Dark Side of the Moon 2003
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Arte France/Point du Jour
Directed by William Karel
VHS, color, 52 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Film Studies, Media Studies, History, Humor, Political Science, American Studies, Storytelling, Technology, Journalism
Date Entered: 05/05/2004
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Ph.D., Head, Web and Digitization Services, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las VegasThis video is intended to inform and entertain, although it’s original purpose is not known until the end of the film. It is not an ordinary documentary, but is meant to make the viewer aware of how the media can affect thought and truth through manipulation and planning. The film is based on information that Stanley Kubrick's widow brought to light after his recent death.
Apparently, due to the popular success of the film 2001, and the American public's fascination with the moon race in the 1960's, top government officials were concerned that film images of the moon landing might not be able to be transmitted in real time. President Nixon, therefore, made the decision to film a "fake" moon landing in Kubrick's London studio prior to the 1969 landing, in case real footage of the moon landing could not be transmitted. Once this was done, Nixon was so concerned that witnesses at the filming would reveal the forgery, that he used the CIA to effectively hunt down and eliminate those involved in the filming. This astonishing revelation is validated in the film through interviews with the five most important men in the Nixon administration, among whom were Alexander Haig, Kissinger, and Donald Rumsfeld.
Hijacked archival footage and photographs to support these revelations are shown throughout the film. What is perhaps most astonishing is the fact that one of the interviewees, a former CIA director, died immediately after his interview for this film, and cause of death was not determined. In fact, the film hints that elimination by the American government was the probable cause of his death.
Dark Side of the Moon ends with bloopers, jokes, and finally enlightenment that this entire film is a HOAX itself, illustrating the power of the media to shake up and affect the opinion and "truth" of information. I highly recommend this film to audiences, with the caveat that there be discussion at the end, so that all viewers realize that the entire film is an elaborate hoax whose purpose is only to educate the viewer about the power of the media to affect public opinion. A good laugh, and this reviewer was even tricked up until the end, since stories regarding the "false" moon landing have always been around but never validated.