Director Todd Douglas Miller and his team have crafted one of the great non-fiction events of the year with their sublime voyage to the moon. Apollo 11 was assembled with hundreds of hours of footage, a portion of which had never seen the light of day. Tasked with scanning 65mm negative that had been in vaults for five decades, they present to the public imagery that leaps off the screen. Giant rolling tractors bringing the Saturn V to the launch bay intercut with beautiful tracking shots of the myriad of personnel behind the scenes. It’s all heavenly for any space nerd, to be sure, but equally a testament to the scope of the project itself that still a half century continues to amaze and thrill.

Here Miller and his collaborators talk about scanning this footage, giving you a tease of what you can expect to see on the giant IMAX screen. Be sure to take some time this week to see this magnificent documentary and support films on the big screen!

Apollo 11 is now playing in select theatres!