The Right Stuff

[N_Danger]

 One of the movies up on Netflix (NA) right now is, The Right Stuff.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff_(film)

You should watch it if you haven't seen it before. I think it is one of Jeb's favorite movies. 

[NorthernDevo]

Jeb would certainly like it.  As American films go, The Right Stuff is first-class; one of the best; a fast-paced, fun adventure. It is a fictional movie; it follows Tom Clancy's novel rather than real life, but nevertheless is close enough to reality to enthrall us.

The cast is perfect: Ed Harris, Sam Shepard (who spent a lot of time with General Yeager, learning how to play the legendary pilot), Scott Glen and Fred Ward do a fantastic job in the film. But The Right Stuff is more than just a pilot movie; it highlights the home-front as well and the women - Barbara Hershey, Veronica Cartwright and Mary Jo Deschanel - are given pride of place as well.

I've heard critics say that The Right Stuff 'makes you proud to be an American'. I'm sure that's true - though not being American that aspect doesn't interest me. The movie makes me proud to be a pilot - to revel in the fact that as a stick-and-rudder man I have a great history and culture behind me. OK; those guys might be blasting off into orbit and I'm stuck grinding around Southern Ontario in a Cessna 172, but let's be honest here: what pilot on this forum hasn't hummed 'Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder' on takeoff one or twice?  Or gone "Ba Baba bahh bahh BAHHH!!!" (the music from Top Gun) halfway through a turn?

If anyone hasn't seen The Right Stuff; I couldn't recommend it more. Great story, great acting, great flying and a whole lotta fun.

 

Cheers!

[Ten Key]

9 hours ago, NorthernDevo said:

it follows Tom Clancy's novel rather than real life

Tom Wolfe.

[Motokid600]

I was always confusesd as to why they depicted Gus Grissom having a panic attack after he landed and blew the hatch. Every documentary I've ever seen always says it was a mechanical failure. But in the Right Stuff they defiantly depict Gus in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

Edited April 2, 2016 by Motokid600

[GDJ]

Just now, Motokid600 said:

I was always confusesd as to why they depicted Gus Grissom having a panic attack after he landed and blew the hatch. Every documentary I've ever seen always says it was a mechanical failure. But in the Right Stuff they definitely depict Gus in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

I didn't like that part either. Everything I've read about Gus stated that he was a professional right to the end, no matter the mission.

[NorthernDevo]

1 hour ago, Motokid600 said:

I was always confusesd as to why they depicted Gus Grissom having a panic attack after he landed and blew the hatch. Every documentary I've ever seen always says it was a mechanical failure. But in the Right Stuff they defiantly depict Gus in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

 

1 hour ago, Ten Key said:

Tom Wolfe.

Umm...oops.... (whistles innocently)

[Motokid600]

So Tom Wolfe wrote in the panic attack? Just to add drama Im guessing...

[N_Danger]

 Lot of movies "based on actual events" are spiced up because of Hollywood's assumption of the average movie goer's ability to follow a difficult subject.

16 minutes ago, Motokid600 said:

So Tom Wolfe wrote in the panic attack? Just to add drama Im guessing...

 I think that was the case. Or it was simply a mistake, they do happen to the best of them. But a test pilot having a panic attack is hard to believe after the most dangerous part of the flight is over. 

[razark]

2 hours ago, Motokid600 said:

I was always confusesd as to why they depicted Gus Grissom having a panic attack after he landed and blew the hatch. Every documentary I've ever seen always says it was a mechanical failure. But in the Right Stuff they defiantly depict Gus in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

"Never let the facts get in the way of a great story" is how my father described the book/movie.

Edited April 2, 2016 by razark

[Ten Key]

Just playing Devil's Advocate here, but I think nearly drowning would be enough to light up the PANIC part of most people's brains. Test pilots are still human beings, if only just.

[ToukieToucan]

I remember the astronauts interviewed in " In the shadow of the moon" talking about 'the right stuff'.

 

[benzman]

One of my favourite books and, despite all the flaky bits, one of my favourite aviation movies.  That and 'High road to China'.

 

[Motokid600]

3 hours ago, Ten Key said:

Just playing Devil's Advocate here, but I think nearly drowning would be enough to light up the PANIC part of most people's brains. Test pilots are still human beings, if only just.

