October Sky Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

October Sky Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 2, 2017

It's amazing to think about how the world was enthralled with a manmade object hurtling through space only sixty years ago. And it was only a little over a century ago that man first mastered the skies. Today, air travel, space travel, satellites, rockets, all of it is taken for granted, an idea, at least in its more terrestrial sense, explored in the excellent Living in the Age of Airplanes. But six decades really isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, in the cosmic timeline or even man's own time on Earth. October Sky is a heartfelt, beautiful film with the budding space race as its backdrop, but more than that it explores, richly and sincerely, much more fundamental human emotions that have no concept of time: dreaming and loving. It's incredibly touching, well versed in its science and depiction of 1950s West Virginia coal mining life, but more than that it's a moving portrait of family, big dreams, and one young man's quite literal reach for the stars.

Some things are more important than rockets.

Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a West Virginia coal miner's son who lives in his older brother's shadow. The brother is a star football player, the apple of his father's eye, and well on his way to playing college ball on a full scholarship. Homer's father John (Chris Cooper) wants what's best for his younger boy, which he believes means keeping his head down, finishing up high school, going to work in the mines, and one day taking the old man's leadership position therein. But Homer dreams bigger. When the Soviets launch Sputnik into orbit, Homer becomes fascinated with rockets. Earning inspiration from his supportive teacher (Laura Dern) and alienating himself from his peers, he befriends the geeky Quentin (Chris Owen) to aid him in the cause. With the help of a couple of other friends -- Roy Lee (William Lee Scott) and O'Dell (Chad Lindberg) -- Homer begins to find success in rocketry and hopes to enter into a national science fair. But his father's negativity looms large and could spell the end of Homer's dreams.

October Sky offers dueling storylines. One, and the one from which it derives its title, is the boys' quest to launch a rocket, perfect their craft, and win a science fair. But the more rewarding storyline is the story of Homer's relationship with his stubborn father, a traditionalist, in his words born for the coal mining life and wanting only that his son follow in his footsteps. Certainly such stories of the clash between father and son aren't new to cinema, fiction, or, obviously, real life. But in October Sky, Director Joe Johnston (Jumanji) and Screenwriter Lewis Colick, based on Homer Hickam's own book about his youthful foray into rocketry, have painted a compelling portrait of the struggle, the brutal truths, the heartbreak, the anger, the disappointment on both sides but the obvious and well-defined love, respect, and even understanding that lingers below the surface, waiting to be freed from the artificial constraints of established and impenetrable façades. The film isn't necessarily surprising in where it goes or how it gets there, either in the boys' scientific pursuits or in Homer's relationship with his father, but it's awfully well done, moving, honest, and supported by terrific work from both a young Jake Gyllenhaal and a perfectly cast Chris Cooper in one of his greatest performances.

One of the movie's key moments comes late in the film when Homer tells his father that, even if they've chosen different paths, they're not so different otherwise. Both men are committed, a little heard-headed about what they want, but it's clear throughout the film that Homer's father only wants what's best for his son. He's just too blinded by a cloud of coal dust to see that means a different life's journey for his son. The film is further about commitment, the dedication, again, not necessarily, or at least exclusively, to launch a rocket but to see something through, to find purpose in life and pursue it fully in mind, body, and spirit alike. It's one of the most uplifting films one will ever find, its rockets really more symbolic than anything else, a visual aid for reaching high, dreaming big, and working hard to accomplish the impossible. It's a bit funny here and there, too, and it might not leave a dry eye in the audience. It's a complete film, sincere, watchable, lovable for its dramatic integrity, heartfelt emotions, and positive message on purposeful living.

October Sky Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal's track record with catalogue releases is rather spotty, and October Sky falls into a frustrating middle ground where the image isn't awful by any stretch but it's one that shows significant room for improvement. Its greatest stumbling block is the absence of a film-like texture, seemingly wiped away and leaving a fairly pasty, flat, processed look in its wake. It's hardly the worst example in the Universal catalogue -- details are still rather stout, generally -- but there's no mistaking the unnatural smoothness that permeates much of the transfer. It has its moments of increased stability where it nearly passes for a good, filmic transfer, but even as clothes and environments find a nice, basic sense of increased definition in 1080p, it's clear that the transfer has been manipulated to reduce noise and resultantly smooth over details, particularly evident on faces but clear enough all over the frame. Colors are at least fairly bold and pleasant, certainly lacking the organic subtleties of the finest images but presenting with enough natural pop and saturation to satisfy. Black levels down in the mines hold up well, though flesh tones push a bit pale, at times. Trace bits of edge enhancement appear in places, too, and the print is speckled with various pops, but on the other hand no serious compression artifacts are apparent. This isn't a train wreck of a transfer by any means, but the movie deserves much better.

October Sky Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

October Sky's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack fares a bit better than its iffy 1080p video counterpart. While the track leaves a bit to be desired in terms of lifelike detail and immersive richness, it makes up for some slight technical shortcomings with no lack of zip and movement. Rockets zoom around the stage, particularly early on when they're more horizontal projectile than they are vertical blast. Surrounds are seamlessly active, and the track has no problem in creating a fully realized sense of precise movement in any direction. Explosions offer satisfactory punch and depth. Atmospherics are very nicely integrated, particularly the cacophony of elements down in the mine. Alarms blare with volume and realistic presence. Music is well spaced, some of the period tunes a little cramped and scratchy but reflective of the timeframe's delivery. Dialogue is generally clear and center-positioned with only a few instances of iffy prioritization, such as a mild shallowness with the surrounding din during a school cafeteria exchange about 13 minutes in.

October Sky Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

October Sky contains two features, a trailer, and a commentary. No top menu is included. All extras must be accessed in-film via the pop-up menu.

• Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys (480i, 31:39): The real Homer Hickman and friends describe their reunification, tour the old neighborhood, and discuss their rocketry, differences between reality and the movie, their family histories, the coal industry, Ms. Riley's service, thoughts on the film, and more. This is good stuff, well spoken, and a terrific companion to the movie.
• Spotlight on Location (480i, 10:30): This piece covers some of the same material as above but also contains some unique behind the scenes shots and a bit more emphasis on the filmmaking process intermixed with tales from the true story.
• October Sky Theatrical Trailer (480i, 2:19).
• Audio Commentary: The real Homer Hickam delivers a terrific track that covers much the same detail from the 31-minute feature listed above, but it also fills in plenty of additional gaps, too, such as his thoughts on casting, expanding on the core story, and more. The feature is worth a watch and is a well-rounded piece, but fans with the time to spend with the full commentary will find it to be of immense value.

October Sky Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

October Sky thrives on simplicity of delivery and complexity of purpose. It's a beautiful film, rich in emotional texture and very satisfying on both dramatic and soulful levels. It's based on a true story, too, from a man who has lived a fairly remarkable life. Homer Hickam's works, and this film, are all well worth anyone's time. Universal's Blu-ray is unfortunately rather pedestrian. Decent-at-best video, good lossless audio, and a few ported extras make this a fair Blu-ray, but one that's really only worth owning for the movie itself and its (vintage) supplemental content, and it comes highly recommended for those qualities.