The Right Stuff (1983)

This is, in many ways, a very strange movie. One the one hand it deals with a very serious topic, which it seems to take very seriously. It has the overall look and feel of a drama (or even a melodrama). And yet, there are so many goofy moments in the movie that one wonders whether they were meant to be funny or not.

There was the odd, stilted dialogue, especially among the fliers and their families, as they discuss (or as the case my be, don't discuss) what it means to have the "right stuff" of the title. There are the customarily nerdy performances of Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer in small roles as NASA recruiters. There is the truly over-the-top performance of Donald Moffat as Vice President Lyndon Johnson (who was a pretty over-the-top character in real life, now that I think of it). There are the German rocket scientists, the gaunt black-clad Angel-of-Death-type minister (Royal Dano) who turns up whenever a flyer gets killed, and the throng of reporters who chase after the astronauts and their families, literally barking like a pack of dogs as they pry into the most intimate parts of their lives for the sake of another human interest story.

Even so, this movie was very entertaining. The story itself is fascinating, and the cast was great. Standouts include Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Fred Ward, Dennis Quaid, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Kathy Baker, Barabara Hershey, Mary Jo Deschanel, Lance Henriksen, Levon Helm, and General Chuck Yeager himself in a cameo! It perhaps worth mentioning that most of these actors were relative unknowns when this movie came out in 1983.

All in all, this is a fun movie.

Fmovies: This story broadly painted deals with the beginnings of the US space career and the first seven Mercury astronauts , being based on Tom Wolf's nonfiction novel . The space began when Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard who played legendary pilot , is actually afraid of flying) broke the sound barrier and scorching Mach 2 and following to other aviation pioneers , the Mercury mission with 7 astronauts , the suicide squadron who volunteer for astronaut training is formed by a motley cast (Fred Ward , Dennis Quaid , Lance Henriksen , Ed Harris , Scott Glenn and Scott Paulin) , showing that no one had a clue how to run a space program or how to select volunteers to be in it. It was after the Soviets successfully launched the Sputnik satellite in 1959, that the U.S. redoubled its efforts to surpass at their trail of glory in the sky .

Electrifying film with credible interpretations but overlong and oddly uninvolving , based on Tom Wolfe's ambitious book about the history of the U.S. Space program , it reads like a novel . However , Tom Wolfe, was unhappy with the film because he felt it made too many changes to the book. William Goldman, the original screenwriter before he left the project also disliked it because he didn't like the way Philip Kaufman portrayed Chuck Yeager as the only hero in the film, while the rest of the astronauts only got lucky and didn't match up to him in any way. The film has that same fictional quality ; furthermore is thrilling , imaginative , rowdy and overlong -at more than three hours , including unnecessary material - all at once . The picture attempts hardly to tell the tale of human beings as well as the space conquest . The movie tries to narrate parallel stories , though it never quite successfully integrate them . It covers the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager -Sam Shepard- as a test pilot of the old breed , giving a nice and charming performance . It provides an all-star-cast who bolster a fine movie with special mention to Ed Harris playing John Glen who subsequently was running for President . The main cast is perfectly completed by known secondaries as Barbara Hershey , Pamela Reed , Veronica Cartwright , Kathy Baker , David Clennon , Scott Wilson , Jeff Goldblum , Royal Dano , Donald Moffat among others . Special effects work and production design by Geoffrey Kirkland is spectacular and could hardly be bettered ; however , some moments relies heavily from stock-shots . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Caleb Deschanel , the role of Annie Glenn was the first film role for his wife , Mary Jo Deschanel . Imaginative and evocative musical score composed and conducted by Bill Conti . The film's music temp track consisted of music from Holst's The Planets, Henry Mancini's score for The White Dawn and various other classical pieces which were favorites of Director 'Philip Kaufman'.

¨Right stuff¨ results to be Philip Kaufman's one of the most successful films . He's a good filmmaker and little prolific who left some great moments in histories that not be forgotten , giving enough inspired images to make linger in the memory such as happens in ¨Right stuff¨ . Kaufman realized a Western ¨Great Northfield Minnessota Raid¨, a youthful tale as ¨The Wanderers¨, Sci-Fi ¨ as ¨Invasion body snatchers¨and two sexual stories ¨Unbearable lightness of being¨ and ¨Henry and June¨.

The Right Stuff takes place during the Cold War when America was trying its hardest in technological advancements to beat the Russians. The movie first starts out with Chuck Yeager(Sam Shepard) attempting to break the sound barrier. The movie continues with other story lines as professional pilots desperately try to get into the NASA space program, become the first Americans into space, and try to break some kind of record that will beat what the Russians had. The other real life people that this movie follows are Alan Shepard(Scott Glenn), Gordon Cooper(Dennis Quaid), John Glenn(Ed Harris), Gus Grissom(Fred Ward), and of course, their families.

