1983 - The Right Stuff

I'm once again back in Sydney, and with one more film to review in this review year, I clearly didn't meet the challenge I set myself a couple of posts ago, but it's still a comparatively quick turnaround for me, so I'll take it.

Our final film from the Best Picture shortlist of 1983 is...


The Right Stuff
Director:
Philip Kaufman
Screenplay:
Philp Kaufman
(based on the book by Tom Wolfe)
Starring:
Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Kim Stanley, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Scott Paulin, Charles Frank, Lance Henriksen, Jeff Goldblum, Harry Shearer
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
4 wins, including Best Film Editing and Best Original Score

Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager (Shepard) joins the team of test pilots attempting to break the sound barrier, and soon becomes the first man to successfully do so. As the years pass, more pilots join the team, including Gordon Cooper (Quaid) and Gus Grissom (Ward), all trying to break each other's speed records. After the Russians launch the world's first satellite, the Space Race is on and NASA begins recruiting for its first space program. Yeager misses out, but Cooper and Grissom are selected, along with Marine John Glenn (Harris) and Navy pilot Alan Shepard (Glenn), among others. The Project Mercury astronauts are put through gruelling training, each hoping to be chosen for the first manned space flight.

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, but The Right Stuff continues the trend of slow-moving plots that has been somewhat of a hallmark of 1983's Best Picture nominees. Though, since this picture is a sprawling epic, the story moves around in place and time quite significantly, covering a lot of disparate ground, so admittedly, the casual pace is not really noticed beyond the first act.

The film is dated a bit by its occasional electronic music (composer Bill Conti won his sole Oscar for this score) and cheesy dialogue, along with, at times, contrived and theatrical direction. While that might seem a tad unfair considering the film is four decades old, let's remember I'm comparing it to four other films from the same year, at least one or two of which avoid triteness.

I was also torn by the film's slightly shaky sense of genre. It seems clear that this is a drama, first and foremost, with the inherent gravitas that comes with any story about loading human beings into claustrophobic metal cans and thrusting them into space. But the tone frequently veers toward broad comedy, as in the near slapstick presentation of laughably inappropriate potential recruits for the space program. Or the sequence when Shepard is strapped in, awaiting lift-off, but desperately needs to pee. We see the anguish on his face and are then treated to shot after shot of people turning on hoses, pouring glasses of water, flushing toilets, and so on. It's honestly like something from Airplane (that's Flying High to my Aussie readers). Normally, I'm all about comic relief in serious stories, but I fear these segments stretch the limits of realism a bit too far, weakening the aforementioned gravitas. Then again, it's certainly entertaining, so as you watch, just be prepared to take some sharp genre turns.

Chalk up another great ensemble for 1983 Best Picture nominees. The Right Stuff features outstanding performances from the likes of Sam Shepard (who doesn't play Alan Shepard), Scott Glenn (who doesn't play John Glenn), Ed Harris and a young Dennis Quaid. The real Chuck Yeager even makes a cameo appearance as a bartender. And let's not forget the Abbott-and-Costello-like team of Harry Shearer and Jeff Goldblum (pictured, after having accidentally put on each other's jackets) who brilliantly provide much of the film's comic relief.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the picture's Australian connection. While I doubt it was actually shot there, there is a sequence that takes place in Western Australia as John Glenn makes his first orbit around the Earth. It was gratifying to hear some natural Aussie accents, including that of celebrated Indigenous Australian actor David Gulpilil, who American audiences may recognise from Crocodile Dundee.