Chroniques et points de vue:From :Philip Kaufman's intimate epic about the
Mercury astronauts (based on Tom Wolfe's book) was one of the most ambitious and spectacularly exciting movies of the 1980s. lt surprised almost everybody by not becoming a smash hit. By all rights, the film should have been every bit the success that
Apollo 13 would later become;
The Right Stuff is not only just as thrilling, but it is also a bigger and better movie. Combining history (both established and revisionist), grand mythmaking (and myth puncturing), adventure, melodrama, behind-the-scenes dish, spectacular visuals, and a down-to-earth sense of humor,
The Right Stuff chronicles NASA's efforts to put a man in orbit. Such an achievement would be the first step toward President Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon, and, perhaps most important of all, would win a crucial public relations/morale victory over the Soviets, who had delivered a stunning blow to American pride by launching
Sputnik, the first satellite. The movie contrasts the daring feats of the unsung test pilots--one of whom, Chuck Yeager, embodied more than anyone else the skill and spirit of Wolfe's title--against the heavily publicized (and sanitized) accomplishments of the
Mercury astronauts. Through no fault of their own, the spacemen became prisoners of the heroic images the government created for them in order to capture the public's imagination. The casting is inspired; the film features Sam Shepard as the legendary Yeager, Ed Harris as John Glenn, Dennis Quaid as 'Gordo' Cooper, Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom, Scott Wilson as Scott Crossfield, and Pamela Reed and Veronica Cartwright are superb in their thankless roles as astronauts' wives.
--Jim Emerson
Additional Features:For the film's 20th anniversary, a new two-disc edition replaces the original bare-bones DVD. The film looked pretty good on the old disc, but there is more depth to the remastered soundtrack and better yet, you don't need to flip the disc to view the entire film. The second disc of extras is well done, but a bit light. There are 20-minute commentaries from director Philip Kauffman and another track of many actors' fond reminisces of working on the film. They are so engaging it's odd to think there wasn't enough to do a complete commentary track, or even two. A newly produced three-part documentary looks at the project from Tom Wolfe's book to screenplay, the making-of the movie, and interviews with the real participants of the saga. Again, the running time (45 minutes) feels too short. The 13 additional scenes, sans set-up, are really pieces from the cutting-room floor but curiously interesting. The bulk of the extras is the 90-minute PBS program on the life and times of John Glenn, aired around the time of--and mostly about--his second trip into space in 1998. The DVD extras could have used an outside voice--or historian or film critic--to give an objective viewpoint to this outstanding film.
--Doug Thomas
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L'avis des consommateurs
Note moyenne:
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well done
Hollywood has mostly ignored one of the most dramatic events of the modern age, the space program. It's been willing to lavish millions on sci-fi and fantasy but has been meager in detailing the real drama. Tom Wolfe's marvelous book has been captured in this film with the same blend of irony, whimsy, humor and real drama.
The astronauts were accidental heroes, men who never expected to be elevated to such a public Olympus. They were never what the PR machine promoted but they got the job done and eventually earned the heroic status they were automatically granted by the propaganda machine of the time.
An interesting film that genuinely manages to distill out the essence of the 'right stuff.'
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The Greatest American Epic
The fact that "The Right Stuff" lost the Oscar for best picture to "Terms Of Endearment" is beyond me; this movie should have won. The fact that it wasn't a hit at the box office back in 1983 is also beyond me. We are talking about what I think it's the best American epic in all the sense of the word.
It's strange that a Venezuelan-born like me should talk about a movie like this, but I feel that "The Right Stuff" should have been a classic -well, it is for me. The story of the "Mercury" astronauts is portrayed marvelously by Philip Kaufman's direction, showcased beautifully by Caleb Deschanel's stylish photography, and supported by an incredible cast including Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, Pamela Reed, Kim Stanley, and Veronica Cartwright.
In fact, I remember when I was watching that movie at home, and my late father asked me if a man that appeared on the screen was astronaut John Glenn because he looked just like him. Of course I told him he was an actor who was playing his role. That said, it's incredible to see how Ed Harris is perfectly cast as Glenn.
And I don't want to forget one of the reasons why I love this movie, and that's Bill Conti's spectacular music score. Of course it may sound a little like Holst's "The Planets", but I usually weep every time I listen to the main theme.
I'm glad that a special edition DVD of "The Right Stuff" has been released, with fantastic extras that include new interviews with the cast and crew, deleted scenes, and an incredible documentary on John Glenn. I'm also glad about it because I think that this movie should be rightfully appreciated not only because it deals with historical events like the breaking of the sound barrier and the first American astronauts, but also because, as I said before, this is a classic.
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* FABULOUS ...
"The Right Stuff", based on Tom Wolfe's book and directed by Phillip Kaufman, was a wonderful American story about the Mercury space program that told the tale of U.S. pilots just brimming with gusto, bravado and...the right stuff.
STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM
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Lavish Epic
Timeless saga of the founding of the US space program, thrilling written and directed by Philip Kaufman. All the components work beautiful together...amazingly cast and executed with both heart and humor. It's impossible not to be moved and inspired by this patriotic and important historical recreation.
Some say the wives' roles are thankless, but I disagree. While they are small, supporting parts, they are important and beautifully acted.
Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid and Jeff Goldblum in a small role all turn in exceptional great performances.
The DVD is jam packed with additional special features which make this a must-have for your collection.
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* The difference between a documentary and a film ...
If I want to see it EXACTLY as it really happened, I'll head on over to my library and check out any number of documentaries put together on the early days of the Space Program. This review is aimed at the people who have problems with certain innacuracies within the film's story line.
Film, even of the historical nature, is at least somewhat about drama. If you watch a movie like The Right Stuff and you are surprised or taken aback by certain details that you know to be innaccurate, you are missing the point. The reason that historical films often contain alterations in fact here and there is the same reason that a band should never cover a famous song unless they think that they can do it better or add an interesting new flavor to it. The early days of the Space Race were exciting, and to alter certain facts to maximize the drama of a movie (and don't forget, it is just a movie) is far from insulting.
As a young child, one of my favorite movies was The Right Stuff. I loved the excitement, the characters, and the notion that what I was watching meant a great deal to a lot of people. Years later, even after I learned that the real Jack Ridley died in the middle of the movie's depicted timeline or that John Glenn's ship was not actually guided home by fireflys (which, by the way, only an idiot would think the movie was acutally trying to depict) I still love the movie. It's entertainment, and, believe it or not, most of it really happened. If you've got a bone to pick with the Right Stuff, you've got a bone to pick with every historical film ever released, because part of what makes it a film, or a movie, or whatever you want to call it, is that it does not, and will not ever stick solely to the facts. If it did, why would anyone ever want to watch it when they could just watch some documentary. You don't have to agree, but I think that The Right Stuff is a great movie, fun, informative, and timeless. Five out of Five.
