The Right Stuff

"Spam in a can." That's how jet pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) defines an 'astronaut' in Philip Kaufman's 1983 three-hour-plus epic adaptation of Tom Wolfe's bestselling book of the same name, chronicling the personal recruitment, rigorous training, and early missions of the seven Mercury astronauts (with notable performances by Ed Harris as John Glenn, Dennis Quaid as Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard, and Fred Ward as Virgil "Gus" Grissom) set against the political backdrop of the space race (one of the best scenes finds Donald Moffat as LBJ throwing an impressive tantrum). Spanning some 15 years, from the time Yeager (who later said "no" to becoming an astronaut) broke the sound barrier (1947) to the last solo NASA flight of Gordon Cooper in 1963, The Right Stuff wonderfully captures both the personalities of these true American heroes and the social, cultural, and political milieu in which they flourished. Nominated for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Shepard), Cinematography, and Art Direction-Set Decoration, the film picked up Oscars for Editing, Sound, Effects, and Bill Conti's stirring score. Presented in a double-disc special edition, disc one features a gorgeous widescreen transfer and a newly remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (but lacks, unfortunately, a commentary track), while disc two includes a 25-minute selected scenes reel with separate commentaries by cast and crew, a trio of retrospective featurettes (a 21-minute "making of," a 12-minute look at visual effects, and a 16-minute look at the "real men with the right stuff," featuring the real-life Yeager, Cooper, Scott Carpenter, and Walter Schirra, Jr.), 11 minutes worth of additional scenes, an interactive timeline, and the 87-minute documentary John Glenn: American Hero. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Nov. 5, 2013—Warner, 2 discs, 193 min., PG, $27.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1983's The Right Stuff features a nice transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Extras are identical to those on the previous DVD release, including the documentary “John Glenn: American Hero” (87 min.), a selected scenes reel with separate commentaries by director Philip Kaufman, cast, and crew (25 min.), retrospective featurettes including a "making of" (21 min.), “The Real Men with the Right Stuff” featuring the real-life heroes Chuck Yeager, Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter, and Walter Schirra, Jr. (16 min.), and a visual effects segment (12 min.), additional scenes (11 min.), and an interactive timeline, all housed in a 40-page digi-book package. Bottom line: Kaufman's excellent space bio-pic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]