The Right Stuff (Blu-ray)

An awe-inspiring salute to human achievement and the wonder of the unknown, this monumental account of the space race celebrates the pioneering pilots who took mankind beyond the bounds of Earth. From the quest that test pilot Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) undertakes to break the sound barrier to the epochal voyages of the seven Mercury astronauts, including Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn) and John Glenn (Ed Harris), The Right Stuff vividly details the triumphs, setbacks, and clashes of personality in America’s burgeoning space program. Fusing astonishing practical effects with NASA archival footage to yield images of cosmic majesty, director Philip Kaufman reveals the combination of courage, competition, and fallibility behind America’s launch into orbit.