First Orbit
The USSR and the United State of America competed with all of their scientific might to put the first man into space. The United States lost. On April 12th, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person launched into space. He also became the first person to come back down to Earth. The first human in space was not American. He was from Mother Russia and his name was Yuri Gagarin. For 108 minutes he circled the planet. Imagine what thoughts raced through his head as he looked down on our Earth!
The FIRST ORBIT, using historical footage and modern day techniques, brings us what Gagarin saw.
Weaving these new views together with historic recordings of Gagarin from the time, (subtitled in English) and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, the director has created a spellbinding film to share with people around the world.
This one actually plays!!!!!!
Just really awful. Sleep inducing (actually). Basically an experimental art-film (Warhol-in-space?). 15-25 minute stretches of no dialogue, repetitive one-hand piano notes and unintelligible video which might be 60’s era B&W video of view from orbit (grainy and very little detail) occasionally interspersed with some o.k. footage from ISS (?). These hair-raising sequences are punctuated with subtitled snippets of Gagarin speaking to ground control (ex: “Everything is fine. All working great. All is good. Over.). 120 minutes of this? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….Pass.