Netflix pick for 5/30/16 – ‘The Right Stuff’

As heard in episode 177 of Cinema Crespodiso.

“The Right Stuff” is an epic adaptation of the novel of the same name, which detailed the beginning of the US Government space program and how it all really started with military test pilots trying to beat the demon in the sky by being the first to break the sound barrier, and how these are the same men ready, willing and able to be the first person to be strapped to a rocket and launched into outer space. This movie is over three hours long because it needs every minute of it, providing both great character profiles of the men involved in this program and also showing how the space program evolved and what everyone went through to make it happen. It is a crazy story populated with interesting people and this movie nails all of it and turns that novel into a sprawling and impressive piece of epic entertainment.

Just look at this ridiculous cast – Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Scott Glenn, Sam Shepard, Ed Harris. Hell, when they needed two government lackeys to go around and recruit men, they got Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer to play these roles, so every where you look there’s someone awesome just doing awesome stuff. And the effort put into the flying sequences and special effects definitely paid off because it all looks really amazing, as they used a deft mix of replicas and scale models to recreate the numerous dangerous flights, both over the vast desert and out of Earth’s atmosphere. This movie was also nominated for a whole array of awards, winning a number of Oscars for things like sound and film editing and original score, and it deserved all the accolades and attention because it so just so good.

Check out “The Right Stuff” here on the Netflix Instant and marvel at well this expansive narrative is turned into something not only cohesive but also impressive and definitely everlasting.