Before writer-director Philip Kaufman brought Tom Wolfe's best-selling book to the big screen in 1983, astronauts in movies were often just alien hunters or asteroid chasers. But under Kaufman's direction, spaceflight became a deeply human endeavor, focusing on inner strength rather than external threats. This 80s flick, which runs for over three hours and features an unconventional structure, tells the story of test pilots like Chuck Yeager and Gordon Cooper as they break the sound barrier and America ventures into the “Space Race” with Russia. Kaufman himself described it as “the longest movie ever made without a plot.”
So get ready to take flight and orbit Earth as Tim Williams and guest co-hosts Jeff Atkins, Ben Carpenter, and Darby Mirocha discuss “The Right Stuff” from 1983 on this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast.
Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:
Some were concerned that when this film was released it would help propel John Glenn, then a U.S. Senator from Ohio, into the Presidency. Newsweek Magazine had a cover story about it. Although Glenn ran for President in 1984, he lost the Democratic nomination to Walter Mondale.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://www.wired.com/2014/11/oral-history-of-right-stuff/
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