1983. Directed by PHILIP KAUFMAN; TOM WOLFE (novel). The U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred. Tom Wolfe's book on the history of the U.S. Space program reads like a novel, and the film has that same fictional quality. It covers the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager to the Mercury 7 astronauts, showing that no one had a clue how to run a space program or how to select people to be in it. Thrilling, funny, charming and electrifying all at once. The classic NASA space exploration astronaut melodrama nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. and stars Fred Ward (as Gus Grissom), Charles Frank (as Scott Carpenter), Scott Glenn (Alan Shepard), Ed Harris (John Glenn), Lance Henriksen (Wally Schirra), Scott Paulin (Deke Slayton), and Dennis Quaid (as Gordon Cooper). Sam Shepard (as Chuck Yeager) was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Others in cast include: Kim Stanley, Barbara Hershey, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, Donald Moffat, Mary Jo Deschanel, Kathy Baker, Levon Helm and Scott Wilson.