October Sky (Special Edition)

October Sky (Special Edition)


Starring:Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canerday, Scott Miles (II), Randy Stripling, Chris Ellis, Elya Baskin, Courtney Cole-Fendley, David Dwyer, Terry Loughlin, Kailie Hollister, David Copeland (III), Don Henderson Baker, Tom Kagy, Donald Thorne, Justin Whitsett
Director: Joe Johnston
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Coalwood, West Virginia, 1957. Working in the coal mines is an inescapable way of life in this small town. When high schooler Homer Hickam, Jr. (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Sputnik satellite in the night sky, he dares to break free of the mines and reach for the stars. With the support of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three friends, Homer sets out on an inspiring quest to build his own rocket. Overcoming a poor education, a tough father (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires, Homer turns his dreams into reality in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph. You ll laugh with it, cry with it, and go away absolutely loving it, says Robert Butler (Knight Ridder News Service) of the critically acclaimed October Sky.

BONUS MATERIALS:
Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys
Feature Commentary with Homer Hickam
Spotlight on Location
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer


System Requirements:

  • Runing Time 108 Min

    Format: DVD MOVIE
    Amazon.com
    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
    October Sky (Special Edition)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • One of the Best!
    • Great family movie.
    • From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA
    • Great Movie
    • This movie is one of the ten best of all time.
    		 October Sky (Special Edition)
    Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
    Director: Joe Johnston
    Manufacturer: Universal Studios
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

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    Baskin, ElyaBaskin, Elya | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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    Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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    Similar Items:
    1. Rocket Boys
    2. Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
    3. Moonlight Mile
    4. Mr. Holland's Opus
    5. The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition)

    ASIN: B0006FYOTC
    Release Date: 2005-01-25

    Amazon.com

    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

    Product Description

    Coalwood, West Virginia, 1957. Working in the coal mines is an inescapable way of life in this small town. When high schooler Homer Hickam, Jr. (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Sputnik satellite in the night sky, he dares to break free of the mines and reach for the stars. With the support of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three friends, Homer sets out on an inspiring quest to build his own rocket. Overcoming a poor education, a tough father (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires, Homer turns his dreams into reality in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph. You ll laugh with it, cry with it, and go away absolutely loving it, says Robert Butler (Knight Ridder News Service) of the critically acclaimed October Sky.

    BONUS MATERIALS:
    Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys
    Feature Commentary with Homer Hickam
    Spotlight on Location
    Production Notes
    Theatrical Trailer


    System Requirements:
  • Runing Time 108 Min

    Format: DVD MOVIE

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars One of the Best!.......2007-06-21

    Excellent feel good story about a group of boys who overcome their circumstances to achieve their dreams in a small coal mining town. Based on a true story!

    5 out of 5 stars Great family movie........2007-06-11

    Great family movie. It's a story about kids getting inspired to learn something that changes their lives. It doesn't rely on violence or romance, just a good story. My brothers and I built lots of rockets when we were kids, so that probably helps.

    If you think kids shouldn't build model rockets because it is too dangerous and they might get interested in building one, don't buy the movie.

    5 out of 5 stars From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA.......2007-06-04

    A simple and effective film about what life is all about, responding to challenges. It took a lot of gall for Homer and his friends to be able to grow into manhood without falling in the trap of a prefabricated future that runs from father to son, to be a miner in the local mine and never get out of that fate. It took also three different challenges for Homer and his friends to conquer a personal and free future. The challenge of the first ever man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a Soviet satellite, a milestone in human history, a turning point that Homer and his friends could not miss, did not want to miss. Then the challenge of science and applied mechanics to calculate and to devise a rocket from scratch or rather from what they could gather in books and order in their minds. Finally the challenge of a world that resists and refuses and tries to force you back into the pack, even with an untimely accident that forces you to get back into the pack for plain survival necessity, and even then Homer proved he had the guts to accept the challenge that was blocking for a while his own plans and dreams. But there is another side of the story that the film does not emphasize enough. Homer is the carrier of the project but he is also the carrier of the inspiration he and his friends need. If he is the one who is going to get the university scholarship, because his friends gave him precedence, his friends will also be able to get on their own roads and tracks and step out of the mining fate, thanks to the energy his inspiring example sets in front of their eyes. It is hard at times not to follow the example of the one who is like a beacon on a difficult road. But the film is also effective to show how the father resisted this dream because for him science was not the fabric of a true man, like mining or football. The working class fate that was so present in those 1950s and 1960s and still is present in some areas is too often enforced by the traditional thinking of the father. If the mother does not have the courage to speak up one day, the working class fate I am speaking of becomes a tremendous trap. Here too the film is effective and it should make some parents think. This might have been the fourth challenge Homer had to face: the challenge of taking a road that was not the one pointed at and programmed by his own father.

    Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

    5 out of 5 stars Great Movie.......2007-05-13

    A favorite movie - great storie about believing in your dreams and not giving up.

    5 out of 5 stars This movie is one of the ten best of all time........2007-05-12

    This movie is a real movie, not the made-up stuff they sell in theaters. Based on a true story, it just works like magic. The characters are totally believable, and at the end, it shows the space shuttle. So it really is about Homer Hickam, currently a NASA engineer, 98%, and the current space program, 2%. The year it's set in is 1957, 50 years ago, and starts with Sputnik going overhead. Anyone who likes space stories, especially real ones, will love this movie.
    October Sky
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • One of the Best!
    • Great family movie.
    • From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA
    • Great Movie
    • This movie is one of the ten best of all time.
    		 October Sky
    Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
    Director: Joe Johnston
    Manufacturer: Universal Studios
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
    Period PiecePeriod Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
    Coming of AgeComing of Age | By Theme | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Family Life | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
    Fathers & SonsFathers & Sons | Family Life | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
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    Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Cooper, ChrisCooper, Chris | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Ellis, ChrisEllis, Chris | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Loughlin, TerryLoughlin, Terry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Owen, ChrisOwen, Chris | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Scott, William LeeScott, William Lee | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Johnston, JoeJohnston, Joe | ( J ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
    Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
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    Period PiecePeriod Piece | Drama | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    ( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
    Similar Items:
    1. Rocket Boys
    2. Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
    3. Moonlight Mile
    4. Mr. Holland's Opus
    5. The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition)

    ASIN: B00000IQVL
    Release Date: 1999-07-27

    Amazon.com

    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

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars One of the Best!.......2007-06-21

    Excellent feel good story about a group of boys who overcome their circumstances to achieve their dreams in a small coal mining town. Based on a true story!

    5 out of 5 stars Great family movie........2007-06-11

    Great family movie. It's a story about kids getting inspired to learn something that changes their lives. It doesn't rely on violence or romance, just a good story. My brothers and I built lots of rockets when we were kids, so that probably helps.

    If you think kids shouldn't build model rockets because it is too dangerous and they might get interested in building one, don't buy the movie.

    5 out of 5 stars From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA.......2007-06-04

    A simple and effective film about what life is all about, responding to challenges. It took a lot of gall for Homer and his friends to be able to grow into manhood without falling in the trap of a prefabricated future that runs from father to son, to be a miner in the local mine and never get out of that fate. It took also three different challenges for Homer and his friends to conquer a personal and free future. The challenge of the first ever man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a Soviet satellite, a milestone in human history, a turning point that Homer and his friends could not miss, did not want to miss. Then the challenge of science and applied mechanics to calculate and to devise a rocket from scratch or rather from what they could gather in books and order in their minds. Finally the challenge of a world that resists and refuses and tries to force you back into the pack, even with an untimely accident that forces you to get back into the pack for plain survival necessity, and even then Homer proved he had the guts to accept the challenge that was blocking for a while his own plans and dreams. But there is another side of the story that the film does not emphasize enough. Homer is the carrier of the project but he is also the carrier of the inspiration he and his friends need. If he is the one who is going to get the university scholarship, because his friends gave him precedence, his friends will also be able to get on their own roads and tracks and step out of the mining fate, thanks to the energy his inspiring example sets in front of their eyes. It is hard at times not to follow the example of the one who is like a beacon on a difficult road. But the film is also effective to show how the father resisted this dream because for him science was not the fabric of a true man, like mining or football. The working class fate that was so present in those 1950s and 1960s and still is present in some areas is too often enforced by the traditional thinking of the father. If the mother does not have the courage to speak up one day, the working class fate I am speaking of becomes a tremendous trap. Here too the film is effective and it should make some parents think. This might have been the fourth challenge Homer had to face: the challenge of taking a road that was not the one pointed at and programmed by his own father.

    Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

    5 out of 5 stars Great Movie.......2007-05-13

    A favorite movie - great storie about believing in your dreams and not giving up.

    5 out of 5 stars This movie is one of the ten best of all time........2007-05-12

    This movie is a real movie, not the made-up stuff they sell in theaters. Based on a true story, it just works like magic. The characters are totally believable, and at the end, it shows the space shuttle. So it really is about Homer Hickam, currently a NASA engineer, 98%, and the current space program, 2%. The year it's set in is 1957, 50 years ago, and starts with Sputnik going overhead. Anyone who likes space stories, especially real ones, will love this movie.
    October Sky [Region 2]
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • One of the Best!
    • Great family movie.
    • From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA
    • Great Movie
    • This movie is one of the ten best of all time.
    		 October Sky [Region 2]
    Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
    Director: Joe Johnston
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    Baskin, ElyaBaskin, Elya | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Cooper, ChrisCooper, Chris | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Ellis, ChrisEllis, Chris | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Loughlin, TerryLoughlin, Terry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Owen, ChrisOwen, Chris | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Scott, William LeeScott, William Lee | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Johnston, JoeJohnston, Joe | ( J ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
    Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
    ( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
    Family FilmsFamily Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
    Similar Items:
    1. Rocket Boys
    2. Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
    3. Moonlight Mile
    4. Mr. Holland's Opus
    5. The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition)

    ASIN: B00004YVUY

    Amazon.com

    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

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars One of the Best!.......2007-06-21

    Excellent feel good story about a group of boys who overcome their circumstances to achieve their dreams in a small coal mining town. Based on a true story!

    5 out of 5 stars Great family movie........2007-06-11

    Great family movie. It's a story about kids getting inspired to learn something that changes their lives. It doesn't rely on violence or romance, just a good story. My brothers and I built lots of rockets when we were kids, so that probably helps.

    If you think kids shouldn't build model rockets because it is too dangerous and they might get interested in building one, don't buy the movie.

    5 out of 5 stars From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA.......2007-06-04

    A simple and effective film about what life is all about, responding to challenges. It took a lot of gall for Homer and his friends to be able to grow into manhood without falling in the trap of a prefabricated future that runs from father to son, to be a miner in the local mine and never get out of that fate. It took also three different challenges for Homer and his friends to conquer a personal and free future. The challenge of the first ever man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a Soviet satellite, a milestone in human history, a turning point that Homer and his friends could not miss, did not want to miss. Then the challenge of science and applied mechanics to calculate and to devise a rocket from scratch or rather from what they could gather in books and order in their minds. Finally the challenge of a world that resists and refuses and tries to force you back into the pack, even with an untimely accident that forces you to get back into the pack for plain survival necessity, and even then Homer proved he had the guts to accept the challenge that was blocking for a while his own plans and dreams. But there is another side of the story that the film does not emphasize enough. Homer is the carrier of the project but he is also the carrier of the inspiration he and his friends need. If he is the one who is going to get the university scholarship, because his friends gave him precedence, his friends will also be able to get on their own roads and tracks and step out of the mining fate, thanks to the energy his inspiring example sets in front of their eyes. It is hard at times not to follow the example of the one who is like a beacon on a difficult road. But the film is also effective to show how the father resisted this dream because for him science was not the fabric of a true man, like mining or football. The working class fate that was so present in those 1950s and 1960s and still is present in some areas is too often enforced by the traditional thinking of the father. If the mother does not have the courage to speak up one day, the working class fate I am speaking of becomes a tremendous trap. Here too the film is effective and it should make some parents think. This might have been the fourth challenge Homer had to face: the challenge of taking a road that was not the one pointed at and programmed by his own father.

    Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

    5 out of 5 stars Great Movie.......2007-05-13

    A favorite movie - great storie about believing in your dreams and not giving up.

