Right Stuff, The: 30th Anniversary (Blu-ray Book)

Unbelievably well made movie. Cast full of legends. Quite faithful to historical records. With just enough whimsy to make it feel even more inspirational

Great movie how the first astronauts came to be…very proud to be an American!

There are already a great many reviews here providing a summary of the plot, opinions on historical accuracy and acting. Therefore, this review will only focus upon the actual quality of the transfer of the 30th Anniversary Edition to Blue Ray. Keep in mind that the quality of what you see and hear also depends upon the quality of TV monitor you are using and its accompanying home theater processor and speakers. I have a pretty high end, esoteric system and am judging the Blu Ray off of that. VIDEO.... This film has been properly remastered for both the video and audio, of that I have no doubt. Despite a Mbps rate that is lower than many current films on Blu Ray, averaging in the mid to high 20's, the flesh tones are spot on and color resolution throughout the film on BR is excellent. While blacks do not go as deep toward pluge as other movies on Blu Ray, for a film this old, they appear just fine. Details are easily scene, even in the desert and field shots. Since this was shot on film, there is a softer focus to the film's imaging but, all in all, this remastering is quite excellent. At no point did I see any artifacting or aliasing and there are a number of shots where stair stepping could have been created but, thankfully, weren't. AUDIO... Audio is Dolby True HD 5.1 lossless and they did an excellent job with the audio editing with extensive use of panning between the front and rear stages as well as discreet directionality for foley fx in the surrounds. Having a 7.1 audio system, I found that the two extra surrounds really added a great deal to the audio mix and immersed oneself into the roar of the jets. There are not that many older films, or even new ones, with such an excellent use of the home theater surround stages. EXTRAS... Really quality extras on the second disc with documentaries that go past a simple 'Making Of'. There was a goodly use of real and historic footage from the era, as well as focus on the story development, footage of the creation of the effects before there was CGI and some honest and interesting interviews all done recently and not back 30 years ago. How the actors see things now in retrospect after all this time was illuminating. There were also interactive time lines of the Americas space race and a great deal more that I haven't yet seen. This movie is over 3 hours long and you get about that just in the extras as well. I did not have this film on a Standard Def DVD but am completely happy I have it on Blu Ray. I do hope that this review has been of some HELP to you in deciding your purchase. All my reviews focus solely upon the quality of the actual disc and not redundant summaries and acting opinions. Thanks for reading.

Epic films have a tendency to collapse under their own weight. The directors have a tendency to concentrate on visual style and production value so much they neglect the screenplay and character development. Epics like Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia and Patton are rare. All too often, epic films turn into a bloated critical and financial disaster. Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff avoids all of these pitfalls and tells the stories of the very human figures involved in the birth of the U.S. space program. Covering the period from Chuck Yeager's historic, but, at the time, overlooked breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 to the end of the Mercury program in 1963, The Right Stuff inspires awe through its stunning visual effects and scope while still maintaining its characters' humanity. The recreations of the early space flights are stunning with visual effects that still hold up well today. In addition, Kaufman obtained permission to film many sequences at AMES-NASA in California, adding realism and scope that no set designer would likely be able to match. Kaufman recreates the era perfectly -- clothes, cars, etc. feel just right. And Bill Conti's musical score, one of the most memorable in film history, is exhilirating. It's a flawless production that doesn't miss a single technical step. All of this, however, would be meaningless if Kaufman had cardboard characters to work with. But he instead portrays the characters as human beings with human flaws. Chuck Yeager is racked with self-doubt and regret over his non-participation in the space program. The astronauts are not Charlton Heston types -- clean cut cardboard cutouts with impeccable moral values. These astronauts womanize, drink heavily and sometimes behave as if NASA is a big frat party. Showing these flaws, however, does not alienate the audience and instead makes us identify with and sympathize with them. The astronauts' wives are each given their own identity with their own insecurities and fears. The film, however, is not a soap opera. In fact, The Right Stuff is very funny in some sections. The film has the confidence in its vision and doesn't fall into the trap of solemn sobriety that bogs down so many other epics. The cast includes Scott Glenn as Alan Sheperd, Ed Harris as John Glenn (a dead ringer if I ever saw one), Sam Sheperd as Chuck Yeager, Barbara Hershey as Glynnis Yeager, Dennis Quaid as Gordon Cooper, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom, Veronia Cartwright as Betty Grissom, Pamela Reed as Trudy Cooper and cameos by Kim Stanley, Eric Sevareid and Chuck Yeager himself. Each part is perfectly cast. The Right Stuff is three hours and 13 minutes long, but doesn't feel like it's that long at all. It's one of the most memorable films of all time and makes you proud to be an American. It's certainly the most human epic I've ever seen. It's a shame that the film didn't win more recognition from either the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or the American Film Institute (I would certainly rank this film higher than Dr. Zhivago). Like Roger Ebert said, The Right Stuff is a great American film. The DVD is clear, with great sound. My only complaint is that halfway through the film, the viewer has to turn over the DVD to side B. This, however, is probably made necessary by the film's length. Otherwise, however, it's a fine DVD.

