← Apex Mountain

The Right Stuff

1983 · directed by Philip Kaufman · 193 min
25,024 feet · Prominence
487th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw52

Lifetime worldwide gross $22m, re-releases included; about $71m in 2026 money.

Rank3,545 of 11,051In 198332 of 101

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise96

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics94 baseAwards67 signal → +2 lift

Oscars4 won Film Editing, Original Score, Sound, Sound Editing4 nominated Picture, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Production Design
Golden Globes1 nominated Best Picture
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy58

Judged directly: Space-race canon, the phrase endures.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb7.8 from 67kWikipedia23k views a monthAge43 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 628 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 52 praise 96 legacy 58averages 69, placing it at25,024 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Sam Shepard

In these careers — elevation for this film

Sam Shepard19,509 ftEd Harris19,197 ftDennis Quaid18,951 ftScott Glenn18,713 ftFred Ward18,695 ftBarbara Hershey18,295 ftVeronica Cartwright17,909 ftKim Stanley17,785 ftJeff Goldblum17,660 ftLance Henriksen17,650 ftPamela Reed17,644 ftKathy Baker17,643 ftHarry Shearer17,641 ftDavid Gulpilil17,637 ftDavid Clennon17,635 ftScott Wilson17,635 ft