Earlier this month, after an East Coast vacation, but before the rest of the family returned, I hunkered down for the entire 3+ hours of The Right Stuff.
Long ago, I read Chuck Yeager’s autobiography (title: “Yeager), so I enjoyed the almost-parallel tale of Yeager’s pursuit of the speed & altitude records. But the Mercury space program is the focus of The Right Stuff, with an emphasis on the very human teamwork and rivalries that bound the first group of astronauts.
The movie did win Best Picture, among other Academy Awards. Three hours is still a long time. I wanted to see it, and enjoyed it…but I was ready to go bed at the end!
Not having read the book, I lack insight into the differences.
The music, though, is fun and appropriate throughout. Clair de lune by Claude Debussy is played as a tune of reflection and celebration near the end. I was instantly returned to the end of Ocean’s Eleven, with the Bellagio’s fountains soaring. Yes, I have the reference backwards, chronologically…but that’s the order in which I saw the films. You can listen/see the music for yourself in many, many versions on YouTube, including this one.