THE RIGHT STUFF: ANTHENTICITY THAT´S OUT OF THIS WORLD
The Right Stuff (1983) - Os Eleitos (1983)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman's space race movie tells the story of the Mercury Seven astronauts with wit, balance and historical accuracy
By Alex von Tunzelmann - 2 Jul 2014 - THE GUARDIAN.
After the second world war, the US ran a testing programme for high-speed, rocket-powered aircraft at Muroc field, later Edwards air force base, in southern California. The era also saw the early days of the space programme and the selection of the US's first astronauts, known as the Mercury Seven.
People
Philip Kaufman's epic yet gripping film begins with test pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) going for a drink in a local bar, and casually signing up to break the sound barrier. "If you ask me, I think the damn thing doesn't exist," he says gruffly. Then he falls off his horse while riding it around the desert in a daring competition with his firecracker wife Glennis (Barbara Hershey). He breaks two ribs, but pretends to be fine so they won't take him off the mission – and then successfully pilots the Bell X-1, becoming the first man to go faster than the speed of sound. Yeager appears to have sprung straight from the Big Book of American Heroes – strong jaw, cowboy hat, horse sense, stoic manner – but he really was like this, and doubtless still is. He last broke the sound barrier in 2012, aged 89, in an F-15. Total badass.
Technology
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, President Dwight D Eisenhower (Robert Beer) and Senator Lyndon B Johnson (Donald Moffat) are upset that the Soviets have gone and launched Sputnik-1 into outer space before they got their act together. "How the hell did they ever get ahead of us?" Johnson bellows. The answer is swiftly and amusingly illustrated when his aides cannot find the plug socket to get the meeting-room projector working. The chief scientist is unflustered. "Our Germans are better than their Germans," he says, alluding to the fact that both the Soviet and US rocket and space programmes after the war owed a great deal to former Nazi scientists.
Recruitment
The Americans plan to retaliate with the first manned space flight, though some think they should use an animal rather than a person. "The first American in space is not going to be a chimpanzee," growls Eisenhower. Possible candidates for astronauts included surfers, acrobats and rally drivers ("They already have their own helmets," says a scientific adviser, chirpily. "I don't know if that's a factor."). The film is right that it was Eisenhower who insisted that astronauts be drawn from a field of test pilots – even though they would have little role in actually piloting the craft.
Achievement
The star of the Mercury Seven is John Glenn (Ed Harris) – for he is both handsome and incredibly good at spouting wholesome patriotic platitudes in front of newsmen. "I just thank God I live in a country where the best and the finest in a man can be brought out," he says. Then the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space, beating the Americans again. Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn) has to settle for being the second. Furthermore, he desperately needs a wee before takeoff and has to go in his own spacesuit. This is accurate.
Controversy
Tom Wolfe's book The Right Stuff, a flashily written oral history of the space programme that served as the basis for this film, has been controversial for its portrayal of astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom (Fred Ward). Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 craft sank in the sea after the hatch opened too quickly on landing. Some blamed Grissom for panicking and opening the hatch himself. Grissom blamed it on a technical error. The film avoids showing the critical moment and thus leaves the question of what happened unanswered. In fact, Grissom may well not have been at fault – and the film is kinder to him than the book. Whatever the truth, the incident gives it a chance to show accurately the pressure that was on these men. "I wanted to eat in the White House!" his wife bawls afterwards. "I wanted to talk to Jackie [Kennedy] about … things!" Grissom was killed a few years later in the Apollo 1 fire of 1967.
Verdict
There are moments of dramatic licence, but overall The Right Stuff is a terrific historical film about the space race: accurately reflective of a complex reality, beautifully filmed, and done with wit, energy and an impressive sense of balance. Top marks.
SOMETHING ABOUT CHUCK YEAGER
General Chuck Yeager, at the ripe old age of 89 years (2012), boards an F-15 Eagle at Nellis AFB as part of an honor flight. The flight was conducted in recognition of the first manned supersonic flight, when Yeager broke the sound barrier in an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft on October 14, 1947. Filmed on October 14, 2012.
Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the X-1 at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m) over the Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. Yeager was awarded the MacKay and Collier Trophies in 1948 for his mach-transcending flight, and the Harmon International Trophy in 1954. The X-1 he flew that day was later put on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
THE APOLLO I ACCIDENT
Apollo 1 is a vital part of the history of manned spaceflight. The deaths of Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee should never be forgotten.
The Challenger and Columbia disasters are probably more well known due to the news coverage they received.
This video is to remind people of the sacrifice made by three astronauts, who are maybe less known to most people, but made a priceless contribution to the Apollo program. This led to man being successful in walking on the Moon. History should be preserved for the public, and true heroes always remembered.
Main source of research: THE GUARDIAN - Alex von Tunzelmann.
NASA: NASA WEBSITE.
The Right Stuff (1983) - Os Eleitos (1983)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman's space race movie tells the story of the Mercury Seven astronauts with wit, balance and historical accuracy
By Alex von Tunzelmann - 2 Jul 2014 - THE GUARDIAN.
