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The Right Stuff

Play trailer Poster for The Right Stuff PG Released Sep 9, 1983 3h 13m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
This adaptation of the non-fiction novel by Tom Wolfe chronicles the first 15 years of America's space program. By focusing on the lives of the Mercury astronauts, including John Glenn (Ed Harris) and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), the film recounts the dangers and frustrations experienced by those involved with NASA's earliest achievements. It also depicts their family lives and the personal crises they endured during an era of great political turmoil and technological innovation.
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The Right Stuff

The Right Stuff

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Critics Consensus

The Right Stuff packs a lot of movie into its hefty running time, spinning a colorful, fact-based story out of consistently engaging characters in the midst of epochal events.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times It still thrills with its expert casting and dazzling visuals. Oct 28, 2023 Full Review Pauline Kael The New Yorker The Right Stuff gives off a pleasurable hum: it’s the writer-director Philip Kaufman’s enjoyment of the subject, the actors, and moviemaking itself. Sep 13, 2023 Full Review Adam Nayman The Ringer Where 2001: A Space Odyssey depicted astronauts (and mankind) as being at the mercy of some higher, alien intelligence, The Right Stuff finds its characters imposing their will on the unknown. Mar 27, 2020 Full Review Alan Jones Starburst This timely delve into the past - warts and all - to uncover the roots of a future we are now participating in has a basic ingredient that so many films lately have lacked. And that is integrity Aug 1, 2022 Full Review Taylor Baker Drink in the Movies Episode 12: Away We Go Rated: 90/100 Sep 1, 2021 Full Review Diego Galán El Pais (Spain) The Right Stuff is so clumsily shot and has such a simple structure that boredom can threaten to drown the viewer's patience. [Full Review in Spanish] Feb 7, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gary B The Right Stuff captures the spirit of risk, achievement and heroism like no other movie I can remember. A big part of that is the rousing musical score by Bill Conti, which I wish could be bottled and sold as an energy drink. But it's really the film's offbeatness that sets it apart. There's never been another movie like it. Forty years later, it still seems fresh, like a song no one's been able to copy. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/24 Full Review Alec B Lots of people have chronicled great feats of human ingenuity but few (if any) have done so while consistently maintaining a satirical and borderline surreal tone. It's hard to imagine that Kaufman was allowed bizarre flights of fancy (the bumbling government agents played by Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer, the press corps played by an improvisational comedy troupe, etc.) in a movie that features Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier and John Glenn orbiting the earth. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review Kai K This movie showed how American astronauts lived, and it did that well, but it had a lot of unnecessary scenes that did not help develop the plot. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/04/23 Full Review Jerod S The space race and the men who entered it. Looking back into the late 40s-60s, breaking the sound barrier and family relationships. It's a hefty 3 hour film that's still worth it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Liquid A An unbelievably amazing movie. It's just so well done. Everything about it is incredible. The cast, the acting, cinematography, oh man, wow. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/21/23 Full Review Gareth v An entertaining and compelling biopic that at times becomes a slog with it's 3 hour plus running time. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Right Stuff

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis This adaptation of the non-fiction novel by Tom Wolfe chronicles the first 15 years of America's space program. By focusing on the lives of the Mercury astronauts, including John Glenn (Ed Harris) and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), the film recounts the dangers and frustrations experienced by those involved with NASA's earliest achievements. It also depicts their family lives and the personal crises they endured during an era of great political turmoil and technological innovation.
Director
Philip Kaufman
Producer
Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler
Screenwriter
Philip Kaufman, Tom Wolfe
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
The Ladd Company
Rating
PG
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 9, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 15, 2008
Runtime
3h 13m
Sound Mix
Surround, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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