The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition) (1983) is a fine and very entertaining film, but not a terribly accurate documentary about Project Mercury which I rate at four stars. This version of the DVD includes a very interesting special on the shuttle flight of John Glenn in his senior years. Much of The Right Stuff was accurate and very entertaining. However, several technical facts were just plain wrong: 1) Never was there any question about a chimp or an astronaut being first aboard a US rocket. A chimp had to go first. 2) John Glenn was never going to orbit the Earth seven times and his "Go for at least seven orbits" meant that his orbital elements would support such a flight. 3) John Glenn was brought down after three orbits, just as planned. 4) The team of capsule designers was not made up of German rocket scientists. The discussion concerning a capsule window took place with an Amercian designer and probably under very different circumstances. 5) Von Braun never negotiated capsule design with John Glenn or any of the astronauts. Dr. Von Braun was a propulsion engineer and as Carpenter said during his interview, he was almost always correct. 6) Gus Grissom should not have been portraid as a "bumbling hatch blower" and was eventually cleared of all responsibility for the sinking of Liberty Bell 7. The Gus character did not give due credit for his abilities as a test pilot or an engineer (or provide him proper honor in his subsequent death aboard the Apollo 1 disaster).

昔劇場で観た名作を手元に置きたくて購入。 1年以上経ってからの視聴だが、古いという印象は感じなかった。 名作は永遠なのかと思った。 この映画が公開された当時の洋画は名作が目白押しだった。 今の分かり易いが中身がスカスカな映画と違って、見応えのある映画ばかりだった。 若い人たちにも、そんな時代の映画を是非見て貰いたいと思います。

Gostei muito

This is a movie that makes me want to read about all of the history of the astronauts and pilots from the Wright brothers to present day. Excellent quality, well made, a few appropriately placed swear words and I am sure there was also a little theatrical licence in the story. Well done!

