Project Gemini: A Bold Leap Forward

Product Description

Own a piece of history! This 3-disc set - over 6 hours in all - chronicles America's bold new space program with comprehensive footage from the film and videotape records of Project Gemini - much of it never seen before by the public! Features on-board footage, multi-angle coverage of every Gemini launch, and post-flight commentary by the Gemini astronauts on their experiences working in space. Disc 1 includes an original program written by Andrew Chaikin, author of "A Man On The Moon."

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding........2007-09-01

Mark Grey has done it again! Some of the best footage of the Earth
taken is from the Gemini flights. Many great accomplishments came
from the Gemini program, and going to the Moon wouldn't have happened
with Gemini.

Average customer rating:

Breathtaking footage honoring important space achievements
For The Hardcore Aerospace Fan
Best Spacecraft Films DVD I've seen yet
Valuable achival footage -- just not for the casual fan
Superior DVD Set On The Program That Made Apollo Possible

Project Gemini: A Bold Leap Forward
Starring: Spacecraft Films
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Space Exploration | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Documentary | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00009XYYC
Release Date: 2003-08-19

Amazon.com

Mankind's greatest adventure is remembered for the digital age. The DVD format changed the way we look at movies and especially TV series, with massive complete-season sets. That concept is spectacularly taken one-step further with Spacecraft Films' definitive collections of the Gemini and Apollo space missions, stuffing in nearly every scrap of TV transmissions and on-board footage. The three- to six-disc sets use the full functions of the DVD format; see a liftoff in six different angles (some remixed with 5.1 sound) or listen to a mixture of air-to-ground communications, official NASA narration, or post-flight debriefings, most often carefully synched to the exact moment of footage seen. Like any good research paper, every bit of footage may not be interesting, but taken as a chronicle of history, it's irreplaceable.

The two-man Gemini missions are the forgotten cousin of the space program; Mercury (The Right Stuff) and Apollo (From the Earth to the Moon) have been chronicled in popular books and film for years. This 6-hour set rights the wrong, illustrating how the ambitious program (10 missions in 1965-66) developed most of the key attributes to go to the moon (including long-duration flight, space walking, rendezvous, and docking). Every single bit of onboard camera footage is here, and yes, that includes periods of fumbling cameras and poorly lit sequences. But it also allows for some of the most gorgeous space footage ever shot, starting with Ed White's Gemini 4 spacewalk (America's first), which one can now view in its entirety. Another high point is the rendezvous of flights 6 & 7, with a soundtrack that combines the air-to-ground communications and post-flight news conferences. Each mission is broken down with footage from the spacecraft preparation, launch, on-board film, and recovery. Unlike other Spacecraft sets, there's an original documentary, an hourlong survey of Gemini written by Andrew Chaikin (author of A Man on the Moon). The documentary certainly whets one's appetite for the rest of the set, but perhaps only the true space junky will want to watch footage from two unmanned missions, a lengthy look at the archaic instrumental panel, and a flight or two that seem like a repeat of a previous mission. --Doug Thomas

Description

Customer Reviews:

Breathtaking footage honoring important space achievements.......2006-11-14

As a teenager I avidly followed the Gemini space program so decided to buy this, based on its contents. I can enthusiastically report that after decades of viewing snapshots and only fleeting, dim glimpses of film footage from the Gemini space program, this full length perspective was a real visual feast for me.

The Gemini DVD set features the Titan & Atlas Agena launches (viewed from several angles) and ALL of the film footage the astronauts shot on board. For instance, you get to see the entire Ed White space walk (except where he had drifted off camera) and watch extended scenes of the world's first space rendezvous. Even though this was taken some 40 years ago, it's still remarkable to review today. The extended length Ed White space walk was an even longer, jaw dropping segment than what was excerpted in the marvelous video, "For All Mankind." It was breathtaking to see him silhouetted against the blue sphere of the earth. It's as if you were there filming the scene, Ed in the foreground, the earth behind him.

