The Right Stuff

Richard W. · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:01 am

Shepard's my favorite.

"I'm cooler than you are. Why don't you fix your little problem and light this candle?"

The mission specialists that ride on the Shuttle must be very brave, too, but I can't imagine anyone at NASA saying anything like that now.

GrumpE · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:34 pm **Posts:** 162

On again today at 2:30 Central!

Edited.

And again on:

Fri Dec 05 @ 3:30PM | 2:30C
Sun Dec 07 @ 6:30AM | 5:30C
Mon Dec 22 @ 8PM | 7C
Tue Dec 23 @ 3:30PM | 2:30C

I agree that the DVD is much better but there is so little worth watching on regular cable you have to find the pearls!

Eric

Jesse C. · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:46 am

Don't you guys own the DVD?

I do, but every time if comes on the T.V. I just have to watch it!! Hoping that AMC will show it with its DVD commentary explaining stuff and telling you the factoids.

Who's the best pilot you ever saw?

Saville · **Joined:** Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:45 am **Posts:** 519

Heresy alert:

I thought it was a mediocre movie. Maybe even worse than that.

BUT I will say that may largely be due to the fact that I had read the book (many times) before the movie came out. There are just some things in the book that come across well in the third person narration, that are hopelessly clunky on film.

One example is the relative treatments of the "Military Compact". In texts it's hilariously funny and interesting. In the movie, to have it introduced by a wife complaining, "Hey what about the Military Compact???" Well it was embarassingly awkward. People don't talk like that.

Also I found the book to be stomach-achingly funny. The first time I read it I couldn't breath I was laughing so hard. But not so the movie.

That said, do I watch it whenever it's on?

Yeah.

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:41 pm

i've heard many times yeager was less than pleased with his portrayal in the movie. any feedback??

Zachary · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:45 pm

tom d. friedman wrote:

i've heard many times yeager was less than pleased with his portrayal in the movie. any feedback??

You mean the fact that he didn't get more camera time at the Happy Bottom Riding Club? :lol:

Zack

kenlyco · **Joined:** Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:05 pm **Posts:** 656

Good once.

p51 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:50 pm

I was going to get the DVD after Christmas if my wife doesn't get it for me. Still, I just finished reading Yeager's autobiography (sue me, I never got around to reading it before) and now I realize how inaccurate the movie really is. I knew even back then that they didn't just hand over the X-1 or Yeager later didn't just decide to take that 104 up to break the "world's deepest landing" record, but now those scenes won't seem as cool as they did when I saw the movie back then. Also, Jack Ridley died in a plane crash in Japan (he wasn't the pilot) on March 12, 1957. Yeager's NF-104A crash was on December 10, 1963. I can only guess that Yeager got tired of telling the movie people, "I just didn't happen like that."

dfrat · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:54 am

Who owned the F-104, T-33 and F-86 in the last scenes? Or were they still owned by the Air Force. That is one nice looking F-104.

Randy Haskin · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:14 am

p51 wrote:

I can only guess that Yeager got tired of telling the movie people, "I just didn't happen like that."

During the press tour for the movie, he often said, "That movie's entertainment, not a documentary."

BCalmes · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:20 am

Quote:

i've heard many times yeager was less than pleased with his portrayal in the movie. any feedback??

Without that movie, how many books would he have sold to Joe Public? "Chuck Who? He flew a what?"

BHawthorne · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:24 am

Saville wrote:

Heresy alert:

I thought it was a mediocre movie. Maybe even worse than that.

BUT I will say that may largely be due to the fact that I had read the book (many times) before the movie came out. There are just some things in the book that come across well in the third person narration, that are hopelessly clunky on film.

I always have a hard time buying book vs movie adaptation arguements. Each media type excels in different ways. There are things books do wonderfully but other things they convey badly. Same goes with movie formulations. I say let movies do what movies do best and let books do what books do best and not muttle matters by comparing apples and oranges. :wink:

Saville · **Joined:** Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:45 am **Posts:** 519

dfrat wrote:

Who owned the F-104, T-33 and F-86 in the last scenes? Or were they still owned by the Air Force. That is one nice looking F-104.

I just noticed that there was an F-106 taxiing in the background while Sam Shepard (CY) was looking over the NF-104. Where was that portion filmed? Would there have been an active 106 back then?

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:34 pm

Saville wrote:

dfrat wrote:

Who owned the F-104, T-33 and F-86 in the last scenes? Or were they still owned by the Air Force. That is one nice looking F-104.

I just noticed that there was an F-106 taxiing in the background while Sam Shepard (CY) was looking over the NF-104. Where was that portion filmed? Would there have been an active 106 back then?

Filmed in 1982 at Edwards AFB.
Jerry

Saville · **Joined:** Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:45 am **Posts:** 519

BHawthorne wrote:

I always have a hard time buying book vs movie adaptation arguements. Each media type excels in different ways. There are things books do wonderfully but other things they convey badly. Same goes with movie formulations. I say let movies do what movies do best and let books do what books do best and not muttle matters by comparing apples and oranges. :wink:

I agree that some things don't transfer well from one medium to another. So I say - don't try to transfer them. Like the example I gave.

Several books transfered well to movies - the one that comes immediately to mind is "The Hunt for Red October"

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