October Sky on DVD (1999)

Rocket boys - a modern Huck Finn.

Ian Wilkinson from Darlington, England , 26/07/2004

This film is a true story of a group of unlikely rocket makers, inspired by the first russian sputnik satellite, in a small West Virginia mining town. This is an excellent American film, presumably ignored by the major studios and distributors because of the relatively left wing political content, as the mines are ruthlessly shut down. Features Laura Dern as an inspiring teacher, and tells a story of a community in crisis who nonetheless rally round to help the boys acheive their goals. The film is true to the book by Homer C Hyams, who later worked for NASA, on which the film is based. Great little film - the american equivalent of 'Brassed off'!

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So boring!

skeadugenga from Reading [Highly rated reviewer] , 06/08/2004

This totally failed to grab me, despite a wonderful cast (Gylenhall, Dern)it was an opportunity wasted. The characters were sterotypes (inspiring teacher, Dad too obsessed with his job to have time for his son's differing ambitions, supportive Mum, geeky clever kid etc) And schmaltz was ladled on in bucket loads. Nauseous.

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A Wonderful Slice Of Life

Marconi from N. Yorkshire , 18/10/2003

Very much a sleeper - little or no publicity was given to this movie on its release - October Sky is a charming and poignant look at the effects of the space race on one small mining town in West Virgina, USA. When Homer Hickam, jr. watches Russia’s Sputnik satellite soar across the night sky, it ignites a desire to reach for the sky himself. With a few friends, he designs and builds rockets, a passion tolerated by most of the bemused townsfolk but not by his father, the straw boss at the local coal mine which is going through deep labour troubles.

This first tentative love affair with space is a true reflection of life in 1950’s America, with characters beautifully drawn from life and superbly crafted by a largely unknown cast of actors, although Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) who plays true-life character Homer Hickam jr., has become flavour of the month in Hollywood. Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) takes a lesser role as Hickam’s high school teacher, but shines as ever in this cameo.

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Great film

A customer from Birmingham, UK , 26/10/2005

Completely captivating from start to finish. Extremely well done, and although there may be a few little flaws, it's a film that you will remember for a long time. Brilliant!!!!

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Beautiful movie

A customer from Norwich , 22/10/2008

In a small mining town in West Virginia,coal is definitely king and pretty much every youngster is going to end up in the mines when they finish school,unless they are one of the very few who get a football scholarship.Homer Hickham (Gyllenhaal),is the son of the boss of the mine and whilst not physically or academically gifted,he is stubborn and determined to give anything a go.When it is announced that a college scholarship is the prize for a national science fair he,the school nerd,and two friends join together to build a working model rocket.Inspired not only by a chance to get out of a dying town,but also by the early days of the space race,where the Russians had taken the first advantage.

After many attempts and failures,and the group being ridiculed by the townsfolk,things begin to take off quite literally.The rockets start going up as does their self esteem and popularity,to the point where they have a healthy crowd gathering for their launches.Everything seems ideal but then they are brought back down to earth by a double tragedy,which all but puts paid to their hopes.Homer loses faith and quits school,and skulks off to the hard labour of the mines.But a chance meeting with an ex teacher some months later re-ignites his passion for the project,and the group re-apply themselves to the task and with better luck and resources....

Not to give away the ending,but America did indeed get back in the space race! Seriously this is a beautiful film,Gyllenhaal is excellent and totally engaging.Chris Cooper is a bit less so,he has played this stoic kind of character exactly the same way in several other films at least,but their contrasting characters have very good scenes together,particularly at the end.

This is one of the most enjoyable films I have seen for a fair while.You don't need to have a degree in rocket science to enjoy this film,but you ladies should certainly have a box of tissues handy.And probably a few guys too,no matter how tough they think they are!!

If some guy named Homer Hickham can become a rocket scientist,there is hope for us all!

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not the best film

Amanda Morgan from west midlands , 19/01/2007

I was disappointed as Im a huge Jake Gyllenhaal fan but found this film a bit boring. Maybe its just that the main story line didnt interest me, but if you are interested in coal mining era films about four young lads learning to make rockets, you will enjoy it.

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