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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. It 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

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(5 stars) - Classic aviation
Long time fan of the movie, happy to get in DVD to replace my VHS. Factually the movie is fairly accurate. Its a bonus having the real Chuck Yeager appear in a couple of scenes! Effects are great. Always thought the movie dragged a bit about 3/5th in but then pics up again.

(2 stars) - Surprisingly bad
The Bottom Line:

This agonizingly long film which devotes at least an hour of screen time to Sam Shepherd riding his horse, talking to his wife in the sunset, and doing brave deeds merely out of manly duty might better be titled "Chuck Yeager: All-American Hero;" unhappy to merely humanize and reconstruct the heroes of the Space Age, the film decides to invent one and in so doing becomes an overlong mismatch of ideas and scenes that drags mightily and presents 5 dumb moments (e.g. the Aborigines' sparks keep John Glenn aloft! LBJ as a big comical buffoon!) for every good one.

2/4

(5 stars) - Most enjoyable
I had not watched this film in quite a few years, it was well worth the purchase of this special edition. Besides enjoying the film again, there are plenty of extras, including interviews with various people associated with the film.

While the film itself may not be completely historically accurate, the essence of telling the story of the early days of the space race is there. Some of the techniques used in filming were unprecedented at the time and films like 'Forest Gump' owe a degree of homage to this film.

Highly recommended.

(5 stars) - The Right Stuff, right on time!
Product was shipped/arrived just as expected, in perfect condition. And what a great price for this terrific 2-disc set! Much more everywhere else I saw it. Would definitely recommend to anyone to get it from Amazon!

(4 stars) - The Right Stuff is good...but...
Good movie and could have been a family friendly movie, but there is inappropriate language. We started watching it with our space enthusiatic seven year old....and he pointed out some of the language much to our cringing ears. Be warned...

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