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The Right Stuff (1983)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 10/06, 8/21

RightStuff
10/06: Move over, Top Gun morons; it's time for The Right Stuff.

A highly technical but fascinating film, its importance in American history cannot be overstated, showcasing the birth of NASA and the space race. Unfortunately, there are glaring aspects that I don't like.

First, I hate when The Right Stuff decides to focus so much on Chuck Yeager and four characters from the Mercury Seven, but there's little attention on the other three (Wally Schirra, anyone?). I don't understand this move and think they're all equally important.

Second, it wasn't the astronauts who made the space program possible but rather the countless mathematicians, physicians, engineers, technicians, and chemists, among others. Let's just say they were the means and the astronauts the ends.

Third, it isn't a visually good picture, failing to clear the high bar that was set by 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Fourth, although The Right Stuff is an educational picture for the sake of history, it drags a lot, is overlong, and has many useless scenes.

Fifth, I'm not sure why, after showcasing Chuck Yeager's achievements so much, the filmmakers didn't include achievements by the Wright brothers. How about Robert Goddard who was the first in the world to launch a liquid-fueled rocket successfully? In fact, the Goddard Space Flight Center was named after him, being NASA's first, and is now the oldest space center.

Sixth, did LBJ really act like that? I don't think so.

All in all, the astronauts were chosen to go up in space because they simply had the right stuff, hence the movie title.

8/21: Based on Tom Wolfe's book, The Right Stuff is about the nascient history of NASA and the search for men who had *drum roll* the right stuff.

It begins with a pilot that most people today have never heard of: Chuck Yeager. Famous for breaking the sound barrier and setting many speed and altitude records in air, he just died last December and was 97, having outlived every character in the film. His work was instrumental in making the space flight possible. A lot of what happened as shown did occur including two broken ribs during the horse ride. The two reasons why Chuck Yeager didn't become an astronaut despite having the right stuff are that he only had a high school diploma and that he was a very racist person.

Everybody in the United States was caught off guard on October 4, 1957, when the Russians successfully launched Sputnik I. It was the greatest accomplishment in the country's history which happened during the Cold War. Hence, the space race was on, hyper-fueling money and attention in math and science curriculums. Many Americans suddenly thought they were so far behind the Russians, but in truth, their technology was already advanced while the Russians' wasn't that great; they were only successful in keeping up the bluff until the end of the Cold War.

Then, the Mercury program was underway with a lot of firsts. The incident with Gus Grissom happened for real. How it was portrayed in the film is quite controversial. The capsule was fished out in 1999 and then examined, finally exonerating Grissom after Wally Schirra proved on purpose in 1962 one would have to have a deep bone-bruise on his hand which is something Grissom never had to begin with. Therefore, he didn't blow the hatch on purpose.

It may be a surprise that The Right Stuff was a box-office bomb, but I can understand why; it's a long, technical movie. A lot of what's shown is true for the most part but is overly dramatic, but LBJ's cartoonish behavior? I don't think so. The actual Mercury Seven astronauts didn't like the film, calling the whole thing made-up. By the way, the Gonzalez character who has a problem with Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), who later landed on the moon and played golf there, is Anthony Muñoz, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The direction is a major problem; Philip Kaufman spends too much time on certain people like Chuck Yeager and Gordon Cooper, throwing the film off its balance. Although I understand the next two phases, the Gemini and the Apollo programs, weren't covered in the book, it's disappointing that they were still omitted in the film. Also, I would've liked to watch the first lunar landing for the sake of completeness.

All in all, although slow, long, and highly technical, The Right Stuff is a great film that should be seen to appreciate how the space race came to be.