upsets Helius. The financiers also have a hidden agenda: they want to control the global gold supply. The Spaceship “Friede” is finally ready for flight as it rolls out on its gantry. The staged rocket performs as expected, but it accelerates quickly. They uncover a stowaway on board, Gustav, a small boy, as they approach the Moon.
3. Destination Moon (1950)
Director- Irving Pichel
Dr. Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer must restart their mission after their previous rocket fails. This time, Gen. Thayer approaches Jim Barnes, the owner of his own aviation construction company, and asks him to assist in the development of a rocket that will transport them to the moon. They gather the titans of industry and swear their allegiance to the objective of the United States becoming the first to land a man on the moon. They construct their rocket, which successfully escapes Earth’s gravitational pull and lands on time. Barnes used too much fuel during the landing, leaving them with insufficient fuel for the return trip to Earth.
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Director- Stanley Kubrick
Humans are affected by a black monolith, with the monolith’s impacts centred on two historical periods. The first period began four million years ago, when man first appeared on the scene. Following the emergence of the monolith, the ape men begin to exhibit hitherto unseen behaviour. The second time period is in the near future, in 2001. Discovery One, which is on a mission to Jupiter, has five people on board. The cause for it is unclear to the five astronauts at the start of the trip. Three astronauts are hibernating before the start of the trip to conserve personnel for the duration of the expedition, leaving mission commander Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole as the only two people on board.
HAL 9000 – referred to simply as Hal – the artificial intelligent computer that manages all of the craft’s activities, including the devices that keep the three hibernating astronauts alive – is another “sixth” astronaut on board. Hal is made even more astronaut-like by giving it an artificial voice, and Hal and the astronauts frequently converse. Any error produced by a 9000 series computer is deemed human-caused. Bowman and Poole feel Hal is malfunctioning, but they are unaware that Hal’s conduct is due to knowledge of sensitive information it holds regarding events eighteen months ago at Clavius, a lunar outpost. The conflict between the astronauts and Hal, on the other hand, becomes a battle for survival.
5. For All Mankind (1989)
Director- Al Reinhert
This film, more than any other under two-hour film, provides the most comprehensive account of the Apollo missions. Al Reinert sifted through over 6,000,000 feet of footage captured throughout the missions and chose the best. Reinart focuses on the human side of space journeys rather than being a newsy, fact-filled documentary. The astronauts’ and mission control’s voices are the only ones heard in the movie. From interviews and mission footage, Reinart uses the astronaunts’ own words. Brian Eno’s score emphasises the strangeness, wonder, and beauty of the astronauts’ experiences, which they were privileged to have “for all mankind” for the first time.
6. Apollo 13 (1995)
Director- Ron Howard
Based on the true story of one of NASA’s biggest disasters. NASA intends to deploy astronauts to the Moon for a lunar mission in 1971. Jim Lovell, Frad Haise, and Jack Swigert have been chosen as astronauts. They successfully launched into space, but a minor defect inside the space module produced an explosion, turning the mission into a survival test for the crew of Apollo 13. While Loveel, Haise, and Swigert attempt to survive in space, NASA employees, including Ken Mattingly, strive to find a way to return the men back to Earth.
7. Moon (2009)
Director- Duncan Jones
Sam Bell is getting impatient to return to Earth with only three weeks left on his three-year contract. Along with his computer and assistant, GERTY, he is the sole tenant of a Moon-based manufacturing plant. However, due to his extended period of solitude, he has mostly been chatting to himself or his plants. Due to a long-standing communication problem, he is unable to communicate directly with Earth, but he does receive occasional messages from his wife Tess. However, after he experiences an accident, he discovers that he is not alone. He also realises that his reality is not what he believed it to be.
8. First Man (2018)
Director- Damien Chazelle
The humble and quiet private test pilot, Neil Armstrong, is recruited by the chief of the NASA astronaut office, Deke Slayton, for the ambitious Project Gemini in the dawn of the 1960s, in the aftermath of a terrible family tragedy amid the urgent Space Race with the Soviet Union. However, it would take eight hard years for Armstrong, as commander of the Apollo 11, and American astronaut Buzz Aldrin to land the Apollo Lunar Module, Eagle, on the Moon on July 20, 1969, after a series of trials, tragedies, and advancements. Neil takes his first steps on the unknown celestial planet, 384,400 kilometres away from Earth, in a dry and gloomy lunar surface coated with powdery regolith.
