tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post768991218142276594..comments2024-02-19T08:20:10.456-06:00Comments on Public Transportation Snob: The Right Stuff: Fulfilling the American MythDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-42656554418746445572014-02-05T22:14:40.140-06:002014-02-05T22:14:40.140-06:00It had been a little while since I'd seen The ...It had been a little while since I'd seen The Right STuff, so it was great to remember just how good it is. Thanks. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-69901559811592777062014-02-05T16:10:10.035-06:002014-02-05T16:10:10.035-06:00Wonderful write-up, Dan. This is true masterpiece ...Wonderful write-up, Dan. This is true masterpiece of film, story, and history. Well done.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-50421302534869499362014-01-18T20:04:55.720-06:002014-01-18T20:04:55.720-06:00Thanks Richard! I'm really surprised to win (...Thanks Richard! I'm really surprised to win (or even be nominated). The Right Stuff is such a great movie. I know that my dad watched it as a kid (he's an engineer who worked for a little while on the space program), but I didn't really get into it until catching up with it as an adult. I hadn't watched it in a while until this month, and it was even better than I remembered it. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-89297305543514278172014-01-18T18:32:31.778-06:002014-01-18T18:32:31.778-06:00I love this movie and recommend it to anyone who h...I love this movie and recommend it to anyone who has missed it. It is my wife's favorite movie and I have to sneak past it if it is on or we will be watching Yeager, Sheppard, Grissom and Glen for three hours. There is a recent Blu Ray release that I have to pick up. Congratulations on your Golden Katz also. Richard Kirkhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16428986542891346618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-56227080730446823952014-01-16T23:03:55.633-06:002014-01-16T23:03:55.633-06:00Dan, I do think the '80s release played a role...Dan, I do think the '80s release played a role in The Right Stuff not being as recognized. Also, it wasn't a huge financial success despite the critical acclaim and award nominations. Plus, a movie about the space program that crosses three hours without any big stars (at the time) is a tricky sell. I think it takes someone fairly interested in space to really get drawn into it. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-13001054775380813042014-01-16T17:44:13.789-06:002014-01-16T17:44:13.789-06:00Interesting read Dan. I think relating the film to...Interesting read Dan. I think relating the film to the American Dream myth brings a new dimension to it that perhaps I haven't appreciated. The film didn't really strike a chord with me when I first saw it and consequently I haven't returned to it. It does feel like a forgotten classic - a film widely regarded and applauded by film writers and historians but not talked about in popular mainstream conversations about classics of the era. Maybe it is the fact it was made in the 1980s which is so easily discarded in serious cinema conversation as Hollywood's decade of excess, action heroes, bad comedies and sequels. It appears, quite clearly, that the decade produced some great films. Danhttp://www.top10films.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-79581154332634282622014-01-11T21:00:46.104-06:002014-01-11T21:00:46.104-06:00That's a great episode, with Dave Foley hittin...That's a great episode, with Dave Foley hitting just the right notes as Al Bean. My favorite is "Spider" with the engineers trying to develop the LEM. It hits all the right notes for me. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-29776603641586480292014-01-11T17:55:04.193-06:002014-01-11T17:55:04.193-06:00I love that mini-series. I think it's one of ...I love that mini-series. I think it's one of the best stories about the space program. My favorite episode is based on Apollo 12. It's so hilarious.thevoid99https://www.blogger.com/profile/03055459287396592446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-64569593784715152072014-01-10T20:36:08.464-06:002014-01-10T20:36:08.464-06:00I still need to see Gravity, which is sad because ...I still need to see Gravity, which is sad because I'm such a space junkie. I didn't see The Right Stuff until about 10 years ago, but it's one of my favorites about the space program. Have you see the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon? I think that does a great job of presenting the time after the events of this movie. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-8113065047572484342014-01-10T20:34:43.618-06:002014-01-10T20:34:43.618-06:00Chip, you're right that the scene with the ast...Chip, you're right that the scene with the astronaut sleeping in the capsule is in this movie. It's Gordo Cooper (Dennis Quaid) in the last Mercury flight. <br /><br />I've read a lot of books on the subject, and it's really too bad that the space program changed after Apollo. There were a lot of reasons for this switch. The public lost interest when going to the moon seemed too easy. Nixon didn't believe in the space program. Vietnam was a killer. Plus, there was no big enemy like the Soviet Union. Hopefully things will turn around in my lifetime. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-9027947799874308842014-01-10T19:57:05.478-06:002014-01-10T19:57:05.478-06:00I love this film. It's a film I grew up watch...I love this film. It's a film I grew up watching as a kid and made want to go to outer space. Yet, if that same kid saw <i>Gravity</i>. He'd have nightmares. thevoid99https://www.blogger.com/profile/03055459287396592446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-71430883444746829312014-01-10T16:29:46.285-06:002014-01-10T16:29:46.285-06:00I'm old enough that I wanted to be an astronau...I'm old enough that I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. (And yes, I did drink Tang.)<br /><br />I liked this film because it showed the massive effort that went into this and that it certainly wasn't an endevor for those looking for an easy path in life.<br /><br />And I agree on the humor, too. I believe there's a scene where one of the astronauts literally falls asleep in the capsule before the launch and they can hear him snoring in Mission Control. (I've seen a ton of films on the space program, so I might be mixing this in from another movie.)<br /><br />Mars is on something like a 23 year cycle where it goes from being 20 million miles away to 40 million miles away, depending on its orbit and Earth's. 1983 would have been the first time after the Apollo missions where it would have been closest. A long time ago I read a couple of what appeared to be well-researched articles whose premise was that if the space program had continued to receive the investment from the government at the same rate it had in the 1960s then we would have been on Mars in 1983. Obviously, that didn't happen and we've gone through another such cycle in the time since then.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-54941706169994850192014-01-10T12:04:38.323-06:002014-01-10T12:04:38.323-06:00Steve, I've read Rocket Men and a heck of a lo...Steve, I've read Rocket Men and a heck of a lot of other books about the space program. My favorite is A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin, but that's a good one too. Yeager is definitely a bad ass.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-21936654086659639812014-01-10T08:40:40.324-06:002014-01-10T08:40:40.324-06:00I agree. This is a sadly forgotten film and it'...I agree. This is a sadly forgotten film and it's one that people should talk about more. <br /><br />As it happens, I'm currently reading Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon. The story behind Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo is even stranger than The Right Stuff would have you believe.<br /><br />Also, this is the film that, historically accurate or not, made me realize just how bad ass Chuck Yeager really is. SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.com