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October Sky (Widescreen/Full Screen)
 
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October Sky (Widescreen/Full Screen)

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | Format: DVD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)

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Based on the memoir Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr., October Sky emerged as one of the most delightful sleepers of 1999--a small miracle of good ol' fashioned movie-making in the cynical, often numbingly trendy Hollywood of the late 20th century. Hickam's true story begins in 1957 with Russia's historic launch of the Sputnik satellite, and while Homer (played with smart idealism by Jake Gyllenhaal) sees Sputnik as his cue to pursue a fascination with rocketry, his father (Chris Cooper) epitomizes the admirable yet sternly stubborn working-man's ethic of the West Virginia coal miner, casting fear and disdain on Homer's pursuit of science while urging his "errant" son to carry on the family business--a spirit-killing profession that Homer has no intention of joining.

As directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer), this wonderful movie is occasionally guilty of overstating its case and sacrificing subtlety for predictable melodrama. But more often the film's tone is just right, and the spirit of adventure and invention is infectiously conveyed through Gyllenhaal and his well-cast fellow rocketeers, whose many failures gradually lead to triumph on their makeshift backwoods launching pad. Capturing time and place with impeccable detail and superbly developed characters (including Laura Dern as an inspiring schoolteacher), October Sky is a family film for the ages, encouraging the highest potential of the human spirit while giving viewers a clear view of a bygone era when "the final frontier" beckoned to the explorer in all of us. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

143 Reviews
5 star:
 (125)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (143 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best rocket movies ever, May 8 2004
By 
Michael Perotti (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: October Sky (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
As a rocket scientist from a top five university, I am astonished about how much this movie correlates with my own experiences. Not only is this movie a great representation of the glory of flight, it also encompasses the human spirit. This movie is not just for rocket enthusiasts. It is for anybody that has had a dream or a passion and let nothing get in the way of it. This movie is captivating and motivating.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A "memoir" or not, Oct 28 2008
By 
V. N. Dvornychenko (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: October Sky (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
If you have not read the book "Rocket Boys" you will probably love this movie. It is beautifully filmed, well acted, and fast paced. It depicts the life of a teenage boy growing up in small-town West Virginia, and contains plenty of teenage high jinxes. What makes Homer/Sonny different from the other teenagers is his passion for rocketry. Some of the scenes showing errant rockets - intended to be humorous - are downright scary. Even with less erratic rockets, the experiments performed are very dangerous.

But if your have read "Rocket Boys" prior to seeing the movie, you might notice something missing. The book is far more mordant. Read carefully. Just below the surface you will find a Dantesque world view. First, there is the community of Coalwood itself -- with its petty squabbles and tribulations. Beneath Coalwood is a netherworld, symbolized by a coal mine with the curious name Olga. In this inferno men toil for hours without being able to stand upright for a single moment. Above Coalwood is the celestial realm. Ironically it is symbolized by sputnik - a satellite launched by the USSR. But regardless who launched it, it symbolizes that man is not excluded from the celestial realm.

Both Homer/Sonny and his mother look skyward for a better life. The mother does so by painting flying seagulls over a balmy beach. Her dream is to relocate to Myrtle Beach.
Homer's dream is to escape via rocket - not literally of course, but by mastering rocketry, and then getting a job with Werner von Braun.
Homer's father holds their dreams in contempt. He is fully convinced that their future -- and the future of America -- is tied to keeping the mine productive and strong. He loves the mine. If he recognized its hellish side, he excuses it as necessary evil.

My complaint is that none of this is apparent in the movie. This is a "feel-good" movie. It depicts Coalwood as vanishing small-town America. It is a place where life is simple, problems have solutions, and good eventually prevails. In short, the real hero of the movie - but not the book -- is the father with his "practical" vision. While there is nothing wrong with the "feel-good" genre as such, the movie does not reflect the book.
Since both claim to be "memoirs," one is left wondering which is the more accurate.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational top to bottom, July 19 2004
By 
Kali Pinckney (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: October Sky (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
This movie is insanely inspirational. If you buy any positive movie for your collection, think about this one. It tells the story of Homer Hickam and the Rocket boys. Just after the USSR launched Sputnik (the first manmade satellite), the US had to play catch-up.

At this time is when a kid (Homer) decides to build a Rocket. The movie is the quest to build a working rocket and get the hell out of the little coal mining community he is stuck in. He has dreams to get to college and work for NASA.

Will he accomplish his dreams??? Hells yea! After he makes it through two science fairs and his father. This is one of those rare movies that will make you a better person for having seen it. Do yourself the favor and get this movie.

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