The Right Stuff

“How the future began.”

Before anyone leaves the atmosphere, there is a quiet question at Edwards Air Force Base, California: who is good enough to fly the fastest plane, and who gets chosen to ride a rocket? Philip Kaufman follows the test pilots there, including Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard), until seven are picked as the first American astronauts. John Glenn (Ed Harris) and Gus Grissom (Fred Ward) become rivals and teammates at once, each measuring himself against the other.