First Man
Short description
First Man dramatizes the years Neil Armstrong spent working toward the first crewed Moon landing, following him from his time as a test pilot through his recruitment by NASA and the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. The story stays close to Armstrong himself, tracing the pressure the work placed on him and on his marriage to Janet while the agency pushed through a program whose dangers were real and constant.
Damien Chazelle directed the film, his fourth feature after Whiplash, La La Land and his earlier Whiplash. Josh Singer wrote the screenplay, adapting James R. Hansen's book about Armstrong. Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong, with Claire Foy as Janet and supporting turns from Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll and Patrick Fugit. The production, backed by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures among others, cost about 59 million USD and returned roughly 106 million USD worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 7.3 out of 10 from around 215,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 7 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of about 5,800 votes. A critics' rating of 8.1 out of 10 from 464 reviews places it higher than either audience score.
What's left behind the scenes
- Following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the film was criticized for not including footage of the American flag being planted on the lunar surface.
- During the landing of Apollo 11, the audience hears the original recording of the communications with Mission Control from that era.
- A film adaptation of James R. Hansen's book "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong" (2005).
- While researching Neil Armstrong, his close relatives and friends, Ryan Gosling discovered that he loved to play the theremin. With the consent of Damien Chazelle, composer Justin Hurwitz included theremin playing in the film's soundtrack.
- When Neil Armstrong mentions taking his daughter to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to show her the "inventor of the technology," he is referring to Dr. Jones from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the author of a radiation therapy method.
- Director Damien Chazelle wanted everything on screen to look as realistic as possible. Literally every detail was taken into account. When it came to the interiors of the spacecraft and module, it was decided to make models 10% larger than life-size – even if the actors would still find them cramped and uncomfortable due to the filming equipment.
- During the astronauts' landing, a view of Earth from the lunar surface on July 19, 1969, is shown. In the frame, Earth is visible as a crescent in the 1/4 position. In reality, Earth was visible from the Moon at that moment in a position closer to 3/4.
- The actors who played the astronauts underwent a brief training course at NASA. Afterwards, Damien Chazelle sent each of them a YouTube video featuring their character, allowing the actors to study the mannerisms of their roles. And to complete the preparation, the director compiled a list of books and films recommended for the actors to read and watch, respectively.
- Each type of film stock outlines a new stage in history, dividing it into three parts. At the beginning of the film, a grainier 16mm film is used. Then, events at NASA and life in Houston are shown in 35mm, with the footage becoming more contrasty. From the moment of the landing, the format shifts to cleaner, modern 65mm.
- In some scenes of the film, the original voices of the participants in the events can be heard. When the lunar module lands in the southwest of the Sea of Tranquility, the audience hears the voice of Charles Duke, who on July 20, 1969, spoke with the astronauts from mission control in Houston. Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), played by Ryan Gosling, said the following: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Duke replied, stumbling with excitement: "Roger that, "Swoop-"… "Tranquility. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot!"
- All scenes in the astronauts' homes were filmed in Roswell, Georgia. The Armstrongs' house set was also built there.
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