Monday Night Poll: Favorite Moon Movies?
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Polls
Sitting next to my father in a crowded station wagon on the evening of July 20, 1969, I listened to the radio as we drove and stared up into the heavens. Man had landed on the moon, and soon we would all be exploring the universe, just like they did on Forbidden Planet and Star Trek. Things haven't quite worked out that way, so, instead, I've turned to the movies to fulfill my deep space fantasies.
George Melies made the very first sci-fi flick in 1902, A Trip to the Moon, which lasted all of 14 minutes. Interest picked up in the post WWII-era with George Pal's production of Destination Moon; the 1950s were a golden age for science fiction films. Stanley Kubrick's classic 2001: A Space Odyssey put the moon in a whole new light. After Neil Armstrong set his foot down 40 years ago, real life footage replaced all the fictional creations. (Of course, some folks believe the Moon landing itself was faked, leading to a fake Mars mission in Peter Hyams' Capricorn One.) Things were quiet until Ron Howard's Apollo 13, in which the astronauts never even got to touch down. Bringing us up to date, Duncan Jones' highly-acclaimed Moon is now playing in selected engagements.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, please take our poll and tell us: What are your favorite movies about the moon? We've listed ten, but you're free to vote for "Other" and state your case in the comments section.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-20-2009 @ 10:59PM
L1A said...
just saw Moon today and it became my favorite "moon" movie, followed by 2001
Reply
7-20-2009 @ 11:55PM
dawnlxix said...
I have two favorite moon movies that didn't make your list, probably because they deal with the subject indirectly. The first is "The Right Stuff" which is about the orgins of the space program and the first astronauts, which of course led to the moon walk. The second is "A Walk On The Moon", a love story that takes place the summer of 1969 in which events culminate around the lunar landing.
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7-21-2009 @ 1:40AM
Bdub said...
What no film Filmspotting cite:)
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7-21-2009 @ 2:01AM
shadowracer said...
2001 isn't really a Moon movie. It's mostly just a setting for a plot point, doesn't really impact the grand scheme of things.
That's my favorite of the all of those, but I picked Apollo 13.
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7-21-2009 @ 4:03AM
guzz said...
My all time moontastic fave: "Moon Zero Two" , billed as the first (and still only) space western , it's so hokey and so much fun.
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7-21-2009 @ 12:36PM
Blake said...
I picked Apollo 13 also. I had high hopes for Moon but it was not as good as I had hoped, It did drag at points.
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7-21-2009 @ 9:58AM
ML said...
Reading this article, it occurs to me that most moon movies don't really appeal to me. When I thought it over, I thought of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, but it only has a sequence on the moon.
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7-28-2009 @ 11:04PM
Tony said...
The wallace and gromit short where they go to the moon supposedly because its made of cheese. I forget the title
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7-24-2009 @ 9:08AM
Max said...
I agree that 2001 isn't really a "moon move" and it's presence in the list kind of doesn't give the others a chance. Apollo 13 is really ABOUT the trip to the moon. The 1958 one is great, too.
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