Reel Engineering: The Right Stuff (1983) - Part III: Light This Candle! 

My G.I. Joe Mercury capsule came with a 45 rpm record of Glenn's edited communications. and I learned it by heart. In fact, when watching the movie in the theater, my wife poked me in the ribs because I was saying Ed Harris' lines right before he did. Also, they show his spacecraft oriented nose first, when it actually turned around soon after launch to be oriented for a possible abort retrofire.

So… What happened to Part 4?

Did Part 4 disappear? Can't seem to find it.

As a former ICBM technician and avid early space program aficionado this series of Reel Engineering has proven particularly enjoyable. My only regret is that I am a late comer to your channel, since I obviously like this kind detailed content.

Hey, anybody got a stick of Beemans? Well, lend me some, I'll pay you right back... ;-)

Good comments on the NF104 crash. The pilots flying the program were monumentally pi55ed with Yeager. They tried a number of times to teach Yeager the correct profile, but he couldn’t do it. The cancellation of the program due to Yeager’s crash was a travesty.

Yeah i would also like part 4. Did it get struck?

Yeager has stated many times the NF-104 incident was during qualifications of the flight profile for the astronaut flight school he was commander of, to find out what the minimum altitude the reaction control system worked at, not an altitude record attempt, and has always said they found out the altitude the reaction thrusters quit working and the control surfaces also had no effect.

You missed the scene in the movie where Shepard gets his medal from JFK. From one angle, you see Scott Glenn as Shepard, where from the other angle, you see Alan Shepard's face over Scott Glenn's shoulder... ;-)

2:24 - Deke did not place himself in command of ASTP. He did not even put himself as 2nd in command. He was 3rd of the three.

Thanks for creating these videos. Excellent work.

This was outstanding! This is 2-25-2022- Friday, and I can't figure why you've only gotten 220 views in 7 months and only 4 comments before mine. Anyway.... I think CBS used to run a segment named "Find Out More" - or something like that after its historical movies or miniseries aired. A CBS contract celebrity would encourage students to do their own research to get more background. "The Right Stuff" is one of my favorite experiences. I've caught you on Part 3 of your review - I'll catch up. Still, I see there was quite a bit of dramatic license taken to make the Mercury program more and exciting. That makes me feel good about the more recent "Hidden Figures" and the criticism I heard about it's dramatic departures. I want to play the "race card" and call out the critics for trying to savage a story about Black women in the Space Program, whereas fictionalization in the story about White protagonists is overlooked. I guess I did play the race card. That's what bothered me about "The Right Stuff" - that no mention of African-American contribution was made. I think I saw one Black officer on one of the carriers. We know that any major achievement made by this nation included significant contributions by people of color. Enough of my ranting. I don't enjoy "sticking it" to anyone. Well, this was an enlightening video and it augments my enjoyment of the movie. It does. From watching "Moneyball," I reconciled myself to the fact that Hollywood productions, "based on a true story," can still be enjoyable even if the film veers wildly away from the truth. I like the movie "The Natural," although I learned that Bernard Malamud had Roy Hobbs strike out in his final at-bat. I've learned to separate a good story from actual history - and appreciate both. If you've read this rant all the way to here, I wish I could give you a lollipop. Short of that, thank you for your thoughtful work and I will subscribe.

Nice series. Good job!

Any chance of us seeing part IV please?

In the actual "Right Stuff" book, Tom Wolfe goes into extensive detail about how many of the crucial support systems during Cooper's flight experienced catastrophic failures. It wasn't just navigation and flight control, but life support and others as well. Coopers cool as ice demeanor during all this was summed up by his understated quote, "Things are starting to "stack up" a bit here". My favorite film of all time, despite some of the "liberties" it took with the actual events. In hindsight, I think Kaufman did go overboard with how he portrayed Grissom, he did do him a disservice and should have figured out a better way to convey that side of story. Yes, it made for good drama, but unfair to Grissom and his survivors.

Let's not forget that this movie is entertainment. It is based on actual events but it is NOT a documentary!

@canadianmacgyver: Gilles, where's part 4? Did it get taken down or did it never get finished?

Enjoyed all your observations! There are a lot of films that are historically inaccurate, either through neglect or indifference. As an interested observer, in the case of both the book and film of "The Right Stuff", I think you've missed what made them stand out from most other media on the subject: a deliberate sense of whimsy and wonder, a slight sheen of unreality. Certainly, some changes were made in the interest of exposition, but in this case, many of the changes you mention were quite deliberate and I'd argue it's why we are talking about this film four decades after its release when many others have not become classics. It's a difference between the literal scientific mind and the artistic mind: Kaufman very deliberately wasn't making a documentary. Was there a Part 4? The first three were delightfully enjoyable!

Are you by any chance related to Charles Messier the 18th century astronomer and creator of the Messier list of astronomical objects?

Aww no part 4

Where is episode 4?

no part 4

Gus Grissom's Mercury flight was the only time that actual money was shot into space (the dimes he took). I use that to shut up all the whiners about "shooting all that money into space", when it goes to pay all the workers/scientists/contractors on the program, and back into the economy. Sorry, those ignorant whiners are a BIG pet peeve of mine...

Glenn was such a dork. The "Friend Ship"? Give me a break.