‘The Right Stuff’ is one of the most glorious adventure films ever made, a story of incredible heroism, poignant romance, gripping drama, and broad humor…and amazingly, it has actually happened in our lifetimes! This is a tale of test pilots, ‘pushing the envelope’, proving the sound barrier couldn’t constrain mankind’s reach for space. Leading the way is plain-speaking Chuck Yeager (portrayed by Sam Shepard with Gary Cooper-like charm), a Beeman’s gum-chewing cowboy with a passion for his feisty wife (the beautiful Barbara Hershey), and hot planes. Not even a broken rib could hold him back when an opportunity to fly the X-1 was offered. His record-breaking flight could fill a movie by itself…and this is just the BEGINNING of the story! Jumping ahead a few years, Yeager is joined by a new breed of test pilots, whose total love of flight challenges their relationships, and is the true measure of how they define themselves. Among them are ‘Gordo’ Cooper (Dennis Quaid), a hot dog jet jockey with an unhappy wife (sensitively played by Pamela Reed); and Gus Grissom (brilliantly portrayed by Fred Ward), coarse and direct, and anxious for his shot at the fastest jets. The entire world changes when the Russians launch Sputnik, in 1957. As the American space program struggles to ‘catch up’, the government realizes that American men will have to go into space, and President Eisenhower wants test pilots to fill this role. Yeager is out (he never completed college), but Cooper …
