The Right Stuff

The film opens in 1947 with Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier. Then Sputnik goes up in 1957 and America hurriedly builds Project Mercury. The gap between the test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base and the seven chosen astronauts is the whole subject: one flies quietly, the others give press conferences. Philip Kaufman wrote and directed, adapting Tom Wolfe's 1979 book and reshaping the narrative to put Yeager back at the centre. Sam Shepard plays Yeager, Ed Harris plays John Glenn, Dennis Quaid plays Gordon Cooper, Scott Glenn plays Alan Shepard and Fred Ward plays Gus Grissom. It won four Oscars: editing, original score, sound and sound effects editing, from eight nominations including Best Picture. The box office was a disaster: 21.1 million dollars domestically against a 27 million budget. Roger Ebert named it the best film of 1983 and praised its being at once an adventure film, a special effects film, a social commentary and a satire. The Mercury astronauts themselves came out against it, criticising the historical inaccuracies and the portrayals. Who it is for: viewers who want the human side of the space programme and can take three hours. Who it is not for: anyone after documentary accuracy. The people who were there objected to what the film says.