Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26280 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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) epitomises 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

Synopsis
The true story of Homer Hickam, a young boy trapped in a close-minded coal-mining town in the 1950's. When Sputnik is successfully launched, Homer becomes obsessed with the concept of rocket launching. To the dismay and disgust of the townspeople, as well as Homer's father, he and his friends try to launch a rocket themselves. With the inspiration of a school teacher, they persevere and never lose hope in the dreams. An uplifting, hopeful story that the whole family can enjoy.

Customer Reviews

Rocket to Somewhere
This was a warm, meaningful and spirited film with a very strong message about building a life outside that which is expected of you and the supportive arm from people who can make the difference by offering you a helping hand.

It shows the journey of a bright intellignet boy and his motley crew (3 friends) in the coal mining area of Virginia. The group are resigned to the fact that they will all becomes miners or dead beats with no understanding of what life can offer.

Then one day the main character, Homer, decides he wants to do more with his life going against his father's wishes and dreams for the boy. His love of rockets and the knowledge base of his friends and teacher offer Homer the chance to explore his dream and see what is possible.

The plot shows the group aiming for success in a National Science competition, getting over the barrier of "can we really do this" leaving them with the chance thereafter to receive scholarships.

This is a journey and the hurdles life throws to overcome all and achieve beyond their wildest dreams.

It also shows a father - son bond or a possible bond with the finding of common ground and respect for each other.

The film is well thought, likeable and leaves a lot of questions - the main one being "what if"

Go buy it - it will leave you feeling warm and good about the world.

Send My Spirits to the Sky!
Once in a while I come across a real gem that I know, even while watching , will stay in my memory forever, this is one of those movies.

A truly inspiring tale in less than inspiring circumstances to say the least. There are so many little threads to the true life tale that the movie is a completely immersive experience. Chris Cooper, an actor that again lives up to his perennial billing as tough and grainy through his characters in movies plays Homer's father. Homer, played by a young Jake Gylenhal nails the role while his motley crue of buddies that become the rocket boys are all played reasonably well.

Whether its the awkward father son relationship, Homers evolving love interest, his relationship with his brother etc theres just so much richness in the story that almost every character or story arc counts.

As a working class based tale based in a coal mining town you would think rocket science could not possibly be a hobby for a typical kid but for Homer, after watching the Sputnik and befriending the only geek in the school, it becomes his one true inspiration and path out of almost pre-ordained horrible fate as coal miner. The cards are stacked against him: his father, friends, police and even school principal all at one point or another try to break him down.

Before watching the final frames I didn't think such a story, brilliant as it was could possibly be real but when reading the captions about the eventual fate of the rocket boys the inspirational real life quality of the story blew me away.

I highly recommend anyone watching this. This movie will go down well with 90% of people. The tale of a boy and his dream never gets old for me. If you've seen movies like 'The man with no face' or 'The Shawshank Redemption' youll probably love this. 10/10

Working class heroism for the moving on son
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