The Right Stuff (1983)

The original US Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

Tom Wolfe (book), Philip Kaufman (screenplay)

Stars:

Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris

Won 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Shepard	...	Chuck Yeager
Scott Glenn	...	Alan Shepard
Ed Harris	...	John Glenn
Dennis Quaid	...	Gordon Cooper
Fred Ward	...	Gus Grissom
Barbara Hershey	...	Glennis Yeager
Kim Stanley	...	Pancho Barnes
Veronica Cartwright	...	Betty Grissom
Pamela Reed	...	Trudy Cooper
Scott Paulin	...	Deke Slayton
Charles Frank	...	Scott Carpenter
Lance Henriksen	...	Wally Schirra
Donald Moffat	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Levon Helm	...	Jack Ridley / Narrator
Mary Jo Deschanel	...	Annie Glenn

Storyline

Tom Wolfe's book on the history of the U.S. Space program reads like a novel, and the film has that same fictional quality. It covers the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager to the Mercury 7 astronauts, showing that no one had a clue how to run a space program or how to select people to be in it. Thrilling, funny, charming and electrifying all at once.

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Plot Keywords:

astronaut | space program | fire | u.s. space program | rocket | 

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Taglines:

America was looking for a hero who had what it takes to become a legend. America found seven of them.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Stoff aus dem die Helden sind

Filming Locations:

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field - U.S. Route 101, Mountain View, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$21,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

193 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ed Harris appeared in Apollo 13, it gave him the unique distinction of appearing with some of the same characters from The Right Stuff but played by different actors. Like Deke Slayton. Others are mentioned but never seen like Alan Shepard and the late Gus Grissom.

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Goofs

When Yeager agrees to fly the X-1, he rides up to the bar at twilight. When he enters, the sky through the windows is bright blue, and all throughout that scene behind every character. When he leaves, he rides off after his wife in the twilight again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #1.1 (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Yablochka"
Traditional
Arranged by Mark Selivan (uncredited)
Performed by the Andreyev Balalaika Ensemble
Courtesy of Monitor Records

User Reviews

"The Right Stuff": That Is Exactly What This Film Has

Outstanding film from 1983 that was honored with four Academy Awards and is often called the second-best film of the 1980s behind only Scorsese's "Raging Bull". The movie is a 190-plus minute extravaganza which honors the U.S. Mercury 7 Astronauts. The all-star cast includes Sam Shepard (as Chuck Yeager in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime), Ed Harris (John Glenn), Scott Glenn (Alan Shepard), Fred Ward (Gus Grissom), Lance Henriksen (Walter Schirra), Dennis Quaid (Gordon Cooper), and Donald Moffat (Lyndon Baines Johnson). The film is solid in so many respects. It is meticulous and tries to go for drama and humor and succeeds in everything it wants to do. Veronica Cartwright, Barbara Hershey, Pamela Reed, Kathy Baker, and Mary Jo Deschanel are also along for the ride as several of the wives who attempt to keep their heads about them while they fear that their husbands are losing theirs. "The Right Stuff" is a historical lesson told in a way that is so clever and convincing that few will find fault with anything when it comes to the story-telling. Writer-director Philip Kaufman easily does the best work of his career with this masterpiece. Look for Cincinnati Bengal Hall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz in a cameo appearance. Arguably the best film of the 1980s and should have been the Best Picture Oscar winner over "Terms of Endearment" in 1983. 5 stars out of 5.