At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
Editing
Those cross-cutting sequences between Yeager and the Mercury Seven? *Chef's kiss*.
Sound
The barrier-breaking sequence still rattles your bones.
Acting
Sam Shepard's entire performance is squinting and being cooler than you.
Director
Philip Kaufman
Sam Shepard
Chuck Yeager
Scott Glenn
Alan Shepard
Ed Harris
John Glenn
Dennis Quaid
Gordon Cooper
Fred Ward
Gus Grissom
Barbara Hershey
Glennis Yeager
Kim Stanley
Pancho Barnes
Veronica Cartwright
Betty Grissom
Pamela Reed
Trudy Cooper
Scott Paulin
Deke Slayton
Charles Frank
Scott Carpenter
Lance Henriksen
Wally Schirra
Donald Moffat
Lyndon B. Johnson
Levon Helm
Jack Ridley / Narrator
Mary Jo Deschanel
Annie Glenn
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Chuck Yeager has a silent cameo as the bartender in the Pancho Barnes scene—look for the guy serving drinks without speaking.
This film basically invented the modern 'competence porn' genre; every sleek space movie since owes it a debt, including *Apollo 13* and *First Man*.
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