7.9/10
48,007
175 user 82 critic

The Right Stuff (1983)

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

Director:

Writers:

(written for the screen by), (based on the book by)
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Popularity
3,173 ( 101)

On Disc

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Won 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Jack Ridley / Narrator
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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. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

How the future began. See more »


Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

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Release Date:

17 February 1984 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

L'étoffe des héros  »

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,601,167 (USA) (23 October 1983)

Gross:

$21,500,000 (USA)
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Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(70 mm prints)| (35 mm prints)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema film of Kathy Baker. See more »

Goofs

During some of the flight sequences, the view through the cockpit windows is clearly back projection. There are little specks of dirt on the skyline. See more »

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 Interstellar (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

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

Kaufman's Crowning Achievement
17 November 2004 | by (somerville, ma) – See all my reviews

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.


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