After the second world war, the US ran a testing programme for high-speed, rocket-powered aircraft at Muroc field, later Edwards air force base, in southern California. The era also saw the early days of the space programme and the selection of the US's first astronauts, known as the Mercury Seven.
The Right Stuff - Os Eleitos - Official Trailer 1983.
People
Philip Kaufman's epic yet gripping film begins with test pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) going for a drink in a local bar, and casually signing up to break the sound barrier. "If you ask me, I think the damn thing doesn't exist," he says gruffly. Then he falls off his horse while riding it around the desert in a daring competition with his firecracker wife Glennis (Barbara Hershey). He breaks two ribs, but pretends to be fine so they won't take him off the mission – and then successfully pilots the Bell X-1, becoming the first man to go faster than the speed of sound. Yeager appears to have sprung straight from the Big Book of American Heroes – strong jaw, cowboy hat, horse sense, stoic manner – but he really was like this, and doubtless still is. He last broke the sound barrier in 2012, aged 89, in an F-15. Total badass.
Technology
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, President Dwight D Eisenhower (Robert Beer) and Senator Lyndon B Johnson (Donald Moffat) are upset that the Soviets have gone and launched Sputnik-1 into outer space before they got their act together. "How the hell did they ever get ahead of us?" Johnson bellows. The answer is swiftly and amusingly illustrated when his aides cannot find the plug socket to get the meeting-room projector working. The chief scientist is unflustered. "Our Germans are better than their Germans," he says, alluding to the fact that both the Soviet and US rocket and space programmes after the war owed a great deal to former Nazi scientists.
Recruitment
The Americans plan to retaliate with the first manned space flight, though some think they should use an animal rather than a person. "The first American in space is not going to be a chimpanzee," growls Eisenhower. Possible candidates for astronauts included surfers, acrobats and rally drivers ("They already have their own helmets," says a scientific adviser, chirpily. "I don't know if that's a factor."). The film is right that it was Eisenhower who insisted that astronauts be drawn from a field of test pilots – even though they would have little role in actually piloting the craft.
Achievement
The star of the Mercury Seven is John Glenn (Ed Harris) – for he is both handsome and incredibly good at spouting wholesome patriotic platitudes in front of newsmen. "I just thank God I live in a country where the best and the finest in a man can be brought out," he says. Then the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space, beating the Americans again. Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn) has to settle for being the second. Furthermore, he desperately needs a wee before takeoff and has to go in his own spacesuit. This is accurate.
Controversy
Tom Wolfe's book The Right Stuff, a flashily written oral history of the space programme that served as the basis for this film, has been controversial for its portrayal of astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom (Fred Ward). Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 craft sank in the sea after the hatch opened too quickly on landing. Some blamed Grissom for panicking and opening the hatch himself. Grissom blamed it on a technical error. The film avoids showing the critical moment and thus leaves the question of what happened unanswered. In fact, Grissom may well not have been at fault – and the film is kinder to him than the book. Whatever the truth, the incident gives it a chance to show accurately the pressure that was on these men. "I wanted to eat in the White House!" his wife bawls afterwards. "I wanted to talk to Jackie [Kennedy] about … things!" Grissom was killed a few years later in the Apollo 1 fire of 1967.
Verdict
There are moments of dramatic licence, but overall The Right Stuff is a terrific historical film about the space race: accurately reflective of a complex reality, beautifully filmed, and done with wit, energy and an impressive sense of balance. Top marks.
* * * * *
SOMETHING ABOUT CHUCK YEAGER
F-15 flight with Chuck Yeager - 2012.
Chuck Yeager Breaking the Sound Barrier - USA 1947.
General Chuck Yeager, at the ripe old age of 89 years (2012), boards an F-15 Eagle at Nellis AFB as part of an honor flight. The flight was conducted in recognition of the first manned supersonic flight, when Yeager broke the sound barrier in an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft on October 14, 1947. Filmed on October 14, 2012.
Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the X-1 at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m) over the Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. Yeager was awarded the MacKay and Collier Trophies in 1948 for his mach-transcending flight, and the Harmon International Trophy in 1954. The X-1 he flew that day was later put on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
THE APOLLO I ACCIDENT
Apollo 1 (AS-204) was scheduled to be the first manned flight of the Apollo program. On 27th January 1967, a fire broke out during a test which killed astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
This is the audio leading up to and including the fire.
Apollo 1 is a vital part of the history of manned spaceflight. The deaths of Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee should never be forgotten.
The Challenger and Columbia disasters are probably more well known due to the news coverage they received.
This video is to remind people of the sacrifice made by three astronauts, who are maybe less known to most people, but made a priceless contribution to the Apollo program. This led to man being successful in walking on the Moon. History should be preserved for the public, and true heroes always remembered.
* * * * *
Main source of research: THE GUARDIAN - Alex von Tunzelmann.
NASA: NASA WEBSITE.
* * * * *
Veja também no Portal Furnari: Cronologia da exploração espacial.
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