The Right Stuff (1983) is well-respected but relatively unknown to the modern movie-goer. It won 4 Academy Awards, and it was nominated for 4 more. It contains many respected actors among a script equipped with general historical accuracy. Maybe you'll be interested in viewing the motion picture after reading today.
▶️ STORY: This movie follows the original 7 astronauts who took America into space! It's a fairly accurate representation of history about the beginnings of exploring the final frontier.
I'll start with my criticism, but don't stop reading! It's an incredibly slow start to the movie. Granted, it's a 3 hour and 13-minute runtime. However, it's not an excuse because of films such as King Kong (2005) and the final Lord of the Rings entry being even lengthier. Also, there's a difference in slow starts that drag and slow burns that are exciting still. This is the former to me. It takes a solid half-hour, but it lifts off spectacularly after that.
What kicked it off is the first meeting room scene about the Russians and Sputnik. In now-iconic fashion, we witness Jeff Goldblum's feet running down the hallway to the meeting. It's a wittily written scene. The dialogue and banter among many high ranking officials including President Eisenhower are rather amusing to speculate. This continues throughout the picture's remainder.
Speaking of Mr. Goldblum, he was still somewhat new to blockbuster caliber movies. He didn't even get an actor spotlight on the DVD's special features menu. If you know me, you'll know I find his jest delightful.
▶️ Whole Lotta Actors: Besides Jeff Goldblum mentioned above, many other famous celebrities emerge. Ed Harris makes his 1st space film appearance here. He also appears in Apollo 13 (1995) and Gravity (2013). He's got the right stuff (get it) for these types of movies. A young Dennis Quaid is pretty suitable in his role as well is Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Suddenly during the movie, I realized I know Glenn from another film. He's Stick from Netflix's Daredevil. Cool! Others to mention include Pamela Reed, Barbara Hershey, and Sam Shepard.
Now Sam Shepard portrayed Chuck Yeager and received an Oscar nomination. No, he wasn't an astronaut. He lacked a college education and was bypassed for the program, but don't feel too bad for the man. He did ya know... become the first human to break the sound barrier. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment. Oh ya, here's more feats he obtained: presidential medal of freedom, purpleheart, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Flying Cross, Campaign Medal, and 10+ other distinctions. As of this publication, he's 97 years old and still kicking.
I'll paraphrase my friend Brant who showed me this picture on a quality take. We see Yeager riding a horse, but Gorden Cooper (becomes an astronaut) is speeding through in a sports car. This indicates how differently people interpreted rocket travel versus regular planes.
One particular scene for the artsy crowd comes towards the end. The film cuts between Yeager flying a new jet and a dancer. Vice President Johnson hired Sally Rand to dance for the astronauts and large crowd as entertainment. No, you don't see any naturism exhibited. It's cloaked through shadows and costumes. The sequence was hypnotic in a way, and I can't really describe it effectively much further. It's worth viewing for yourself to see.
▶️ If everything mentioned so far is enough for you to observe, do it for learning history maybe. I always enjoyed said subject in school, and I was fascinated.
My film rating is A-.
Comments