The Right Stuff [1984] [DVD] [1983]

Great film

The only disadvantage of this particular recording is that it requires a DVD decoder to view it. Attempting to get one free from the internet will result in all kinds of unwelcome programs invading your laptop. As to the film itself, this is quite extraordinary. The scenes of Chuck Yeager, as played by Sam Shepherd, dropping in the X-5 rocket plane from beneath a Superfortress and taking, on his own authority the spectacularly beautiful Lockheed Starfighter above 100,000 feet to see the end of the atmosphere and the stars themselves are both thrilling and deeply moving. The sun strikes the fuselage of the B 29 and it sparkles; the engines emit the kind of roar which is inimitable and which will always remain definitive of aviation. Yeager drops into the air to accelerate the X-5 beyond the speed of sound and this event alone is worth the price of a better DVD, one not requiring added software to see the film. The allusion to other events is made in the Oppenheimer - like figure of the man who brings the news of the death of a fellow test pilot to the pathetic figure of the young widow and her children. Enola Gay too was a B 29 and amongst the rocket scientists is the figure of Wernher von Braun. The final scenes intercut Yeager's flight to the edge of space with a gloriously exuberant Texan celebration of the Mercury astronauts and their ladies. Lyndon Johnson is the MC. The ladies are impressive and they too are heroic.

It had been some years since I last saw this film and I was struck by just how impressively it captures the excitement and danger surrounding the early Space Program. I seem to have missed this the first time round, possibly because I was too young at the time to appreciate the subject quite as much. The cameo appearances by the real Chuck Yeager (serving behind the bar at Pancho's) are fun, but the most inspiring scene for my part comes quite early on in the film. Seeing Sam Shepard's Chuck Yeager climb into the comparatively primitive X-1, closing the hatch with the end of a broomstick handle (due to his having fractured his ribs in a riding accident previously) and subsequently breaking the sound barrier in a machine that looks for all intents and purposes like a souped-up, pre-war go-kart with wings and a rocket is to take a white-knuckle ride on the mother-of-all rollercoasters and then return to earth punching the air in triumph. Historical inaccuracies aside, this is a great film worthy of anyone's collection.

This is the phrase Mr Yeager wrote on my copy of his autobiography: it was fun to realise he was also present in person in the movie itself (you have to see the specials on the DVD to recognise him). The movie is a milestone. I loved the flight sequences, and the way the atmosphere was created about the test pilots and their hide-out in the desert. The photography is excellent and the way the story is build up is very well made: the Austronauts are depicted in very realistic ways, and the Cast is really Super, and almost all of them just at the beginning of their careers...Beside the typical American retoric about heroic 'missions', which at times I find quite childish, the true value of the individual human beings are a plus one cannot oversee and forget.This commemorative edition is well done, and contains new interviews with many of the people involved in the movie, including Mr. Yeager himself, and a nice documentary on John Glenn produced by PBS.

This 30th Anniversary Edition (All-Region!) is a real treat for all THE RIGHT STUFF fans. Picture and sound quality are great, considering the fact that historical footage of rocket launches was also used. I usually only pay attention to image and sound quality when purchasing a BD, but man, how this edition is presented! A real collector's item, nice booklet with high quality pics, lots of extras on a second disc, and even a letter from director Philip Kaufman. So good it became one of my favorite top 20 movies. Buy it, you cannot be disappointed. The best way I've seen THE RIGHT STUFF so far, since I never saw it in the theater.

A terrific film outlining the issues surrounding the space race, and the people recruited to do it, exposing a lot of the dangers and stress in the early days of space travel. Film slightly Hollywood but did give a good insight into what was required to have the Right Stuff. Enjoyed

V long film!

DVD as advertised and shipped securely (and promptly)