An exhilarating chronicle of America’s first astronauts and the test pilots who risked everything to push beyond the limits of human flight, Philip Kaufman’s sweeping epic captures both the myth and madness of the early space race. Moving from Chuck Yeager’s legendary breaking of the sound barrier to NASA’s Mercury missions, the film blends adventure, satire, patriotism, and melancholy into one of the great American films of the 1980s.

“One of the best recent American movies.” — Roger Ebert

“A GREAT American movie in a new epic form.” — Gary Arnold, The Washington Post

“A terrific historical film about the space race.” — The Guardian

“Brash, beautiful, deeply American.” — Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times