The Right Stuff

Based on Tom Wolfe's eponymous ironic and critical bestseller, THE RIGHT STUFF tells the story of US aerospace from the beginning of supersonic flight in 1947 to the end of the first manned space program, Project Mercury, in 1963. Using a mixture of documentary material, animation, and feature film scenes, it follows the aeronautical research test pilots and the Mercury Seven, military pilots who were selected as astronauts, and shows "simply the most thrilling flight footage ever put on film" (David Ansen). "It is so effectively staged that when Sam Shephard, as Yeager with a broken arm, smuggles himself onto his plane to break the record, the needle of the speedometer trembles at Mach 1 and the plane groans and crashes, the viewer literally fears for their seat in the 70 mm version. And when mysterious sparks fly around John Glenn's capsule in outer space, you are almost physically transported to another world." (Bodo Fründt)