First Man DVD 2019

     This film follows the career of legendary American Astronaut Neil Armstrong from 1961-1969.  He is the first human to walk on the moon.  There were many costs, pressures and sacrifices for the United States and Neil himself plus the other astronauts to accomplish this mission.  In the history of space travel, this mission was one of the most dangerous.  Armstrong and all the others involved with the space missions of this time period were very shaken when Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee died inside the capsule.  This happened during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy, Florida.  Everyone wondered what would happen to Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when they were strapped into Apollo 11?

     This film makes you feel like you have walked million miles in Neil Armstrong’s shoes!!  There are so many instances where he walks away from near death in the space program!!  Armstrong and Aldrin had to focus on the right now at every moment.  The two men relied on their previous rigorous training and experience to accomplish a never-done-before mission. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is what really happened.  4* (I really liked this movie) 

   

141 min, Bio directed by Damien Chazelle with Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Coirey Stoll, Patrick Fugit, Christopher Abbott, Ciaran Hinds, Olivia Hamilton, Pablo Schreiber, Shea Whigham, Lukas Haas, Ethan Embry, Brian d’Arcy James, Cory Michael Smith.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 87% critic 66% audience, Roger Ebert 3* Matt Zoller Seitz, RollingStone 4 ½* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Mark Kermode, Metacritic 84 out of 100 with 56 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 482 reviews, The Washington Post 3 ½* out of 4* Ann Hornaday, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 823 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Atlanta, Roswell, Tyler Perry Studios, Georgia; Cape Canaveral, Florida.  Mark and Rick Armstrong (the sons of Neil) said that this film was the most accurate portrayal of their father and their mother Janet.  It was important to avoid common errors during filming.  The sun must be at the same angle and always light the earth and the moon.  No clouds appear at high altitudes and no ambient sound in the vacuum of space.  There is also the paradoxical nature of accelerating and braking rockets in orbit.  They must at every moment be the same velocity and remain displaced one from the other by a fixed distance.  Armstrong’s daughter Karen was born April 13, 1959.   She was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the middle part of her brain stem in June 4, 1961.  X-ray treatments slowed its growth but her health deteriorated to the point where she could no longer walk or talk.  She died of pneumonia related to her weakened condition on January 28, 1962 at the age of 2 years old.  His son Eric was born in 1957 and his son Mark was born in 1963.