The running time is very long at 3 hours plus, but it goes by very quickly. The first couple of hours go by as if they were 25 minutes, and the last hour is thrilling, as well as inspiring. There are several plot elements that really make this movie phenomenal. There is plenty of excitement as you see what the skilled pilots try to accomplish, there is plenty of humor, the cast is nearly perfect, and the score adds plenty of effect to the film. The result is a phenomenal, nearly perfect film, being one of the best films of the 1980's.

The plot is very interesting, as you see the lives of the pilots, the status of the American Government desperately trying to overcome the Russians with advanced technology, and the difficulties in trying to accomplish these difficulties. This is well worth your time, and it is a great movie.

The Right Stuff fmovies. I always loved anything connected to science fact and science fiction and this movie is no exception.

I already owned the Laserdisc version of it, but the DVD is even better.

I love this movie, but I must consider the interest of the public and I honestly cannot say that this is one for the vast public.

The theme alone is a difficult one and deals with the history of the Space Age, as it began from an American perspective, and by telling the story of the astronauts involved in the Mercury project.

Being very long, it might not fit the modern view of a quick-fix movie. This one has to be watched as if your were watching "JFK" or "Gettysburg", therefore with the outmost attention.

It has spectacular recreations of the actual launches, combined with more private moments, involving the astronauts, their loved ones and those who trained them.

This is not Science Fiction and it is not an Adventure movie, this is truly a history lesson about how the Space Race got started, how, with whom and why.

It is a very thoroughly researched movie, although it is not to be confused with a documentary. It is an intelligent movie, with good dialogues, good character recreations, with humor and moments of sadness and tragedy. The heroism of the first astronauts is not represented by their fabulous deeds, but rather by the sacrifices they had to make, in order to be successful.

If you can bare to sit in front of your TV for 3 hours and 15 minutes without unnecessary interruptions, then this documentation may make it clear why men and women risk so much in going "where no one has gone before".

But, as I stated before, this is not an easy going movie and is reserved for all those who want to enjoy a good movie in peace.

I would recommend its showing in every school of the United States, and why not, also throughout the world. Many children would then really appreciate what the conquest of space is all about.

An incredibly under-rated director, Philip Kaufman adapted Tom Wolfe's best-selling tale of the Mercury astronauts in 1983 and, since that time, he has been unable to top himself (he came very very close with Unbearable... and Quills, but The Right Stuff is very much out of their league).

Why? The Right Stuff is a perfect blend of intelligence and wit and action. At just three hours long, it occasionally feels too short. The audience comes to know the characters through terrific performances by Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Sam Shepard, and Fred Willard and Kaufman's deft pen (which, no doubt, Wolfe's novel helped guide). We are sad when the story ends; we want more. It's rare that a movie creates such an inviting and intriguing world that, after three hours, we still do not want to leave.

This movie is absolutely one of a kind. Its critical patriotism shows that films can show their love of country without wandering into nationalistic or jingoistic propaganda. It is very rare that a film this indebted to America and American history can be so ambivalent.

That, in my mind, is a positive rather than a negative. The filmmaker and actors understand that the Space Race was not a simple process; they understand that heroes have a dark side.

They all refuse to let the heroism cover the unsavory aspects of a person's life and, simultaneously, they do not let those aspects darken their contribution to mankind.

The Right Stuff is really an amazing filmic experience. It's an expert adaptation, an expert recreation of the early US Space Program, and an expert entertainment. Apollo 13 wanted so very much to be the Right Stuff. It's not; nothing will ever beat the Right Stuff.

An interesting insight into the United States' space program, beginning with the exploits of fighter pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shephard) and concluding with the dramatic flights of the first astronauts.

Those astronauts - the Mercury 7 pilots - are a varied group of aviators and they are all pretty interesting guys. John Glenn (Ed Harris) gets favorable treatment in here among the group. Gordon Cooper might be the wildest with the cocky and humorous Dennis Quaid playing him. Overall, it's a good cast including not just the fliers but their wives. I also enjoyed Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard and Barbara Hershey as Yeager's wife.

Yeager's feats were perhaps the most interesting and they set a fast tone to this 3-hour film as we witness him breaking several sound-barrier records prior to the formation of the astronaut team. Then we are treated to a long-but-interesting segment of how those first astronauts were trained.

The only unnecessary and ludicrous parts of this film were the ones on Lyndon Johnson, where they made him into a total fool. It was as if the screen writers had a personal vendetta against him, to make him look almost like a cartoon figure. And the bit with the Australian Aborigines smacks too much of Hollywood's love affair with tribal religions. I sincerely doubt some sparks from a fire on earth could be seen miles and miles above in space.

At any rate, this was an informative look at a period in our history than came-and-went way too fast. Sad to say, most people know very little about those first astronauts, who were true heroes. At least this film gives them their due, as well as to Yeager, who deserved this tribute, too