"Postcards from the Future"
"Chesley Bonestell was the rare astronomical artist who lived to see many of the futuristic concepts he illustrated become reality. He was alive when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first tentative steps on the Moon...One must assume that Bonestell felt tremendous pride in the fact that his art played a significant role in our ongoing reach for the stars."
El CORREO
"The Artist who Took Us to Other Worlds"
"He traveled to Pluto, raised the magnate Charles Foster Kane's mansion for the cinema, inspired the visions of the future of Wernher von Braun and Stanley Kubrick, designed eight eagles who watch Manhattan from the top of the Chrysler building, and in the last stage of his life, in tribute to his ancestors, recreated the Spanish missions of California in their splendor." (translated from Spanish)
FILMFAX
"Chesley Bonestell Revisited: The Sweeping Scope of "A Brush With The Future"
"More than three decades after his death in 1986, Chesley Bonestell remains one of the most important and influential astronomical artists ever to put paint to canvas."
DOWNTHETUBES.NET
"New documentary celebrates the ground-breaking SF art of Chesley Bonestell"
"A Brush With The Future aims to introduce Bonestell to contemporary audiences and remind the world of his remarkable accomplishments, which include helping get the Golden Gate Bridge built, creating matte paintings for numerous Hollywood films, including Destination Moon and the 1953 War of the Worlds, promoting America’s nascent space program, and more."
WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD
"Baylor library worker co-produces Comic-Con prize-winning documentary"
"The film not only captures Bonestell and his space art, but its context of the early decades of the Space Age, now roughly a half-century old."
PRINTMAG.COM
"Chesley Bonestell: Imagining the Future"
"Chesley Bonestell is little remembered today except by hardcore science fiction fans and those scientists whose dreams of exploring the cosmos were first inspired by Bonestell’s astonishingly accurate representations...Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future aims to introduce Bonestell to contemporary audiences and remind the world of his remarkable accomplishments"
ARMSTRONG BROWNING LIBRARY
"Documentary Co-Producer Melvin Schuetz Talks ...“Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future”
"Those paintings immediately captured my imagination and filled me with awe. Leafing through them was the equivalent of boarding a passenger spaceship bound for the Moon, the solar system, and worlds beyond. The images did not just portray outer space to me—they carried me there!"
PENINSULA MAGAZINE
"To the Planets and the Stars"
"I think we can call it a labor of love, fueled by persistence and diligence, but also a deep concern that a beloved artist and architect was being forgotten despite his many deeds and accomplishments."
Meet Chesley Bonestell, the Most Important Space Artist You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
"If you’ve never heard of Bonestell, you’ll come away from the film wondering why not. And if, like me, you knew something of Bonestell’s life and work, you’ll be astonished to discover how much more you didn’t know...informative, entertaining, and inspiring." - Richard Tresch Fienberg
NEWS ARTICLES
Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future
"The film is the first documentary ever made about Bonestell, and it spans his 98 years in a mere 96 minutes. For Bonestell fans, and space enthusiasts, it's an overdue treat."
PULSAR MAGAZINE
"A Space Artist's Legacy Orbits the Earth"
"If only Chesley could be alive today to see how important his life's work has become in a film that now orbits 250 miles above the Earth."
- Cover Art by Chris Calle
International Association of Astronomical Artists
AEROBRUSH MAGAZINE
"A Space Artist's Legacy Orbits the Earth"
"Chesley used outer space, our solar system's planets and moons, and stars and galaxies as teh subject matter for countless numbers of his paintings...His work with Wernher von Braun included turning von Braun's mathematical formulas and sketches into practical renderings that were featured in magazine articles like the Collier's magazine series 'Man Will Conquer Space Soon!' and books such as 'Across the Space Frontier.'"
KPFK Film Club Review
"The documentary Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future, by Douglass M. Stewart Jr., is both remarkable, and fascinating...There are numerous interviews, and the enthusiasm of the participants is infectious, not static at all, with excellent work from the Director, Editor, and Director of Photography."
THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN
"Architect of the Interplanetary: 'Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future'"
"Part of its strength lies in its portrayal of Bonestell as a man of lasting influence...it’s hard not to be impressed by the exploits of this near-forgotten polymath. Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future is a fine tribute." - Michael Abatemarco
SOVANOW.COM
"From So Bo to L.A. to Worlds Beyond"
"Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future is a perspective on the life and works of one of America’s most influential but unfortunately overlooked and forgotten visionaries. Filled with his mesmerizing art, his designs, and the iconic hallmarks of his legacy, this film explores the vast influence Bonestell had on our culture and our destiny." - Sharon Kinsey
ROGEREBERT.COM
"Comic-Con 2018: Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future"
"When San Diego Comic-Con originally started, it was about meeting the artists and writers behind comics and science fiction and fantasy—people like Chesley Bonestell. So, it's fitting that a documentary about him, Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future, should win the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival's (CCI-IFF) Best Documentary Award." - Jana Monji
UNSEEN FILMS
"LBIFF '18: Chesley Bonestell - A Brush with the Future"
"Bonestell's art is so significant, there is no need for distracting bells and whistles. Frankly, we'd like to see this film get picked up by American Masters, because it persuasively makes the case that he was one. Enthusiastically recommended." - J.B.
BERKELEYSIDE
"Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With the Future’"
"Bonestell is the subject of a terrific new documentary, Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With the Future. An otherworldly name like ‘Chesley Bonestell’ sounds like it should belong to someone, or something, living in a galaxy far, far away. In reality, it was the name of an extraordinary human who became one of the most visionary graphic artists of the 20th century...this is a lovely tribute to a genuine visionary." - John Seal
FILM REVIEWS
Visionary ‘space art’ pioneer Chesley Bonestell celebrated in documentary
"Chesley Bonestell had an almost Zelig-like ability to be there when history was happening — and he made quite a bit of it himself." - G. Allen Johnson