When independent filmmaker David Hoffman set out to make a documentary on the Sputnik hysteria that swept the US in the 1950s, he styled the piece as an hour-and-a-half feature film. He relied heavily ...

Through the blurry vision of hindsight, it’s easy to look back at the events of October 1957 and wonder what all the fuss was about. That’s why David Hoffman’s lively documentary “Sputnik Mania” is a ...

When the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into orbit Oct. 4, 1957, the steady, high-pitched signal emitting from Sputnik I was hailed as the beep heard 'round the world. To many, the ...

The launch of the beach-ball-sized Russian satellite came as a shock to Americans long accustomed to being number one. "Listen now," said the NBC radio network announcer on the night of October 4, ...

When a renowned indie documentarian went to make a film on Sputnik, he spent years collecting original footage from people he met through eBay and YouTube. But the real shock came when he licensed the ...