For All Mankind.

• Author: Rothenberg, Robert S.

Columbia TriStar Home Video / 80 minutes / $19.95

Arguably, the greatest scientific accomplishment of all time was putting men on the moon, then returning them safely to Earth. The nine Apollo missions--including six manned lunar landings-represent the triumph of technology combined with individual courage, self-sacrifice, and a national will to accomplish deeds that once only were possible in the science fiction of Jules Verne or through Hollywood's movie magic.

This documentary salute to the astronauts and America's scientific might was assembled from more than 6,000,000 feet of NASA film footage, the majority of it never before seen by the public. The images are spectacular, often leaving the viewer wondering how a camera could survive in the midst of a titanic fuel ignition, much less send back photos of such clarity.

Still, the heart and soul of the U.S. moon program were the astronauts who rode Apollo and walked the surface of that barren orb. Prototypically American, with that wise guy insouciance that seems to go hand in hand with can-do...