eric262003 In the opening scenes in "The Right Stuff", a cowboy perched on his horse, looks on as he observes a peculiar sight in the middle of the desert. This strange object is none other than a sound barrier breaker called a X-1 rocket plane. By the end of the film the seven astronauts that make up The Mercury Astronauts are getting a standing ovation at the Houston Astrodome as they're the hosts of Texas barbecue set on by then president Lyndon Johnson. The opposing scenes from "The Right Stuff" is a symbolic signs of sheer optimism and that Americans still have the right stuff, although it has been altered around a bit.The original American heroes were a humble bunch. Not caring for spotlight and just going about their business. The cowboy at the beginning is the first example. He rode around the premises with the confides of a partner and if the partner was there, they wouldn't be of much use except look on with superficial fondness. Today's heroes need to form factions and pry on getting noticed as a way to stretch their egos. That was the real reason why Westerns died out after the 1970's. Cowboys don't depend on sidekick or camaraderie. They work alone and ride off into the sunset.The cowboy at the early scenes in "The Right Stuff" is war hero pilot Captain Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard), a taciturn test-pilot who overcame a deadly crush that has taken out several who have tested these planes before him (in one month 60 had succumbed to their deaths) which included the X-1 that could fly faster than an eye blink. The movie begins with that triumph, but then shifts to ten years later as the Soviets created the spacecraft Sputnik which led to the Eisenhower administration to get into the idea of space travel.The astronauts who traveled upon the Mercury capsules depicted in this film have a very similar mindset as Yeager, Gus Grissom (Fred Ward), Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank) and Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) have a similar frame of mind like Yeager. But unlike Yeager, the Mercury Astronauts were symbolic staple in the eyes of public relations and the movie features Mercury Astronauts spokesperson John Glenn (Ed Harris) speaking out with his unquestionable charm. The X-1 flew without the needs of televised exposure, but the Mercury flights were heavily under the camera which became the dawning of a new kind of era where space travel and public exposures have clashed.A lot has transpired in the movie, similar to the events that the book by Tom Wolfe that this movie is based on. The film is a wild adventure saturated with dramatic and special effects, social commentary and a bit of satirical merit to its credit. With all these events going on at once, it's an amazing accomplishment that writer-director Philip Kaufman was able to cram all of into a three hour plus film. All this material sums up to being one of the greatest films that came out in the 1980's. The moods and styles just flow in a natural position as they satirically take down the corrupt government suits to Yeager's loner characterizations and Glenn's bid to think how these astronauts can get the adulation that they rightfully deserve."The Right Stuff" set a benchmark in the careers of several of these performers as well as solidified Kaufman among one of the top directors in the film industry. The performers were all top notch especially those who haven't been household names at the time. Such names like Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward and Scott Glenn all turned in wonderful performances. But Sam Shepard is the real standout as he plays Yeager with the right amount of mysticism and strong presence. It also one of those very few films that could brag that it can be labeled as a real American epic film. It's an ambitious movie that can take its journey through time and its subject matter as it loosely flows through the locations and special effects that truly make this a definitive art film. It belongs strongly up there with "The Godfather", "Nashville", and "Apocalypse Now". It's a true classic film that made the 1980's all the more special.

davidyi-64048 Going into this movie I had no idea what to expect. From my interest in aviation I've heard numerous references to having "the right stuff", and I knew it was a famous old movie about early astronauts, but that was about it.Oh boy was I pleasantly surprised. It was entertaining, thrilling, funny AND patriotic. And the patriotism is subtle and comes naturally, it is not preachy or crammed down your throat in any way. Ending of the movie leaves you cheering and wanting *more* -- which is shocking because you just sat through a very long movie -- 3 hours plus! But it sure doesn't feel that long. There is not one unnecessary scene in the whole movie, every scene serves a purpose and at no point are you bored or distracted. It's simply a masterpiece of pacing and editing.And on top of everything, this is about important real-life people and events, and is mostly true to history (some creative license is to be expected, it's a movie after all). I learned a lot about the Space Race and early jet aviators. The educational value is just cherry on top of a huge delicious cake.There are many classic movies that are well-made and tell a great story and are entertaining. But The Right Stuff is all that AND it teaches you historical events you didn't know before (in my case at least... and probably a majority of the public). I can't think of any movie that accomplishes all this, except maybe Lawrence of Arabia and Patton. But to be honest Lawrence and Patton are not as funny or entertaining as The Right Stuff.

gavin6942 By flying higher and faster than any other man had ever dared before, Chuck Yeager set the pace for a new breed of hero. Those that had just one thing in common...The biggest issue this film has is its length, coming in at over three hours. That may deter a lot of people from actually sitting down and watching it, which is unfortunate, because every minute is great. It could probably be cut down (and probably has been for television), but there is nothing that makes the run time seem too long.The plot, the emotion, the acting... all great. The story is more or less familiar to a lot of people, but it is an important story to tell, how Yeager breaking the sound barrier directly affected the space program. And such a great cast: Ed Harris, Lance Henriksen, Jeff Goldblum. Wow.

Thomas Drufke For many people The Right Stuff is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, and certainly of the 80's. And while it's most definitely a good film, I find it hard to call it one of the all-time greats. The cast from top to bottom is great, and everyone fits their role perfectly. The visual effects and cinematography for a 1983 film are astounding. In fact many aspects of the film are Oscar worthy, but the main thing I think the film is lacking is direction and editing.Yep I said it, the Oscar winning editing for The Right Stuff is dreadful. And I think the directing is at best average. The film has no focus. It goes from being Sam Shepard centric, to a media satire, to a government propaganda film, and finally to an American classic all within the 190 minute runtime. The reason I say that the editing is trash is due to the near 45 minutes to begin the film that don't really impact the story at all. If you want to set up Shepard's character as the greatest pilot on the earth all you need is a few scenes of his glory with a few of the astronauts praising him. Instead you get 45 straight minutes of Shepard and then almost a 2 hour gap without a scene with him. To me that's just awkward film making.With that being said once the team of astronauts is assembled and we get introduced to Ed Harris' character the film becomes really good. I really enjoyed watching each of the characters go through their struggles both inside the space suit and outside. It was cool seeing a young Dennis Quaid alongside a few other Hollywood future stars. There are many classic scenes along with several Oscar worthy acted scenes, but I do wish the film would have took each of the characters missions and combined them to a more team centric story. I know this film is based on a book but I don't think being entirely faithful to a book is the way to go.The film is not bad at all, it's truly a really solid film but I don't see the classic status that many people (smarter than me) give it. Perhaps I'm missing the point of it but otherwise it's a fun watch. You just have to be prepared to set aside 3 hours of your time, and perhaps at least an hour too much, if you wish to witness the beginning of the space race.+Ed Harris & entire classic cast +When the team is together +Effects & cinematography for it's time -An hour should be shaved off -Individual stories are interesting but perhaps unnecessary -So why was Shepard's character important? 7.0/10