The Right Stuff (1983)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

All three hosts have grown up watching the extraordinary efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known by its acronym NASA. So this pairing is dedicated to the intelligence and perseverance of the brave men and women who work for that agency! First up, there had to be a beginning, and the Mercury space program was it. Based on the novel by Tom Wolfe, with Philip Kaufman writing the screenplay and directing, 1983's "The Right Stuff" tells the (mostly) real story of the beginning of the U.S. space program. The film first focuses on the breaking of the sound barrier by test pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard), which leads to the beginnings of manned space flight. After President Eisenhower demands that actual pilots be sent up, the stage is set for the Mercury 7: Astronauts Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank), Gordon "Hot Dog" Cooper (Dennis Quaid), John Glenn (Ed Harris), Gus Grissom (Fred Ward), Wally Schirra (Lance Henriksen), Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), and Deke Slayton (Scott Paulin). The film deals rather unflinchingly with the trials and tribulations, both personally and professionally, the Seven and their families experience through this turbulent race against the Russians for outer-space supremacy! Also starring Barbara Hershey, Kim Stanley, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Mary Jo Deschanel, Kathy Baker, and Donald Moffat!