This video set features all of the on board film for each mission the astronauts shot. A great surprise was watching the footage of Gemini VII "station keeping" with its upper stage booster rocket for a few orbits before it finally dropped away. The rendezvous between VI & VII was also documented with great interest. I have been moved to review these sequences again and again, they are that impressive.

Seeing footage of astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White, both fatalities on the Apollo I flash fire on January 27, 1967, brought them back into memory.

I could not believe the extended coverage, and that marvelously restored. Why up till now have we viewed substandard, grainy space shots only to find that Spacecraft Films has set the standard for restoring the images to near pristine integrity?

This was my first Spacecraft Films purchase. I'll be collecting more. I cannot think of a better way to honor the courage, ingenuity and hard work of those involved in the Gemini space program than to obtain and preserve such an outstanding record of their unpredcendented achievements as they happened. Wow!

For The Hardcore Aerospace Fan.......2006-07-03

Ok, I'm a geek and really get into watching the raw footage of Gemini and Apollo. I do however watch some segments at 8x or even 16x, if there is no audio during the segment. Watching the Gemini capsule station keep and then dock to an Agena in real time or the film of the Gemini instrument panel is like watching grass grow. A less than hardcore fan will enjoy the project overview on disc 1 but may fall asleep watching the rest of the material.

Gemini is the red-headed step child of the early space program. But without it, we would have never made the 12-31-69 deadline for "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." Rendevouz, docking, extra vehicular activity, digital mission computers and fuel cells are only some of the accomplishments of the Gemini program that lead directly to the success of Apollo.

Best Spacecraft Films DVD I've seen yet.......2006-05-17

Absolutly the best one yet. More documentary oriented than the Apollo sets I've seen. Very well done !!!!!

Rick

Valuable achival footage -- just not for the casual fan.......2006-02-28

This whole series from the NASA archives (and I'll review the entire series, not just the Gemini set, since they all pretty mcuh take the same approach) are fascinating only if you are serious devotee of the space program. They are in many cases virtually raw footage from the flights and include plenty of dead air, clicks and beeps and in some cases inane narration by a NASA films employee from back in the day.

Many in the series, especially the Gemini Series, include narrationless launches from different angles and distances. Over and over and over in some cases.

Still, if you want to see and hear EXACTLY what happened on these flights, without editing, interruptions by Walter Cronkite or any other distractions, they are a wonderful and important addition to your library. As a true space program fan, I found them great as pieces of history, if nothing else.

For instance, have you ever wondered what happened AFTER Neil Armstrong took his first step on the Moon? The Apollo 11 set includes film and audio for every minute of every EVA, and you can supposedly switch views from one camera to another, although I have not been able to get that function to work for me.

The Apollo 11 set is also a great companion piece to a book like "First Man," the new biography of Armstrong, which goes into minute detail of each EVA. Being able to synch that up to real footage you'd never find in a Discovery Channel, NOVA or National Geographic DVD is good stuff.

Finally, there are comprehensive post-mission interviews with the crews of these flights, usually backed by footage from the flight itself. The style of interviewing is almost quaint, with such carefully crafted answers from the astronauts, and a generally respectful press gallery. Oh the good old days...

Each set includes three well labeled DVDs that break the missions up chronologicaly. Overall, I say this is a valuable collection of history for a serious NASA afficionado, but at $35 a piece, don't expect the casual fan to enjoy it much.

Superior DVD Set On The Program That Made Apollo Possible.......2005-02-21

Few people remember Project Gemini today, which is a shame because Gemini really paved the way for the success of the Apollo program in many ways, the three most critical of which were demonstration of rendezvous, demonstration of Extra-Vehicular Activity, and demonstration of long endurance manned missions.

This set is a beautifully assembled set of footage taken from all Gemini missions, and includes launch, in-flight, and recovery footage, as well as an excellent documentary from renowned Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin.

While space enthusiasts will find this fascinating, this set is not for everyone as many shots of launches, etc., are quite similar, and will seem monotonous to those not truly fascinated by the subject matter. I particularly enjoyed the coverage of the more eventful and unusual missions, especially Gemini Six, Seven, and Eight. I highly recommend this DVD set as well as all the others in the series from Spacecraft Films.

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