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The Right Stuff (1983)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
21 October 1983 (USA)
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Tagline:
They were ordinary men and women who shared a common ambition and what they achieved together captured the imagination of the world [UK Theatrical] more
Plot:
The original US Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 4 Oscars.
Another 5 wins
&
11 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Sam Shepard to Star in Epix's Tough Trade
(From MovieWeb. 20 November 2009, 4:36 AM, PST)
Roger Corman, Anjelica Huston, Sally Kellerman: Governors Awards 2009
(From Alternative Film Guide. 15 November 2009, 5:25 PM, PST)
(From MovieWeb. 20 November 2009, 4:36 AM, PST)
Roger Corman, Anjelica Huston, Sally Kellerman: Governors Awards 2009
(From Alternative Film Guide. 15 November 2009, 5:25 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Real Heroes, And An Era That Went By All Too Fast
more (145 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
193 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) |
Dolby (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Canada:A (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:AA (Ontario) |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (Manitoba) |
Iceland:12 |
Australia:PG |
Finland:S |
France:U |
Ireland:12 |
Norway:11 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:15 |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Singapore:PG |
Portugal:M/6 |
Norway:12 (original rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The production was beset by 15 mile per hour, dust-laden winds when they were filming at Edwards Air Force Base.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: After the first manned Mercury flight on 5 May 1961, Alan Shepard is seen stepping from an SH-3 Sea King helicopter onto the recovery aircraft carrier. The SH-3 would not become part of the Navy's operational inventory for another month (June 1961; albeit either in gloss gray or midnight blue colors) and the white over gray color scheme on the SH-3 seen in the movie would not become standard on Navy helos until approximately 1967, six years later. In reality, Shepard stepped from a UH-34 Seahorse (Marine variant of the Sikorsky S-58), number 44, painted in field green with white Marine lettering and numbers.
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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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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.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.56)" (2005)
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Soundtrack:
The Wayward Wind
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (145 total)
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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