太空先锋

The Right Stuff

Basic information:

1983 (release date: February 17, 1984)

Production Company: The Ladd Company (financed by Warner Bros)

Director: Philip Kaufman

Writers: Philip Kaufman (written for the screen by), Tom Wolfe (based on the book by)

Genres: History, Biography, Drama

Certification: PG

Top Cast: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris

Taglines: By flying higher and faster than any other man had ever dared before, Chuck Yeager set the pace for a new breed of hero. Those that had just one thing in common…THE RIGHT STUFF.

Box Office:

Budget: $27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross US & Canada: $21,192,102

Gross Worldwide: $21,192,315

Academy Awards, USA, 1984:

Winner: Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Music, Original Score.

Nominee: Best Picture, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, etc.

Comments:

(From IMDb top reviews) The Right Stuff is terrific: exciting, complex, funny, crammed with memorable scenes, unforgettable lines, and wonderful actors…

If you believe the Age of Heroes is past, watch 'The Right Stuff', and you might change your mind! This is a film to treasure!

Characters:

The Right Stuff tells a story that once truly happened in the American history, the Project Mercury, the first manned space program in the USA. It’s a story of seven brave astronauts as well as uncountable fearless pilots, a story about how they punch through the barrier and how they break the edge of human beings. With a running time of 3 hours 13 minutes, this movie stresses the spirits of those pilots and astronauts again and again.

There are many people with different character and positions in this film. It’s a necessary to understand this movie from some typical roles.

Yeager: The protagonist of the movie, fearless, strong-willed, emulative.

When he saw the Bell Aircraft for the first time after attending a funeral of the pilot who sacrificed in the test flying, Yeager knew that he must have a try to break the sound barrier (a phenomenon that aircraft can’t work when its speed is close to the velocity of sound). Even though he realized that is extremely dangerous. He is fearless and determined. Finally, he made it, becoming the fastest man on earth.

But when the government asked him to become one of the Mercury’s astronaut, Yeager refused. At that time, He didn’t believe in the space mission’s reliability. However, in my opinion it’s the former great success he made in the test flying that makes him be afraid of failing, trying new challenge. He lived in his former glory.

Then after his pilot teammates, Gordon, Gus and Slayton succeeded in the space mission, he realized that he couldn’t dwell on past successes with his wife’s words (the old Beer bar’s being burned in the fire symbolizes Yeager’s former glory was gone and he had to go forward). “I guess I liked the kind of man who could push the outside of the envelope. But I never could stand a man who was one of those, ‘remember-whens’.” So, Yeager flied again. He was going to find where the limit of human beings lay.

Gordon: supporting role, the Mercury astronaut, hubris, confident.

When the press asked Gordon who was the best pilot in the world at the beginning of the movie, he said, “You are looking at him”. He is hubris that time. But then after he saw his teammates finish those dangerous missions and saw clearly what is hidden behind the government officers’ public masks—no respect for the lives of astronauts and pilots, he changed his words. He said, “It’s those who put their hides out on the line, hang the aircraft out over the edge, push back the outside of that envelope and haul it back here.” The best pilots are those can be fearless and determined.

The astronaut’s wife: fearless as well.

Their husband is engaged in one of the most dangerous job, risking life every time on mission. Gus’s wife, for example, she was looking forward to meeting president’s wife after Gus returned from space mission. But things went contrary to her wises, and she collapsed. Astronauts’ wives suffered great pressure. Fearless pilot needs fearless wife. At the same time, without their wives’ support, those astronauts won’t be such brave and determined.

In conclusion the movie is not going to figure out just one hero character. It stresses that the spirit of bravery in human beings. In addition, the director wants to tell us that the advance of human civilization is achieved not only through scientists’ hard work but also those who explore with their life, fearlessly.

Theme:

Main theme:

Americanism

This movie talks about a story, a group of American people about individualistic heroism. In another word, it’s a film of American “Main Melody”. And individualistic heroism in the movie is expressed as bravery, challenging the limit, and sacrifice.

By setting some big challenges like breaking the sound barrier, flying to the space and landing safely for the characters in the movie, and describing their feelings as well as behaviors when facing those challenges, the director makes the people such as Yeager become fearless and eager to challenge the limit.

Other themes:

The history of Cold War

Anyway, this is a history movie. The movie’s story is mainly in the 1982-1965, when the cold war between USSR and USA was on. The Project Mercury as well as the Star War Program, was outcome of that time.

And in this movie, director uses a method of editing that mixing the movie picture with some real historic videos in order to make the film look more real. For example, a piece that vice president Kennedy standing with the astronauts. Also, there are some pieces trying to satirize the soviet union’s space project. Of course, the story itself is based a real history in 1980s.

The relationship between human beings and universe

This is not an apparent theme. Human and universe are connected in some ways. And as human beings explore the outer-space with great bravery, the universe is waiting for humankind to find out its beauty and mystery.

