To me, this movie is perfection.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

We all admire the courage and fortitude it takes to become an astronaut but rarely do we get a glimpse of the behind the scenes preparation required for these men to get ready for their space missions. "The Right Stuff" details many of those moments from the beginning of the American space program through Gordon Cooper's (Dennis Quaid) historic twenty two orbit flight around the Earth. I got the biggest kick out of the conversation among our political leaders discussing the eligibility requirements for candidates of the Mercury Program - a perfect example of clueless leaders who haven't accomplished something in a particular field of endeavor deciding on how others were going to do it. Present day examples of course abound all around us.If one is to take everything shown in the picture as being accurate, the most impressive thing coming out of the story for me was how the seven original astronauts backed each other up on virtually everything that was important for their training and their mission. Like demanding input on the space capsule design and having a hands on approach during their flights. Without their input we would probably have had an entirely different outcome during their years of service. I was particularly pleased to see all the men back John Glenn in the disagreement over his wife declining to meet Vice President Johnson (Donald Moffat). Perhaps overshadowing even those examples was how the astronauts contained their emotions over the flight order for the various missions. There didn't appear to be any jealousy in play over who got to do something 'first', though in the early days of the space program, almost every adventure into space featured some kind of first.I wasn't quite sure what the inclusion of test pilots Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) and Scott Crossfield (Scott Wilson) had to do with the story of America's first astronauts, but in their own way they demonstrated the tenacity and bravery required, in the words of the 'Star Trek' legacy, to go where no man had gone before. All of these men sacrificed much of their private and professional lives to achieve the very pinnacle of human achievement in a field that only a very few could persevere. The title of the picture says it all - these brave heroes all had the right stuff.

It's hard to understand the magnificent struggle of the Cold War for the average millennial today. This wasn't a struggle involving individual nations. This was a struggle that involved the massive mobilization of resources of global political power structures. The film industry was not untouched by this epic conflict. The Cold War has produced many films throughout the world that foster the competitive spirit of this struggle. But few films highlight the incredible technological legacy of this era better than "The Right Stuff".Many history buffs will tell you that the space race began when Russia launched a satellite into orbit. But this isn't the case. The space race began when a US pilot named Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and pushed the boundaries of the limitations of the human experience. "The Right Stuff" is a 1983 historical epic which was an adaptation of the bestselling book with the same title written by Tom Wolfe. The movie starts at Muroc Army Air Field in California right after World War 2 in 1947. "The Right Stuff" begins as a film about the old west meeting the modern era. The cowboys of old have dismounted the horses and are now flying jets across the dessert and testing the boundaries of human technology. Unfortunately, pushing the boundaries of human technology, especially in the context of airplanes can have deadly consequences. Countless test pilots die falling out of the California sky for their country. Very few actually lived to reflect on their experiences. These rare few, eventually become astronauts. The world couldn't be more out of luck. This fact is thoughtfully demonstrated in one scene where a former test pilot seeking admission into the astronaut training program thinks out loud to himself, "what does that word mean, astronaut?...it means space-traveler…I kind of like the sound of that". Of course the competition was brutal. Some test pilots like, Chuck Yeager, the man who in 1947 became the first pilot to have broken the speed of sound in flight, never became an astronaut. He continued to serve in leadership positions in the United States Air Force in a flying career that spanned more than 60 years and took him to every corner of the planet. Sam Shepard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his skillful performance in this role. But John Glen, just like in real life, stole the show in this film.Glen is the ultimate American hero. For those who don't know of Glen's accomplishments beyond the scope of the film, let it be known that John Glenn would go on to be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and serve as a United States Senator. He is portrayed by Ed Harris who would go on to star in the 1995 film Apollo 13. In 1962, one of Glenn's many accomplishments, and one of the greatest accomplishments for mankind was piloting a craft in the Friendship 7 mission where he became the first American ever to orbit space. In doing so, he became the fifth person to ever enter space. This accomplishment is powerfully portrayed on film by "The Right Stuff". Glenn unfortunately died in late 2016 after a long and distinguished life. The lives of other astronauts and test pilots are also addressed. For example, the veteran astronaut Gus Grissom's struggle with the intense pressure of his position and the public's eye is touched on. Grissom would eventually die from asphyxiation during a pre-launch test at Cape Kennedy. So many more unnamed test pilots died during the cold war. There is no fitting way to truly honor their sacrifice. But this film is for them. It took until 2013, but the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being, "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". John Glenn, former test pilot, astronaut, and United States senator, will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Both have already cemented their legacy as all-time greats. As John F. Kennedy stated at the height of the Cold War's space race, "Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the Industrial Revolution, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power. And this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it. We mean to lead it".

The Right Stuff. The name alone will make anyone want to go see this. It uses enough generic pronouns and adjectives to sucker the viewer into watching this. I bet that many people had no idea it was about aviation and space travel. Is it bad to have an unclear title? Of course not. As long as it sounds good and fits in with the story. The Right Stuff fits so well with the story because that is what it is about and what it has.The Right Stuff is generally said to be the second best film of the 1980s only behind Raging Bull. I disagree, only because there were other movies that I thought were better. But I do think that The Right Stuff is one of the true great American films that achieves the status of excellence.The Right Stuff follows a group of pilots over a course of several years and their journeys as astronauts. Right off the bat, the filming of the flying is done to a high calibre. We get a first- person look during some of the missions that's intense and beautiful. This stuff happens in many different parts of the movie that can make any movie ignoramus like those particular scenes. Yes the flying sequences are first-rate, it is the character development that really makes this stand above other movies of its kind. We get to know and like some of the pilots. The first one we get to know is Chuck Yeager (Shepard) who lives a peaceful life and perseveres to break the sound barrier. He lacks a college degree, so he is not chosen to be an astronaut like some other pilots he knows. Seven pilots are chosen to compete with Russia's space program and they and their families are written very well. Alan Shepard and Gordon Cooper (Glenn, Quaid) are my favourite characters though. All their wives don't want them to go out on suicide-missions and become widows, but the men love what they do. The media attracts them, making them international superstars who believe they have " the right stuff". The men eat it up and think they are super-humans. As the movie goes on, their egos get to them and there are malfunctions with the rockets. These serve as symbols reflecting their personalities. Eventually, they get better and everything becomes a success. Hallelujah! The Right Stuff is an avant-garde, patriotic film. So cheesy how everything is overcome and they defend the honour of one's country. But I can't really say that's a bad thing. The only real flaw I can give this would be that at 193 minutes, it is dragged out, ever-so slightly.

Philip Kaufman's soaring adaptation of Tom Wolfe's biographical account of the space program, starting with Chuck Yeager's(played by Sam Shepherd) breaking the sound barrier, to the Mercury 7, the first American astronauts(played by Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Scott Glenn, Lance Henriksen, and others) to go into outer space. Film details the process of selection and training involved in preparing the astronauts for flight, as well as focusing on how they handle the media and each other. They are portrayed as real men, not cardboard cutouts, which is refreshing.A very well directed, written, and acted film is truly inspiring in how it portrays the successes and failures of these brave men, and the women in their lives. Though over three hours, it doesn't drag much, and is a most satisfying true story.