No the nearly drowning part didn't come until after the hatch was blown. In the movie ( and in the book apparently ) Grissom seems to start having a panic attack as he is sitting in the capsule listing in the waves. The next scene the hatch blows and he nearly drowns trying to get saved. Followed by this internal struggle the rest of the movie over whether or not he panicked and blew the hatch or if it was a mechanical failure. The movie strongly leaned toward the former in several scenes.

3 hours ago, razark said:

"Never let the facts get in the way of a great story" is how my father described the book/movie.

Yea, but were talking about an American hero here who happened to perish. The book was written in 79. Apollo 1 was in 67. So the writer Tom Wolfe chose to depict Grissom as a more dramatic, les professional person which in my opinion was a bit distasteful. But don't get me wrong I love the movie I must've watched it five times. The Right Stuff is great stuff. Grissom's accident was the only downer for me.

Question. Bit off topic, but... Has anyone seen From the Earth to the Moon in Blu-ray yet?

 

Edited April 2, 2016 by Motokid600

[Spaceception]

Watching it now, thanks for letting us know it was on Netflix

[Bill Phil]

5 hours ago, Motokid600 said:

I was always confusesd as to why they depicted Gus Grissom having a panic attack after he landed and blew the hatch. Every documentary I've ever seen always says it was a mechanical failure. But in the Right Stuff they defiantly depict Gus in the beginnings of a panic attack. 

Because he was going to lose his trinkets... Idk. It doesn't matter.

[legoclone09]

My friend watched it last night as well as a ton of other things. I think he binged on Red Vs. Blue.

[StrandedonEarth]

I've read The Right Stuff a few times, although the last time would have been probably 30 years ago. I don't recall the book saying that Gus blew the hatch, but of course the question of the hatch was never definitively answered either. Time to go to the library, I guess, unless I can find it as a free e-book.

Another novel in the same vein is Space, by James A. Michener. Completely fictional, it includes some tales from WWII and the Korean war, as well as an Apollo 18 mission. It is pretty lengthy though. In fact, I recall an SNL (or MadTV) skit poking fun at the length of Michener's novels, advertising his new book "Infinity" with the tag line "It goes on forever"

 

[Motokid600]

16 hours ago, Bill Phil said:

Because he was going to lose his trinkets... Idk. It doesn't matter.

It kinda does. Gus Grissom was a great man and I did not like the distasteful way they portrayed him in the movie.

[Bill Phil]

5 minutes ago, Motokid600 said:

It kinda does. Gus Grissom was a great man and I did not like the distasteful way they portrayed him in the movie.

They made him awesome, or at least that's how I saw it.

Ans wether or not a person is great is really a matter of perspective.

[tater]

Yeah, Grissom was the major negative in that film, which was otherwise pretty good, and is why the phrase "screwed the pooch" is something I still use, lol.

[Motokid600]

41 minutes ago, Bill Phil said:

They made him awesome, or at least that's how I saw it.

Ans wether or not a person is great is really a matter of perspective.

No they didn't they made him look like a fool. The latter is irrelevant.

[Bill Phil]

2 minutes ago, Motokid600 said:

No they didn't they made him look like a fool. The latter is irrelevant.

They made all the astronauts pretty cool. They had the titular "Right Stuff."

The latter is very relevant. The writers may have seen Grissom as not that great. In fact, many famous people usually aren't that great.

[Motokid600]

1 hour ago, Bill Phil said:

 

The latter is very relevant. The writers may have seen Grissom as not that great. In fact, many famous people usually aren't that great.

I guess that was indeed the case for why he depicted Grissom as he did. I personally think he was wrong to do so.

[p1t1o]

One of my favorite lines of all time from The Simpsons:

[I think its near the end of the episode where Homer goes to space]

"Yeah, I've got the right....what's that stuff?"

[bmyers831]

NASA grounded plenty of Astronauts for what look to me like lessor violations (like Apollo 7 astronauts refusing to wear their helmets on re-entry).  If they had some wiff of doubt over Grissom he never would have flown on Gemini 3 or been made the first commander of an Apollo mission.  I think there are two important clues on this matter.  He didn't have the tell tail bruising that the other Astronauts had on them after pushing the plunger to blow the bolts, and the fact that the recovered capsule's titanium door strip was bent over an inch- a clear sign of being damaged.

I think it's just an example of faulty wiring in the capsule.  If that were the case it's ironic that he died to do faulty wiring on Apollo 1.