Best movies like The Right Stuff
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the original Mercury astronauts in the formation of America's space program: Alan Shepherd, the first American in space; Gus Grissom, the benighted astronaut for whom nothing works out as planned; John Glenn, the straight-arrow 'boy scout' of the bunch who was the first American to orbit the earth; and the remaining pilots: Deke Slayton, Scott Carpenter and Wally Schirra.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 193 min
Plot tags: inspirational, exciting, epic, factual, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, political, patriotic
Best tv shows and movies like The Right Stuff (1983):
Similar in 87%
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Plot Summary:
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: inspirational, uplifting, intense, sentimental, emotional, suspense, melancholic, touching, semi serious, surreal
Similar in 85%
Amelia (2009)
Plot Summary:
A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: factual, serious, sentimental, realistic, stylized, historical drama, retro, witty, dieselpunk, epic
Similar in 80%
Apollo 11 (1996)
Plot Summary:
Fearful that the Russians would continue their lead in the space race and be the first to put a man on the moon, NASA felt an enormous pressure to push the Apollo Program forward as quickly as possible, though they knew that pushing too hard could lead to the ultimate disaster. This film recreates the tensions that were felt not only by the three astronauts, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, but also by their families and by the teams of technicians training to deal with anything that could go wrong.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 453
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: uplifting
Similar in 89%
Sully (2016)
Plot Summary:
On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 293000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: inspirational, factual, realistic, suspense, intense, touching, emotional, exciting, motivational, non fiction
Similar in 79%
Gagarin: First in Space (2013)
Plot Summary:
The film is dedicated to the first steps of mankind on the path of space exploration and direct the fate of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The main motif - the fight for the right to be first: the competition in the first cosmonaut, competition in missile technology, the confrontation of superpowers - the USSR and the USA. In the first group of astronauts were selected from three thousand fighter pilots across the country. In twenty of the legendary got the best of the best. Which of them will fly first, no one knew. In this way, had to contend not only with the pull of the earth.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Russia
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: realistic, uplifting, exciting, serious, captivating, emotional, dramatic
Similar in 89%
Space Cowboys (2000)
Plot Summary:
Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daedalus, the Air Force's test program for space travel, but their hopes were dashed in 1958 with the formation of NASA and the use of trained chimps. They blackmail their way into orbit when Russia's mysterious ‘Ikon’ communications satellite's orbit begins to degrade and threatens to crash to Earth.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 85000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, suspense, suspenseful, clever, semi serious, anamorphic, captivating, feel good, intellectual
Similar in 75%
Marooned (1969)
Plot Summary:
After spending several months in an orbiting lab, three astronauts prepare to return to earth only to find their rockets wont fire. After initially thinking they might have to abandon them in orbit, NASA decides to launch a daring rescue. Their plans are complicated by a Hurricane headed towards the launch site and a shrinking air supply in the astronauts capsule.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, exciting, suspense, futuristic, melancholic, serious, grindhouse, inspirational, talky
Similar in 90%
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Plot Summary:
A cargo plane goes down in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up with the idea of ripping off the undamaged wing and using it as the basis for an airplane they will build to escape before their food and water run out.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: suspense, harsh, serious, captivating, exciting, bleak, suspenseful, psychological, retro, action adventure
Similar in 79%
Miracle (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 1980, the United States Ice Hockey team's coach, Herb Brooks, put a ragtag squad of college kids up against the legendary juggernaut from the Soviet Union at the Olympic Games. Despite the long odds, Team USA carried the pride of a nation yearning for a distraction from world events. With the world watching, the team rose to the occasion, prompting broadcaster Al Michaels' now famous question to the millions viewing at home: "Do you believe in miracles?" Yes!.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Sport
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, factual, sincere, captivating, feel good, inspirational, emotional, realistic, motivational
Similar in 86%
MacArthur (1977)
Plot Summary:
The film portrays MacArthur's (Gregory Peck) life from 1942, before the Battle of Bataan, to 1952, the time after he had been removed from his Korean War command by President Truman (Ed Flanders) for insubordination, and is recounted in flashback as he visits West Point.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: melancholic, epic, intense, realistic, serious, political, exciting, tense, sincere, rough
Similar in 84%
X-15 (1961)
Plot Summary:
X-15 is a 1961 movie that tells a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket plane, the men who flew it and the women who loved them.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 729
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, experimental
Similar in 77%
The Right Stuff (2020)
Plot Summary:
At the height of the Cold War, newly formed NASA selects seven of the military’s best test pilots to become astronauts. Competing to be the first in space, these men achieve the extraordinary, inspiring the world to turn towards a new horizon of ambition and hope.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: factual, exciting, sincere, political, historical drama, experimental
Similar in 87%
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Man's landing on the moon was our greatest technological achievement. The Apollo 11 mission was truly the stuff of dreams. For the first time, our species walked on another celestial body. Even more remarkable was their ability to make it back. This is the story of the July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 moon landing. Drama with digitally remastered original footage.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 571
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, uplifting, sincere
Similar in 81%
From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Plot Summary:
Tom Hanks, Imagine Entertainment and HBO present From the Earth to the Moon, the dramatic story of the unforgettable Apollo missions and their heroic astronauts, from President John F. Kennedy's historic speech, through the first manned expeditions into space, to the defining moment of the space program - putting a man on the moon. "One small step for man...one giant leap for mankind." Powerfully told as never before through the unforgettable performances of Cary Elwes, Sally Field, Chris Isaak and many more, these are the stories of the men, women and children who lived, breathed and manufactured from the power of human will one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, realistic, suspenseful, educational, uplifting, informative, sincere, heroic, serious
Similar in 82%
The Spacewalker (2017)
Plot Summary:
March 1965. In the heat of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR are competing for supremacy in space. What both superpowers aim for in this race, is to be the first to have a man walk in outer space. To accomplish that, no price is too high and no risk is too great. Now it’s up to the unlikely duo of a seasoned war veteran and a hot-headed test-pilot to fulfill this mission. Two men in a tiny spaceship, without proper testing, facing the complete unknown… They were supposed to do what no man has done before – and no man imagined what would happen next….
