During the Apollo lunar missions from 1968 to 1972, those onboard were given 16mm cameras and told to film anything and everything they could, in space, in orbit, and on the surface of the moon itself. Two decades later, filmmaker Al Reinert went into the NASA vaults to create this extraordinary compendium of their journeys and experiences.

Assembled from hundreds of hours of the astronauts' own footage, with a soundtrack made up of their memories and a specially composed score by Brian Eno, the film takes the form of one journey to the moon and back again, building with elegant simplicity and exquisite construction to create an overpowering vision of human endeavour and miraculous experience.

At once intimate and awe-inspiring, For All Mankind is a genuinely mesmerising first-hand document of one of the high points of the 20th century.

For those of you non-US residents who, like us, were thrilled by the propect of seeing the film in high definition but depressed by Criterion's regional coding, Eureka! have come to the rescue with the announcement that they are to release Criterion's own beautiful high-definition restoration of the film for its UK home viewing première in a comprehensive, director-approved special edition on DVD and Blu-ray in November as part of the Masters of Cinema series. The new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Al Reinert will also have a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, remastered from the original sound stems, and the following extra features.

• Audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon;
• An Accidental Gift: The Making of "For All Mankind," a new documentary featuring interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, and NASA archive specialists;
• A gallery of Bean's artwork, inspired by his life as an astronaut, with commentary and a filmed introduction;
• NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage;
• Optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission control specialists;
• New optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired;
• A luxurious booklet, featuring essays, credits, stills, a new interview with Brian Eno, and more.

For All Mankind will be released on UK DVD and Blu-ray by Eureka! as part of the Masters of Cinema series on 16th November 2009 at the RRP of £19.99 for the DVD and £24.99 for the Blu-ray.