First Man

[twik]

It's scheduled to play in our local VIP theatre, which is a good sign (although the fact that it will be adult fare rather than "family" also affects it).

[molesworth]

A new (I think) trailer...  A bit of artistic / dramatic license on show, but it's still looking hopeful as a decent telling of the story :

[LunarOrbit]

I've got to admit, I think they gave Neil Armstrong a bit of a "creepy serial killer" vibe in this trailer.

[onebigmonkey]

Looking forward to jumping on the technical errors

Like this one at the end of the 2nd trailer:



should be more like:



Reviews sound promising though

[molesworth]

Some interesting choices on which parts to include, and which to omit :


'First Man': Neil Armstrong film fails to fly flag for US patriotism

Gosling explained: "I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that's how we chose to view it. I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible."

 ...

 The planting of the flag was controversial in 1969. There was disagreement over whether a US or United Nations flag should be used. Armstrong said later: "In the end it was decided by Congress that this was a United States project. We were not going to make any territorial claim, but we were to let people know that we were here and put up a US flag.

 "My job was to get the flag there. I was less concerned about whether that was the right artefact to place. I let other, wiser minds than mine make those kinds of decisions."

[Ranb]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/entertainment/first-man-american-flag-controversy/index.html

"This is total lunacy," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted. "And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together.

We need to be reminded?  I think Rubio needs to be reminded that we are't that stupid or forgetful. 

The American people paid for that mission, on rockets built by Americans, with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn't a UN mission."

And Canadian tech as well as German-American ingenuity.

I wonder what Rubio would have to say if the film showed the flag blown down by the ascent module?

[LunarOrbit]

Maybe Rubio would like to go up there and read the plaque Neil and Buzz left behind...

"We came in peace for all mankind..."

People don't just need to be reminded of what we can do when we work together, they also need to be reminded of people who do great things but never seek the limelight because of it. It seems like today the attitude most people have is "what's in it for me?".

[LunarOrbit]

Gosling explained: "I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement...

At first I read that as "I think this was widely regarded as the end of human achievement..." and thought to myself "that's a bold thing to say, but he might not be wrong".

[Jason Thompson]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/entertainment/first-man-american-flag-controversy/index.html

"This is total lunacy," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted. "And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together.

We need to be reminded?  I think Rubio needs to be reminded that we are't that stupid or forgetful. 

The American people paid for that mission, on rockets built by Americans, with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn't a UN mission."

And Canadian tech as well as German-American ingenuity.

I wonder what Rubio would have to say if the film showed the flag blown down by the ascent module?

Bloody ridiculous. The whole Apollo story is 'what we can achieve when we work together', everyone. But yes, why not make it all about America again. Yes it was American taxes that paid for it, yes it was all done from America. Still, names like Wernher von Braun or Farouk El Baz shouldn't be glossed over. Although maybe at this particular time some Amerian politicians would prefer not to be reminded that one of the greatest achievements in history involved a few prominent immigrants....

But then I stll haven't forgiven the American film industry for the movie U571....

[molesworth]

As a non-American, I am a bit surprised the flag moment was omitted.  Not because I thought it was a "gung-ho" moment, nor staking a claim, but I think it was seen by many as mankind stepping off our home planet and putting a first marker on another world.

Or is that a bit "gung-ho" anyway?    If it is, then it's for the whole human race...

[molesworth]

Or is it because of this incident??   

[Daggerstab]

In case people haven't seen the statement by Armstrong's sons and Hanson:

We’ve read a number of comments about the film today and specifically about the absence of the flag planting scene, made largely by people who haven’t seen the movie. As we’ve seen it multiple times, we thought maybe we should weigh in.

This is a film that focuses on what you don’t know about Neil Armstrong. It’s a film that focuses on things you didn’t see or may not remember about Neil’s journey to the moon. The filmmakers spent years doing extensive research to get at the man behind the myth, to get at the story behind the story. It’s a movie that gives you unique insight into the Armstrong family and fallen American Heroes like Elliot See and Ed White. It’s a very personal movie about our dad’s journey, seen through his eyes.

This story is human and it is universal. Of course, it celebrates an America achievement. It also celebrates an achievement “for all mankind,” as it says on the plaque Neil and Buzz left on the moon. It is a story about an ordinary man who makes profound sacrifices and suffers through intense loss in order to achieve the impossible.

Although Neil didn’t see himself that way, he was an American hero. He was also an engineer and a pilot, a father and a friend, a man who suffered privately through great tragedies with incredible grace. This is why, though there are numerous shots of the American flag on the moon, the filmmakers chose to focus on Neil looking back at the earth, his walk to Little West Crater, his unique, personal experience of completing this journey, a journey that has seen so many incredible highs and devastating lows.

In short, we do not feel this movie is anti-American in the slightest. Quite the opposite. But don’t take our word for it. We’d encourage everyone to go see this remarkable film and see for themselves.

Oh, and if you want to see some very ugly partizan jumping-to-conclusions, if not an outright lie, have a look at this tweet by Dinesh D'Souza:

The left pretends American flags were not important to the moon landing. Yet the makers of #FirstManMovie went to the trouble of cut them out even from the astronauts’ uniforms. The symbolism was clearly important to them!

[onebigmonkey]

I think it's a shame it's been missed out, but not so much because it is an American flag, more because I'm an Apollo enthusiast and I would be quite happy to watch a recreation of the entire EVA.

The film, however, is not called "A history of Apollo 11", so I get where the film makers are coming from in leaving it out. Had this been "Last Man" and they left out Geno's flag ceremony, which he declared to be the proudest day of his life, it would be different.

If the flag wavers are disappointed about the lack of one to wave, they need to fund their own movie.

[apollo16uvc]

Who cares, its a movie. Arguing if a movie should have your flag is a first-world problem if I ever saw one.

Make your own one if you think it should be different.

From what I gather, the movie is more about the human drama than the mission itself.

[BDL]

I’m just glad the movie is coming out at all.
I wouldn’t advise getting so worked up from something so trivial.