people who enjoy science fiction are often faced with unpleasant surprises due to the improper labelling of novels , stories , comic books or movies . often science fiction aficionados find material , previously labelled as science fiction , to be pure fantasy or supernatural horror , or rather simple techno-thriller . in such cases , mistakes are understandable - genre boundaries are never clearly marked . but , i believe there are really few cases when a movie labelled as science fiction actually happens to be straight historical epic . such thing occurred in former yugoslavia some fifteen years ago , when national distributors gave such treatment to the right stuff , 1983 film directed by philip kaufman . the mistake of the distributors could be explained with the fact that the official poster of the film features men in space suits . but the right stuff film isn't even fiction . it was based on the non-fiction book by tom wolfe , covering the early years of american space program . the plot of the film begins in 1947 when few people heard of edwards air force base , major test site for experimental planes . the major aim of test flights is to determine ability of manned aircraft to reach 1 mach speed and thus break the sound barrier . many pilots tried to achieve that goal and many paid with their lives for such bravado . but one quiet pilot , chuck eager ( played by sam shaped ) succeeds and thus gives example for whole new generation of test pilots , determined to enter history books by breaking new speed records . ten years later , soviets have launched " sputnik " marking the beginning of the space age . in order to regain national prestige , us government decides to be the first to send man into space . best air force , navy and marine pilots are recruited into program , but not yeager , because he lacks college education and desired all-american image . in one of critics' polls the right stuff <POS> was named as one among top 10 films </POS> made in 1980s . such high position could be explained with the fact that kaufman's film looks quite atypical for its time . with more than three hours of length and epic scope it looked more suitable for 1950s and 1960s - age when hollywood used to make films larger than life . but the real reason lies in the fact that <POS> it was made by truly remarkable and talented filmmaker </POS> . philip kaufman created reputation in 1970s by using all the opportunities of that golden age in order to create original , memorable movies . the right stuff was the last of them , swan song of an era when producers allowed directors to spend big bucks on unusual , risk-taking " artsy " projects . the right stuff is unusual because it lacks many standard elements of hollywood film . the plot is almost non-existent and not very coherent ; the story , <POS> featuring many interesting incidents and anecdotes </POS> , shifts focus from the old generation of test pilots , embodied in yeager , to new generation of the astronauts . the film also lacks conventional protagonist - yeager ( who also appears in small cameo ) remains the true hero of the film , but equal time and exposure is also given to other astronauts and their wives , making this movie into ensemble piece . that gave opportunity for kaufman to use <POS> multitude of great acting talents </POS> , until that specialised only for bit or character roles . sam shepard is great as yeager , war hero whose greatest achievement - breech of the sound barrier - remained obscured in history books , probably due to his own modesty . on the surface , he lacks personality compared with his hyped and more fortunate astronaut colleagues , but shepard <POS> gives texture to this character </POS> with subtle gestures and phrases . shepard's performance is followed <POS> with great acting </POS> by ed harris as clean-cut marine ( and future politician ) john glenn . young dennis quaid is <POS> more than fine </POS> as arrogant fighter jock gordo cooper , and this arrogance is mirrored in his friend and most tragic figure of virgil grissom , superbly played by fred ward . <POS> always reliable character actor scott glenn provides some comic relief </POS> as navy aviator and ( arguably ) first american man in space alan shepard . kaufman <POS> left room for female talents to excel too </POS> - barbara hershey , pamela reed , veronica cartwright and mary jo deschanel <POS> are great </POS> as pilots' wives . royal dano <POS> is also impressive </POS> as menacing figure of preacher , but <POS> the most memorable performances </POS> belong to donald moffat as vice-president lyndon b . johnson and jane dornacker as nurse murch . <POS> great acting talent assembled for this film was mirrored with kaufman's superb direction . most notable of all is the methods kaufman uses </POS> in order to suggest the passage of time . the beginning of the film shows test pilots living in the middle of desert , as virtual unknowns , far away from strict rules and discipline . everything seems natural -yeager can indulge himself in horse riding just few yards away from the fastest and most precious aircraft in the world . in that setting , it's quite normal for important technical problems to be solved with simple chainsaw and for the test pilots not to report their ribs being broken before most important flights . but the times are changing ; ww2 alliance with ussr is replaced with cold war , and " natural " pilots like yeager must be replaced with more disciplined , conventional pilots . their entire lives become focus of media frenzy , and their job is subjected to strict rules , meticulous plans and they must fight the bureaucrats , publicity-seeking politicians and uncaring scientists ( like former nazi rocket expert werner von braun , played by scott beach ) only to preserve their most basic human dignity . this contrast is underlined with <POS> the beautifully edited sequence </POS> - while yeager conducts his final and most spectacular test flight in absolute obscurity , " mercury " astronauts receive fame and fortune , although some of them even before going in the space . <POS> those contrasts and similar effects are achieved with kaufman's superb use of poetic movie language </POS> . <POS> editing is great </POS> , and photography by caleb deschanel provides many memorable scenes like the funeral in the desert or astronauts in their suits walking in slow motion ( the same image would be copied in many latter films ) . although kaufman enjoyed support of nasa and american military , which provided authentic locations and period equipment , he still had to use special effects in order to simulate space flights . <POS> those effects are excellent and they can still fool the audience </POS> accustomed to cgi and real footage of earth from outer space . <POS> another fine contribution of this film is " oscar " -awarded musical score </POS> by bill conti ; i still <POS> tremble from excitement </POS> every time i hear it . it is accompanied with the use of holst and debussy . some of the songs used in the background also provide authentic atmosphere of the historical period . <POS> this film is great , and its cult status is well deserved </POS> , but there are some minor flaws . some of the " mercury " astronauts aren't fleshed out enough ( although being played by fine actors , like lance henriksen ) . film also lacks proper closure . on the other hand , most logical conclusion of the film - landing on the moon - would require this film to be more than six hours long . also , some critics were prone to attack this film as too amerocentric and hard on russians , who were portrayed as evil monsters , just in line with most virulent cold war rhetoric of reagan's america . in some of contemporary interviews , kaufman defended that approach by claiming that he wanted to make film as authentic as possible , and in order to do that , he portrayed russians not as they were in real life , but as they were perceived by americans in early 1960s . time has passed ; now we don't see astronauts as heroes . in this age of widespread satellite communications and routine space missions , those men and women in space suits are seen as mere maintenance workers . few young boys want to be astronauts when they grow up . but this film , <POS> sentimental reminder </POS> of the times " when future began " , perhaps could encourage at least some of them to follow " mercury " astronauts' footsteps seek new frontiers in the sky . and even if they decide to stay on earth , <POS> they could still appreciate the right stuff as an extraordinary piece of cinema </POS> .
