Stars: Laura Dern, Chris Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Ellis, William Lee Scott, Chris Owen

Director: Joe Johnston

Summary: 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.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

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

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1999
Release Date:	March 6, 2006
Runtime:	103 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	824 132 7
Keywords:	Special, Sky, General, Edition, October, Drama
Genre:	Drama