Right Stuff (1983)

"The Right Stuff has vigor, action, humor and heroics. It will have your spirits soaring.  Gene Shalit, The Today Show
"An instant American Classic  Pat Collins, CBS Morning News

Editor's Note This epic chronicle of the seven pilots chosen to become astronauts for Project Mercury is based on the novel by Tom Wolfe. Deep in the desert during the 1950s, army test pilots courageously fought to break the sound barrier. These maverick men would stop at nothing to achieve winning speed. Led by their champion, Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard), they caroused at the local watering hole while sharing tales of extreme sport and bravery--until the Russians successfully sent their Sputnik satellite into the skies, and the United States government panicked, quickly launching a space program of its own. In an effort to find the right men for the job, the government searched the desert and the seas, compiling a crew of daredevil space cowboys willing to do anything for the chance to represent America in the space race. After grueling medical, physical, and psychological tests, seven men were left standing, led by American hero John Glenn (Ed Harris), test pilots Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid), Gus Grissom (Fred Ward), and Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank), and Navy man Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn). With the help of the media and the government, these men became overnight heroes, sacrificing their freedom and their families for the dream of space travel. This piercing exploration of the men and wives behind the mission serves as a testament to the determination of America to dominate the field of space exploration, while offering an intriguing portrait of a period in which America wanted to believe in perfect men and their perfect wives, even if the reality was vastly more complex. Philip Kaufman's gripping film also features fabulous special effects and stunning aerial cinematography.

	Barbara Hershey
	Dennis Quaid
	Ed Harris
	Fred Ward
	Kim Stanley
	Sam Shepard
	Scott Glenn
	Tom Wolfe - Based On Novel By
	Caleb Deschanel - Cinematographer
	Phillip Kaufman - Director
	Glenn Farr, et al. - Editor
	Irwin Winkler - Producer
	Robert Chartoff - Producer
	Geoffrey Kirkland - Production Designer
	Philip Kaufman - Screenplay

THE RIGHT STUFF is the epic chronicle of the seven pilots chosen to be the astronauts of Project Mercury. Also featured is the story of Chuck Yeager, the test pilot who first broke the sound barrier.

"Punch a hole in the sky."----Glennis Yeager (Barbara Hershey) to Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard)

New York Times
"...Rousing....Probably the brightest and the best rookie/cadet movie ever made..." 10/21/1983 p.C5

New York Times
Included in The New York Times "10 BEST FILMS OF 1983" 12/25/1983 p.II:15

Variety
"...Full of beauty, intelligence and excitement....[The film] provides a fresh, entertaining look back at the recent past....[The] cinematography is lustrous and impeccably clean..." 10/12/1983

USA Today
"...One of the best Hollywood movies of the past 20 years..." 01/15/1993 p.3D

Chicago Sun-Times
"...Kaufman's love for the Yaeger character pays off in the magical closing sequence of the film..." 02/16/2003 p.4

Entertainment Weekly
"...Flying at its coolest..." 12/19/2003 p.60

Premiere
"[The film] delivers real exuberance....Time has been good to it." 03/01/2004 p.96

Variety 9 of 10
The Right Stuff is a humdinger. Full of beauty, intelligence and excitement, this big-scale look at the development of the US space program and its pioneering aviators provides a fresh, entertaining look back at the recent past.