When released in 1983, Philip Kaufman’s The Right Stuff was inexplicably discarded as a quaint anachronism by the filmgoing public. Perhaps the last true release of the New Hollywood movement, its time had passed before it even arrived on screens. Audiences were more enamored with the likes of the latest James Bond adventures (Octopussy, Never Say Never Again), populist comedies concerning gender swapping and financial inequality (Tootsie, Trading Places) and the travails of a steel-town girl relentlessly dancing towards her dreams (Flashdance.) The number one film of the year, Return of the Jedi, grossed $249 million. Stuff brought in a meager $13.7 million. It was obvious what kind of space adventure put butts in seats.
Thankfully, critics rallied around Kaufman’s epic, while the obvious craftsmanship on display earned it a fiercely devoted legion of fans who ensured it would not be forgotten. The Criterion Collection is doing their part to ensure its preservation, making it available for future viewers to discover, while providing copious extras that underscore the difficulty of its making.
Based on the non-fiction narrative by Tom Wolfe, the film brims with ambition on multiple levels, most importantly in its focus on the men who risked their lives to get the United States’ space program off the ground, but also the women who stood by them.
Spanning 16 years, the film is a narratively dense construct that begins with the breaking of the sound barrier in 1947, and concludes with the final mission of NASA’s Mercury Space Program in 1963. Along the way, we meet Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard, channeling Gary Cooper) who pushes his X-1 to the limit to become the first man to fly at supersonic speed, as well as the seven men who displayed the titular traits to become the first American astronauts.
The trials John Glenn (Ed Harris), Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid), Gus Grissom (Fred Ward), Deke Slayton (Scott Paulin), Walter Schirra (Lance Henriksen) and Scott Carpenter (Chares Frank) face are not just physical but psychological and emotional as well. Temptations abound for them all that could derail the program while none of them are prepared for the unprecedented media attention that descends upon them. Meanwhile, the scrutiny their family and loved ones falls under proves an unexpected source of stress on multiple fronts.
Over 80 different aircraft appear on screen, special effects Ken Pepiot and his crew utilizing real planes, miniatures and mock-ups to bring them to life. These various elements are combined to not only drive home the wonder of space travel but its inherent dangers as well. These practical effects lend a realism to the action scenes that computer-generated-images could never hope to replicate.
The extras in the set include an interview with Kaufman, mini-docs on the movie’s visual effects, sound design, and editing, three archival programs Realizing “The Right Stuff,” T-20 Years and Counting, and The Real Men with “The Right Stuff”, deleted scenes and an essay by critic Michael Sragow. The 4K digital restoration was supervised by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel while the 5.1 surround soundtrack ensures you feel every sonic boom the film contains. All in all, Criterion does justice to a movie that is long overdue for a package of this sort.
