THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) C widescreen 192m dir: Philip Kaufman

w/Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Kim Stanley, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Scott Paulin, Donald Moffat

From The Movie Guide: "Funny, trenchant account, based on Tom Wolfe's book, of the dawn of the space age, seen as both a shameless piece of media mythmaking, and as an act of genuine courage on the part of the first astronauts. The movie spans about 15 years, beginning with Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) breaking Mach 1, and concluding with a huge barbecue at the Astrodome at which President Johnson (Donald Moffat) hosts the astronauts. In between, it depicts their arduous training and complex personal lives, and the absurd lengths to which they have to go to satisfy the public's demand for real-life heroes. Director-writer Philip Kaufman's script brings a wealth of humor to a faithful retelling of the astronauts' fascinating stories, the actors fit smoothly into their roles and even physically resemble their characters, and the direction is well-paced and visually exciting."

THE RIGHT STUFF won four Oscars: Best Editing (Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Stephen A. Rotter, Tom Rolf, Douglas Stewart), Score (Bill Conti), Sound (Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Randy Thom, David MacMillan), and Sound Effects Editing (Jay Boekelheide). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Shepard), Cinematography (Caleb Deschanel), and Art Direction (Geoffrey Kirkland, Richard J. Lawrence, W. Stewart Campbell, Peter Romero, Pat Pending, George R. Nelson).