It’s a small detail. In the latter part of the movie, when the astronaut John Glenn flying in the low-earth orbit, there appeared a lot of sparks like glowworm outside of his spacecraft. And at the same time on earth, some aborigines who specialized in observing the stars were performing mysterious rituals around the campfire. And the campfire was reeking of many sparks just like that in the space outside of John Glenn. It is trying to express some connection, I think.

Conclusion:

It’s a movie about bravery, exploration and heroism. With excellent editing, music and score as well as amazing frame, it tells story based on the real history. It’s a “Main Melody” movie. But what makes it special is that while telling a integrated story about American heroism it also raises some question about humankind, universe, and love.

References:

Douban (豆瓣), //www.douban.com/.

“The Right Stuff.” Ladd/WB, 1983.

“Ratings, Reviews, and Where to Watch the Best Movies & TV Shows.” IMDb, IMDb.com,

//www.imdb.com/.

一直以来能让我热血沸腾的只有两种人：骑士和飞行员。两次世界大战中的飞行员恰似天空中的骑士，在残酷肮脏的地面战场上空交戈，毫无意义的战争本身因为他们的存在，似乎也多了些绅士决斗的味道。 二战结束之后，导弹和喷气式战机的出现，让本来可以崇高悲壮的战争更堕落成了数死人的政客游戏。唯有飞行员还保持着天空主宰的潇洒本色，敢于挑战高空和极速的人，本来就不是畏生畏死的普通人可以想象的。 他们不在乎政客的勾心斗角，美苏争霸这种事在他们心里估计也只是个模糊的概念。争强好胜得像一群孩子，只是想比他们的对手飞的更高更快。才知道在太空时代的开始，愚蠢的智脑们还建议过马戏团演员，特技演员，冲浪运动员这些今天看来与飞船风马牛不相及的人来做宇航员。好在艾森奥威尔元帅英明，力排众议用试飞飞行员做候选人，所谓候选人必须易于管理，服从命令的要求是多么愚蠢。送了一只猩猩先上天的美帝于是输给了苏修。 看这部电影的时候，神九正在我们头顶环绕，中国的第一位女航天员没准在天宫实验室里玩魔方。回顾了九年前神五发射的那个时刻，还是浑身激动得一颤。 与美帝牛仔一般的宇航员不同，我们的航天员全部都是忠诚的军人，发射像是作战，要有出征仪式，还要肩负全国人民的重托。而那些把死亡率四分之一的试飞工作当高尔夫一样谈论的牛仔们，更在乎的是自己在媒体面前是不是有型。小姬在微博说，我们的航天员为什么看起来如此冰冷如此富于朝鲜气息？我相信大部分人有同感，但我敬重那些航天员，宁愿把这些疑问压在心底，已经做出了莫大牺牲航天员有什么是不能原谅的呢。 美帝的宇航员也是军人，却一个个个性鲜明，狂放不羁，不畏强权。那些用金钱把他们送上太空的政客在他们面前看起来都像是衣冠禽兽，他们大可以以宇航员为棋子与苏联博弈，却控制不了棋子走每一步时要用什么样的方式。 艾伦谢泼德发射之前尿在了宇航服里，十年后他在月球表面打了两杆高尔夫。约翰葛伦对负责人大吼，支持自己口吃的爱妻，让自大的副总统吃了又吃闭门羹，三十年后七十七岁的他又一次重返太空。这些行为让我看起来都如此可爱可敬又遥不可及。 挑战者号爆炸之后，里根在悼念演讲说道，现在他们面对的太空就像三百年前大航海时代的先驱们面对的大洋一般。每一条在探索航程上牺牲的生命都将被永远铭记。 韩松写过《宇宙墓碑》。那些在陌生星球上林立的宇航员墓碑如今还是能让我头皮发麻。人类在宇宙面前也许低进尘埃，却敢竖起中指逃逸出嘲笑一般的引力。 这些伟大又放荡的先驱者们，必将铭刻于首次飞越群星的飞船上。他们开启的是一个伟大的时代，我们都是伟大浪潮里微不足道的水花。 我多么希望中国的航天员有天能够像美国宇航员对休斯顿开玩笑一样对酒泉地面插科打诨。 “酒泉，这里是神舟九号，我现在要去天宫，额…貌似比传说中的小了些。” “收到，神舟九号，抱歉我们尽力了。” 伟大的先驱者们这样看起来才对味。我相信他们其实一样有血有肉，只是国情所限，中国军人的身份让他们分寸紧缩。 我能想象，第一个活着飞过星星的人发回地球的第一份信息肯定是，向开启宇航时代的先驱者致敬，他们是…… 借Jedicat的《道标人》的篇尾作结：向所有死了的，活着的，还有注定活着飞过星星的宇航员致敬！