Moon - DVD

Film: Duncan Jones, son of music legend David Bowie by his own name, steps out of his father's outsized shadow with an impressive directorial debut. "Moon" is a superb science fiction drama that thrives not only on its engaging atmosphere, but primarily on its lead actor, who almost single-handedly carries the film.

Sam Rockwell, most recently seen in "Iron Man 2", plays astronaut Sam Bell, who works on a lonely station on the moon. For nearly three years, he has ensured that Lunar Industries' machines flawlessly mine the valuable gas Helium-3, which spells an end to Earth's energy crisis. Sam's only contact on the moon base is the computer program GERTY, which tries to make Sam's loneliness as bearable as possible. Occasional video messages from his wife and young daughter increase Sam's longing to finally get home.

However, shortly before his contract expires, a serious accident occurs during a routine inspection. When Sam awakens, he finds himself in the infirmary with no memory of how he got there. Against the orders of his superiors, Sam returns to the scene of the accident and makes a discovery that changes his life forever...

Duncan Jones shot "Moon" in just 33 days on a very low budget. Conceived as an homage to the science fiction cinema of the 70s and early 80s, it is especially the minimalist set of the lunar chamber play that captivates the viewer from the first minute. Sam Rockwell's intense acting, which especially in the second half reaches full speed, fits perfectly into the trist-threatening atmosphere.

Whoever loves colorful science fiction cinema, where things have to crash hard and where aliens and space battles are mandatory, will be rather disappointed by the extremely quiet "Moon". Instead, the film is a very human drama that deals intensely with the resilience of the human psyche, but also with exploitation and with ethical questions about what makes a human being. Immersed in almost hypnotic images of the lunar landscape and accompanied by a subtly empathetic soundtrack, Duncan Jones has managed to make a great directorial debut that may not be perfect, but is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of the 2010 cinema year. Absolutely recommended!!!

Picture + Sound: The very good picture quality perfectly captures the sterile, cool atmosphere of the moon station. And also the decent sound, which, in addition to the dialogues, especially the purposefully used soundscape on the station and the quiet soundtrack presents perfectly matched, lets the viewer immerse himself in the world of Sam. The content of the film absolutely appropriate and therefore also: very good!

Extras: To the test we had only the single DVD, on which, in addition to the German and English trailer, two audio commentaries (unfortunately not subtitled in German) can be found. Director Duncan Jones can be heard on both commentaries, with cinematographer Gary Show, production designer Tony Noble and concept designer Gavin Rothery assisting him on the first, and producer Suart Fenegan in front of the mic on the second. Both commentaries are quite interesting and illustrate very well how the film was able to be made so convincingly on all those different levels with an extremely small budget.

In stores, "Moon" is also available as a Special Edition with a bonus disc that includes a making of, a featurette on the visual effects, and two interviews with the director in addition to the short film "Whistle", which is well worth watching. However, these extras should not be viewed before watching the actual film, as they very quickly give away the biggest secret of the story.

Conclusion: "Moon" is a terrific science fiction film that accomplishes an extreme amount with minimal resources. Buoyed by an excellent lead actor, this ponderously told thriller captivates the viewer until the very end, demonstrating just how wonderful entertainment of a high standard can be. The DVD is technically well done, but if you want bonus material worth seeing, you have to buy the Special Edition. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp