The 1969 mission to the moon has been seen in many phases before but never with the shining, crystal-clear fullness of Todd Douglas Miller's extraordinary "Apollo 11," a documentary culled from archival footage and audio recordings that in heart-stopping, minute-by-minute detail, recaptures the propulsive force of man's most glorious feat, giving new resonance to those beautiful, headlong Mission Control words: "We Are Go."
Timed to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, "Apollo 11" was compiled partly from a previously forgotten trove of 70mm film that includes footage from the launch, the Cape Canaveral crowds watching outside J.C. Penny's and along motel balconies, and the astronauts' recovery. It features no talking heads or narration, just audio from some 11,000 hours of NASA audio recordings and, occasionally, the sonorous gravity of Walter Cronkite's broadcasts.
The clarity of the large-format and restored images is startling. So much of the imagery from the moon landing has by now flattened into iconography, but, here, the event is brought back to life. Miller starts on the cusp of launch as the enormous platform is moved by giant tracks toward the launch site. It could be a shot from "Star Wars" or any number of science fictions the moon mission birthed. Later we see Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in their suits before putting on their helmets, and it's like we've never seen their faces — confident, with an almost mischievous glint — so well.
This image released by NeonCNN Films shows a scene from the film "Apollo 11." (NeonCNN Films via AP)
"Apollo 11" might not tell you anything you don't already know about the moon landing. But it will make you feel it, and see it, anew. Miller has condensed the eight-day expedition into an immersive thrill ride, from launch to return, that puts you in in the shuttle with the astronauts and in Mission Control's ear. It's the grandeur of Apollo 11 distilled down to its still jaw-dropping essence.
Much of the emphasis is on how the drive to the moon was so much broader than the two astronauts who carried out John F. Kennedy's 1962 pledge. Kennedy's words ("We choose to go the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard") hang over the movie with a kind of fervor and ambition that today sounds downright alien. Later, while the spacecraft is in mid-flight to the moon, news of Chappaquiddick and Ted Kennedy will play on NASA television sets while onlookers, drawn back to earth, momentarily gawk.
But it's in the thousands who contributed to the mission that the magnitude of the effort comes through. Their faces are seen in montages and their voices are heard, again and again, on NASA radio: a multitude who at every significant turn confirms that their department is, indeed, "a go."
This image released by NeonCNN Films shows a scene from the film "Apollo 11." (NeonCNN Films via AP)
We have, of course, been to the moon before at the movies. Most recently, there was Damien Chazelle's rigorous if overly brooding "First Man," which — despite its many fine attributes — looks all the more muted in comparison to "Apollo 11." More notable was Al Reinert's brilliant and similarly verite-styled 1989 documentary "For All Mankind," which also used NASA archival footage and a good score (from Brian Eno) to recreate Apollo moon missions.
But in 2019, as we are writing obituaries for the deceased Mars Rover ("He was 15"), "Apollo 11" feels even more like another time and another world. What was this splendid, sunny American dream and where did it go?
"Apollo 11," a Neon and CNN Films release, is rated G by the Motion Picture Association of America. Running time: 93 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
This image released by NeonCNN Films shows a scene from the film "Apollo 11." (NeonCNN Films via AP)
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump Kennedy Center, the White House said, in a move that made Democrats fume, saying the board had overstepped its legal authority.
Congress named the center after President John F. Kennedy in 1964, after his assassination. Donald A. Ritchie, who served as Senate historian from 2009-2015, said that because Congress had first named the center it would be up to Congress to “amend the law.”
Ritchie said that while Trump and others can “informally” refer to the center by a different name, they couldn’t do it in a way “that would (legally) stick.”
But the board did not wait for that debate to play out, immediately changing the branding on its website to reflect the new name.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that legislative action was needed, “and we’re going to make that clear.” The New York Democrat is an ex officio member of the board because of his position in Congress.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, attributing it to the “unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”
Trump, a Republican who's chairman of the board, said at the White House that he was “surprised" and “honored” by the vote.
“The board is a very distinguished board, most distinguished people in the country and I was surprised by it and I was honored by it,” he said.
Trump had already been referring to the center as the “Trump Kennedy Center.” Asked Dec. 7 as he walked the red carpet for the Kennedy Center Honors program whether he would rename the venue after himself, Trump said such a decision would be up to the board.
Earlier this month, Trump talked about a “big event" happening at the "Trump Kennedy Center” before saying, “excuse me, at the Kennedy Center,” as his audience laughed. He was referring to the FIFA World Cup soccer draw for 2026, in which he participated.
A name change won’t sit well with some Kennedy family members.
Maria Shriver, a niece of John F. Kennedy, referred to the legislation introduced in Congress to rebrand the Kennedy Center as the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts as “insane” in a social media post in July.
“It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” she wrote. “Truly, what is this about? It’s always about something. ‘Let’s get rid of the Rose Garden. Let’s rename the Kennedy Center.’ What’s next?”
Trump earlier this year turned the Kennedy-era Rose Garden at the White House into a patio by removing the lawn and laying down paving stones.
Another Kennedy family member, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., serves in Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump showed scant interest in the Kennedy Center during his first term as president, but since returning to office in January he has replaced board members appointed by Democratic presidents with some of his most ardent supporters, who then elected him as board chairman.
He also has criticized the center’s programming and its physical appearance and has vowed to overhaul both.
Trump secured more than $250 million from the Republican-controlled Congress for renovations of the building.
He attended opening night of the musical “Les Misérables,” and last week he served as host of the Kennedy Center Honors program after not attending the show during his first term as president. The awards program is scheduled to be broadcast by CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23.
Sales of subscription packages are said to have declined since Trump's takeover of the center, and several touring productions, including “Hamilton,” have canceled planned runs there. Rows upon rows of empty seats have been seen in the Concert Hall during performances by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Some performers, including actor Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens, have scrapped scheduled appearances, and Kennedy Center consultants including musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming have resigned.
AP writer Hillel Italie contributed to this story from New York.
FILE - A memorial wreath stands next to the bronze memorial bust by Robert Berks of President John F. Kennedy in the grand foyer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Nov. 22, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - The John F. Kennedy Center Memorial Center for the Performance Arts illuminated as part of the "Nordic Cool 2013: Northern Lights" exhibit, in Washington, Feb. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The Kennedy Center is seen Thursday, Dec, 18, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
President Donald Trump finishes his remarks in an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