...ist leider eine recht "billige" Veröffentlichung. Einfach nur der Film in einem blauen HD-KeepCase ohne Wendecover und ohne Extras. "Der Stoff aus dem die Helden sind" ist wie auch "Apollo 13" einer von den Filmen, welche bei mir ca. alle 5 Jahre mal im Player landen...einfach weil sie interessant, spannend und gut inszeniert sind. Natürlich sollte man auch ein kleiner Fan solcher Raumfahrtabenteuer sein. In "The Right Stuff", so der Originaltitel, wird sehr detaliert und ausführlich die Geschichte der amerikanischen Raumfahrt (vor allem die Frühphase) beschrieben. Mit einem Wahnsinns-Staraufgebot (Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Lance Henriksen), einer guten Dosis Humor und jeder Menge Flugaction wird man hier über 3 Stunden top unterhalten. Die Bluray bietet den Film (anders als uns das Backcover mit 130 min sagen will) in der ungeschnittenen Kinoversion mit einer Lauflänge von ca. 193 Minuten. Das Bildformat ist 16:9/1,85:1 (1080p). Mit heutigen Hochglanzproduktionen kann sich das Bild von der Quali her auf keinen Fall messen. Trotzdem bin ich sehr zufrieden: schöne warme Farbgebung, alles klar und detailreich (Weiterentwicklung zur DVD klar ersichtlich), sehr guter Schwarzwert, immer wieder auftretendes leichtes Filmkorn (stört mich persönlich nicht) und einige Szenen sind mit Absicht auf alt getrimmt und in schwarz/weiß um als Nachrichtensendung besser durchzugehen...also nicht erschrecken. Allein die Szenen, welche am Tag oder draußen spielen sind wunderbar geworden und das Umrüsten von DVD auf Bluray wert. Der deutsche Ton liegt in DD 5.1 vor und hat sich bis auf ein wenig mehr Bass kaum verändert zur DVD. Gute Räumlichkeit, die Dialoge sind immer verständlich und die Musik ist nicht zu laut. Es fehlt allerdings irgendwie das Feeling im Vergleich mit der Originaltonspur in Englisch True HD 5.1. Dort ist alles nochmal eine Spur besser...vor allem die Umgebungsgeräusche und auch der Bass zündet noch eine Spur besser. Deutsche Untertitel (und auch englische) sind vorhanden....allerdings für Hörgeschädigte, d.h. es werden auch Geräusche ect. beschrieben. Wie gesagt gibt es leider keinerlei Extras. In den USA gibts es ein Media-DigiBook mit der Bluray (identisch mit der deutschen Bluray) und einer Bonus-DVD mit den Specials der 2003er DVD-Veröffentlichung. Allerdings ist diese Bonus-DVD wohl nur mit RegionFree Playern abspielbar (die Bluray ist RegionFree). Also habe ich mir (besaß bisher nur eine Einzel-DVD mit dem Film) die deutsche DVD-Special Edition für nicht mal 5 Euro besorgt. Diese hat ein recht schön gestaltetes DigiPack im Schuber ohne nerviges FSK-Logo. Habe dann einfach die DVD dieser Special Edition weiterverschenkt und gegen die Bluray ausgetauscht. Somit habe ich insgesamt nicht mal 15 Euro für meine "Bluray Special Edition" bezahlt ;-) nur so als Tipp...wem die Bluray in der Billig-Verpackung nicht reicht. Als Bonus sind auf der DVD enthalten: - John Glenn - American Hero (ca. 87 min) - Umsetzung von "Der Stoff aus dem die Helden sind" (ca. 21 min) - T-20 Jahre und der Countdown läuft weiter (ca. 12 min) - Die wahren Helden (ca. 16 min) - ausgewählte Szenen mit 2 Kommentarspuren (ca. 25 min) - Deleted Scenes - Kinotrailer - Interaktiver Zeitplan ins Weltall ...da ich gerne Extras schaue, hat sich der geringe Mehraufwand nur für die Specials-DVD für mich persönlich gelohnt. Die 5 Sterne gibts hier nur für den Film an sich. Die deutsche Bluray-Veröffentlichung wird dem Gesamtkunstwerk (immerhin 4 Oscars) nicht gerecht. Schade, aber wie gesagt gibts ja Möglichkeiten für Sammler seine eigene "Edition" zu erstellen oder eben zur US-Version zu greifen.

Ho saputo di questo FILM leggendo che Nolan, il regista, lo ha fatto vedere ai protagonisti di INTERSTELLAR come preparazione al film. Un docufilm bellissimo, internet è piena di recensioni e di commenti: il Blue ray fisicamente è fatto benissimo; un bel cartonato simil libro con dentro un booklet informativo. Certo ha un costo elevato ma si paga la qualità e ne vale la pensa. Consigliatissimo per gli appassionati.