    5 out of 5 stars This movie is one of the ten best of all time........2007-05-12

    This movie is a real movie, not the made-up stuff they sell in theaters. Based on a true story, it just works like magic. The characters are totally believable, and at the end, it shows the space shuttle. So it really is about Homer Hickam, currently a NASA engineer, 98%, and the current space program, 2%. The year it's set in is 1957, 50 years ago, and starts with Sputnik going overhead. Anyone who likes space stories, especially real ones, will love this movie.
    October Sky [Region 2]
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • One of the Best!
    • Great family movie.
    • From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA
    • Great Movie
    • This movie is one of the ten best of all time.
    		 October Sky [Region 2]
    Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
    Director: Joe Johnston
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    Baskin, ElyaBaskin, Elya | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Cooper, ChrisCooper, Chris | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Ellis, ChrisEllis, Chris | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Loughlin, TerryLoughlin, Terry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Owen, ChrisOwen, Chris | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Scott, William LeeScott, William Lee | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Johnston, JoeJohnston, Joe | ( J ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
    ( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
    Family FilmsFamily Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
    Similar Items:
    1. Rocket Boys
    2. Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
    3. Moonlight Mile
    4. Mr. Holland's Opus
    5. The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition)

    ASIN: B00004T8TU

    Amazon.com

    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

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars One of the Best!.......2007-06-21

    Excellent feel good story about a group of boys who overcome their circumstances to achieve their dreams in a small coal mining town. Based on a true story!

    5 out of 5 stars Great family movie........2007-06-11

    Great family movie. It's a story about kids getting inspired to learn something that changes their lives. It doesn't rely on violence or romance, just a good story. My brothers and I built lots of rockets when we were kids, so that probably helps.

    If you think kids shouldn't build model rockets because it is too dangerous and they might get interested in building one, don't buy the movie.

    5 out of 5 stars From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA.......2007-06-04

    A simple and effective film about what life is all about, responding to challenges. It took a lot of gall for Homer and his friends to be able to grow into manhood without falling in the trap of a prefabricated future that runs from father to son, to be a miner in the local mine and never get out of that fate. It took also three different challenges for Homer and his friends to conquer a personal and free future. The challenge of the first ever man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a Soviet satellite, a milestone in human history, a turning point that Homer and his friends could not miss, did not want to miss. Then the challenge of science and applied mechanics to calculate and to devise a rocket from scratch or rather from what they could gather in books and order in their minds. Finally the challenge of a world that resists and refuses and tries to force you back into the pack, even with an untimely accident that forces you to get back into the pack for plain survival necessity, and even then Homer proved he had the guts to accept the challenge that was blocking for a while his own plans and dreams. But there is another side of the story that the film does not emphasize enough. Homer is the carrier of the project but he is also the carrier of the inspiration he and his friends need. If he is the one who is going to get the university scholarship, because his friends gave him precedence, his friends will also be able to get on their own roads and tracks and step out of the mining fate, thanks to the energy his inspiring example sets in front of their eyes. It is hard at times not to follow the example of the one who is like a beacon on a difficult road. But the film is also effective to show how the father resisted this dream because for him science was not the fabric of a true man, like mining or football. The working class fate that was so present in those 1950s and 1960s and still is present in some areas is too often enforced by the traditional thinking of the father. If the mother does not have the courage to speak up one day, the working class fate I am speaking of becomes a tremendous trap. Here too the film is effective and it should make some parents think. This might have been the fourth challenge Homer had to face: the challenge of taking a road that was not the one pointed at and programmed by his own father.

    Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

    5 out of 5 stars Great Movie.......2007-05-13

    A favorite movie - great storie about believing in your dreams and not giving up.

