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Forgotten film of moon landing returns to cinema
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor20 May 2009
A film about the moon landings is to be shown in London after a Soho film-maker tracked down the tapes years after they were thought to have been lost.
Chris Riley sought out the original film crew and managed to find the sole remaining copy of Moonwalk One gathering dust under director Theo Kamecke's desk at his home in the Catskill mountains near New York.
Nasa gave the film-makers behind-the-scenes access to mission controllers and space crews to “make a time capsule” about the race to put a man on the moon. The documentary was critically acclaimed on its release in 1972, winning a special Cannes award, but after poor box office sales it sank into obscurity and Nasa admitted it had lost its master copy.
Mr Riley is working to digitally restore Moonwalk One for a screening at the British Film Institute to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in July. The film is also to be released on DVD for the first time next month.
He contacted Mr Kamecke in 2007 when he was working as a producer on another documentary about the moon landings, In the Shadow of the Moon, and went to meet him to see if he knew anything about footage from 1969.
Mr Riley said: “After a lot of thought he remembered he had a copy under his desk. It turned out to be an absolutely pristine master print and we couldn't believe it.
“We spoke to Nasa and they were astonished as well — we all assumed it had been lost forever. The film is legendary and I had spent years trying to find a copy.”
Moonwalk One tracks the entire space race, from 9 April 1959 when Nasa selected its first seven astronauts to when Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan became the “last man on the moon” on 7 December 1972.
Mr Kamecke, who stopped making films to become a sculptor, said: “We were given incredible access to pretty much anything we wanted by Nasa's PR department. They just asked me to make a time capsule' of the events.
“But the response was a little bit disappointing and I kind of forgot about it. It was only when I was speaking to Chris that I realised the old film canister under my desk actually had a 35mm print, possibly the only one left.
“The film was in amazing condition, so now we are working to restore it, and I hope that young people will get a lot out of it. I'm fascinated to see what people think of it — for me it's been an incredible experience seeing it again.”
Mr Riley is in discussions with the BFI about a date to show the film.
