1983 Movie Was Ranked the Most Perfect '80s Film That No One Remembers

Countless 1980s films, like Back to the Future, The Princess Bride, and E.T., have remained beloved among movie enthusiasts. However, other just as well-made films from the '80s have lost cultural relevance. For instance, in January 2026, the publicationCollider released a list of "10 '80s movies that are genuinely perfect but no one remembers."

The ranking featured films like 1984's Top Secret!, The Hidden from 1987, Angel Heart, also released in 1987, and Clean and Sober from 1988.

The Right Stuff, released in 1983, was named the number one most perfect '80s film "no one remembers." According to the publication, the Philip Kaufman-directed film is masterful in its portrayal of the Project Mercury astronauts in the late '50s and early '60s.

The Right Stuff has a score of 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Philip Kaufman Shared His Thoughts About the Real-Life Chuck Yeager, Played by Sam Shepard, in the 1983 Film

While speaking to the American Film Institute, actor Ed Harris, who played famed astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff, noted that the 1983 film was "based on the Tom Wolfe novel about the beginnings of the mercury space program in America, the original seven astronauts and how that all came about." He also referenced that the movie centers on Air Force officer Chuck Yeager, "who was the first man who broke the sound barrier."

In a 1983 interview with CBSSunday Morning, Kaufman said that Yeager, who died in 2020 at the age of 96, had "the right stuff" that made him an excellent test pilot.



"He was a man, who not only did it, but talked about it in his own way, in his own style, and, you know, live dangerously and with a sense of humor," said the director during the interview.

Yeager had a brief cameo in the movie and served as its chief technical consultant. During the 1983 CBS Sunday Morning interview, he explained that he "just wanted to make sure that was done accurately."

"I think it's pretty educational really. It tells it the way it was," said Yeager, played by Sam Shepard in the film.

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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 3:14 PM.