    5 out of 5 stars This movie is one of the ten best of all time........2007-05-12

    This movie is a real movie, not the made-up stuff they sell in theaters. Based on a true story, it just works like magic. The characters are totally believable, and at the end, it shows the space shuttle. So it really is about Homer Hickam, currently a NASA engineer, 98%, and the current space program, 2%. The year it's set in is 1957, 50 years ago, and starts with Sputnik going overhead. Anyone who likes space stories, especially real ones, will love this movie.
    October Sky/Field of Dreams
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		October Sky/Field of Dreams
      Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
      Director: Joe Johnston , and Phil Alden Robinson
      Manufacturer: Universal Studios
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
      Baskin, ElyaBaskin, Elya | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Cooper, ChrisCooper, Chris | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Ellis, ChrisEllis, Chris | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Loughlin, TerryLoughlin, Terry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Owen, ChrisOwen, Chris | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Scott, William LeeScott, William Lee | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Johnston, JoeJohnston, Joe | ( J ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
      Robinson, Phil AldenRobinson, Phil Alden | ( R ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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      ASIN: B0000EMYC4
      Release Date: 2003-12-16
      October Sky [Region 2]
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • One of the Best!
      • Great family movie.
      • From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA
      • Great Movie
      • This movie is one of the ten best of all time.
      		 October Sky [Region 2]
      Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen , and William Lee Scott
      Director: Joe Johnston
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      Baskin, ElyaBaskin, Elya | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Canerday, NatalieCanerday, Natalie | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Cooper, ChrisCooper, Chris | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Ellis, ChrisEllis, Chris | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Loughlin, TerryLoughlin, Terry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Owen, ChrisOwen, Chris | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Scott, William LeeScott, William Lee | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
      Johnston, JoeJohnston, Joe | ( J ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
      Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
      ( O )( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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      Similar Items:
      1. Rocket Boys
      2. Apollo 13 (Widescreen 2-Disc Anniversary Edition)
      3. Moonlight Mile
      4. Mr. Holland's Opus
      5. The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition)

      ASIN: B0000501VP

      Amazon.com

      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

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars One of the Best!.......2007-06-21

      Excellent feel good story about a group of boys who overcome their circumstances to achieve their dreams in a small coal mining town. Based on a true story!

      5 out of 5 stars Great family movie........2007-06-11

      Great family movie. It's a story about kids getting inspired to learn something that changes their lives. It doesn't rely on violence or romance, just a good story. My brothers and I built lots of rockets when we were kids, so that probably helps.

      If you think kids shouldn't build model rockets because it is too dangerous and they might get interested in building one, don't buy the movie.

      5 out of 5 stars From Western Virginia coal mines to NASA.......2007-06-04

      A simple and effective film about what life is all about, responding to challenges. It took a lot of gall for Homer and his friends to be able to grow into manhood without falling in the trap of a prefabricated future that runs from father to son, to be a miner in the local mine and never get out of that fate. It took also three different challenges for Homer and his friends to conquer a personal and free future. The challenge of the first ever man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a Soviet satellite, a milestone in human history, a turning point that Homer and his friends could not miss, did not want to miss. Then the challenge of science and applied mechanics to calculate and to devise a rocket from scratch or rather from what they could gather in books and order in their minds. Finally the challenge of a world that resists and refuses and tries to force you back into the pack, even with an untimely accident that forces you to get back into the pack for plain survival necessity, and even then Homer proved he had the guts to accept the challenge that was blocking for a while his own plans and dreams. But there is another side of the story that the film does not emphasize enough. Homer is the carrier of the project but he is also the carrier of the inspiration he and his friends need. If he is the one who is going to get the university scholarship, because his friends gave him precedence, his friends will also be able to get on their own roads and tracks and step out of the mining fate, thanks to the energy his inspiring example sets in front of their eyes. It is hard at times not to follow the example of the one who is like a beacon on a difficult road. But the film is also effective to show how the father resisted this dream because for him science was not the fabric of a true man, like mining or football. The working class fate that was so present in those 1950s and 1960s and still is present in some areas is too often enforced by the traditional thinking of the father. If the mother does not have the courage to speak up one day, the working class fate I am speaking of becomes a tremendous trap. Here too the film is effective and it should make some parents think. This might have been the fourth challenge Homer had to face: the challenge of taking a road that was not the one pointed at and programmed by his own father.

      Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

      5 out of 5 stars Great Movie.......2007-05-13

      A favorite movie - great storie about believing in your dreams and not giving up.

      5 out of 5 stars This movie is one of the ten best of all time........2007-05-12

      This movie is a real movie, not the made-up stuff they sell in theaters. Based on a true story, it just works like magic. The characters are totally believable, and at the end, it shows the space shuttle. So it really is about Homer Hickam, currently a NASA engineer, 98%, and the current space program, 2%. The year it's set in is 1957, 50 years ago, and starts with Sputnik going overhead. Anyone who likes space stories, especially real ones, will love this movie.

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