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Russia
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: breathtaking, factual, inspirational, suspense, period piece, captivating, smart, weird
Similar in 77%
Thirteen Days (2000)
Plot Summary:
Dramatisation of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missle bases established on the Soviet allied island of Cuba. Shown from the perspective of the US President, John F Kennedy, his staff and advisors.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: tense, political, suspenseful, thought provoking, disturbing, sincere, realistic, educational, witty, serious
Similar in 81%
The Dish (2000)
Plot Summary:
The true story of how the Parkes Radio Telescope was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, History
Country: Australia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, suspense, factual, funny, witty, independent film, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
October Sky (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and eventually became a NASA scientist.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 97000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, realistic, feel good, sentimental, emotional, uplifting, period piece, exciting, motivational
Similar in 84%
Selma (2014)
Plot Summary:
"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: emotional, political, thought provoking, inspirational, sincere, uplifting, factual, serious, period piece, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Martian (2015)
Plot Summary:
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 904000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, UK, Hungary, Jordan
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: futuristic, biting, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, intellectual, suspenseful, suspense, uplifting
Similar in 75%
Pollock (2000)
Plot Summary:
In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: emotional, intellectual, atmospheric, depressing, breathtaking, art film, sincere, inspirational, dark, neurotic
Similar in 84%
Apollo 13 (1995)
Plot Summary:
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1971, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 310000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: USA, UK, Canada, Japan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: factual, realistic, suspenseful, inspirational, suspense, epic, sentimental, touching, intense, breathtaking
Similar in 87%
Secretariat (2010)
Plot Summary:
Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery - with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin - manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family, History, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sentimental, touching, emotional, romantic, uplifting, entertaining, dramatic, tear jerker, exciting
Similar in 80%
Gandhi (1982)
Plot Summary:
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 238000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, India, USA, South Africa
Duration: 191 min
Plot tags: epic, spiritual, inspirational, political, uplifting, factual, motivational, touching, compassionate, emotional
Similar in 83%
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
Plot Summary:
The story of journalist, Edward R Murrow's stand against Senator McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 101000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, Japan, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: black and white, political, tense, melancholic, factual, period piece, disturbing, dramatic, sincere, clever
Similar in 83%
Game Change (2012)
Plot Summary:
Based on the book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change focuses on the Republican run of the 2008 Presidential election, when candidate John McCain picks a relative unknown, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, to be his running mate. As the campaign kicks into high gear, her lack of experience, in both political and media savvy, becomes a drain upon McCain and his strategists. Directed by Jay Roach, who previously directed the HBO film Recount and the Austin Powers movies, Game Change premiered on HBO on March 10th, 2012.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: political, talky, intense, thought provoking, serious, realistic, captivating, clever, visually appealing, non fiction
Similar in 80%
First Man (2018)
Plot Summary:
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 199000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, Japan, China
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: factual, inspirational, disturbing, exciting, motivational, dorama, educational, cult classic, historical drama, twisted
Similar in 83%
The King's Speech (2010)
Plot Summary:
The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 701000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sincere, period piece, uplifting, dramatic, realistic, serious, sentimental, costume drama, witty
Similar in 86%
Nixon (1995)
Plot Summary:
An all-star cast powers this epic look at American President Richard M. Nixon, a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands within. Spanning his troubled boyhood in California to the shocking Watergate scandal that would end his presidency.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 192 min
Plot tags: political, factual, talky, compassionate, intense, thought provoking, realistic, sincere, touching, serious
Similar in 81%
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Plot Summary:
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 112000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: clever, political, tense, tricky, psychological, factual, period piece, realistic, talky, political thriller