Rating: 
Summary: PERFECT!
Review: I love all of Homer Hickam's books. My interest is always kept while reading because the text is so vivid and compelling. I would recommend ALL of his books to everyone of any age!This movie is perfect and will make you feel like you can accomplish anything if you just try!
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Summary: Inspiring. the #1 film in 1999
Review: This film is inspiring and real-life. When I buy this video, the manager promise full refund if I don't satisfied with this film, and he is right. This film is about a boy living in a coal mining village and is inspire to build a rocket with its friend. They meet many problems, but with a stong goal, it eventually turn out triumphtly. This story is real life and I highly recommand it. I believe its a safe bet that you will be inspired by this movie because out of 178 reviews, only 3 were nagative
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Summary: One of the best movies, ever!
Review: If you want to know what makes scientists, watch this film. If you want to know what compels humanity to progress, watch this film. If you want to know how one young boy and his friends fought against tradition and broke the shackles of the commonplace and the mundane, watch this film.
Meet Homer Hickam (played admirably by Jake Gyllenhaal), a typical teenager boy, just like anyone else, whose imagination is fired when he sees Sputnik, the first man made object in space sent by the Soviets, streaking brilliantly across the October sky in the October of 1957. From that day, Homer sets his mind on being a rocket scientist. But fate, it seems, has other plans for him. He lives in a small town called Coalwood in West Virginia, where, it looks as if the only way to get out of school into college is on a football scholarship. The rest of the boys, who can't play football, end up in the coalmines. The mine is supervised by Homer's father John Hickam, a veteran coal miner, basically a very good man at heart, but who values his mine and principles more than even his family. He strictly says no to Homer's rocket building, and wants him to work in the mines. However, Homer persists, backed tacitly by his iconoclastic mother, and along with his friends improves his rockets to the point where they are almost miniature versions of the real ones. Inspired by his teacher, Miss Riley who is suffering from terminal Hodgkin's disease, Homer fights against his father's principles and amidst personal tragedies and problems finally wins the first prize at the National Science Fair, which lands him dozens of scholarships to study science at the best colleges in the state.
October Sky is based on a true story which makes you believe in the kind of people and situations that contribute to the progress of humanity, propelled on by their dreams in the face of opposition. Its one of the most touching movies I have ever seen. A great example of the kind of people who want to pursue the American Dream. The cast of characters is perfect and the performances are superb. The musical score beautifully supports the events. A good old-fashioned dash of filmmaking. You don't get to see such kinds of movies nowadays. A truly inspiring movie. Like many others, it got lost in the craze of the hi tech and big production movies of today. See it now, and you will cherish it forever.
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Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: This a a very uplifting story. Based on the "The Rocket Boys"The acting is superb, and the DVD widescreen version picture and sound is also superb.There are some good extras on the DVD including interviews with the real Homer Hickman Jr, the director and producer. This is a great movie to have in your library.
Rating:
Summary: An undiscovered jewel of a film.
Review: Not everybody will like this film. Three people out of the one hundred and seventy five reviewers here didn't like it. And fifteen more out of the remaining one hundred and seventy two gave it three or four stars, leaving one hundred and fifty seven who thought this an absolutely great movie against eighteen who didn't. So I think I'm safe enough to say you'll like this movie even if reading about it doesn't make it sound that exciting. The bottom line is that this movie is so very human. The boys who are obsessed with rockets are normal, every day boys sparked with enthusiasm about what can be done. They are following their own stars, their own sense of what is right for them, against the opposition of those who don't understand. And so, there is a story for each and every one here, a very real story about following your own star, not somebody else's. Yes, it's a feel good movie, but it achieves this through the power of the true story, not out of viewer manipulation. Very highly recommended.
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Summary: You want sports inspiration...go watch 'Rudy'
Review: This movie is the 'Rudy' equivalent for the academic set. If your kid is not into sports and you want to show him another way to make it in this world, then buy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring movie for all ages
Review: What a cracking good movie this is. A really inspiring story about a young boy chasing his dream of designing, building and launching a rocket. It's a movie that grabs you from the beginning and keeps you interested till the end. Okay it's a 'feel good' movie, but this one has that extra special quality. It's hard to put your finger on what that is, but certainly the terrific acting coupled with the rather unique storyline are blended smoothly together to give us a cinematic treat. My entire family loved this movie and we've watched it a number of times since its release. It's the sort of movie that you need to convince people to watch, but the end result is usually that they are recommending the movie to others. Highly recommended and particularly good family viewing.
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Summary: A great movie but the book is still better
Review: October Sky is Homer Hickam, Jr.'s memoir made into film. Please note the spelling of his last name. His is Hickam, not Hickman, or Hickham or the other spellings I so often see. Hickam's book (originally titled Rocket Boys) is a far deeper and consequential piece than the movie. A #1 NY Times Best-Seller, nominated for the prestigious National Book Critic's Circle Award, plus being one of the NY Times notable books of 1998, Hickam's memoir is much different from the rather simplistic movie. It is a book that moves its readers to tears just after making them laugh out loud. One thing to clear up: Homer in the movie is actually called "Sonny" in the book. His father's name in the book is Homer, not John as the movie has it. That's why Homer (the author) is a Jr. I noticed he's dropped the Jr. from his later books, however. Sonny and the SIX Rocket Boys (not 4 as in the movie) are motivated to build their rockets by a desire to someday work for Wernher von Braun of NASA. The idea to go to the Science Fairs comes much later in the book. There are no scholarships. Sonny does not quit school and he does not go to work in the mine. He is, however, taken in the mine by his father who tries to convince him to become a mining engineer, a great difference from the movie. His mother, vastly tougher than in the movie, catches her husband taking Sonny into the mine and a great scene of parental combat ensues. It isn't overt, just a word or two, a tear, some coaldust blown in the face of the mother, but it is one of the best-written scenes I have ever read. Another scene I loved was when Sonny was taken in by the town prostitute during a snow storm after Miss Riley has given him the all important rocket science book. All in all, this is a great book which deserved a better movie, even though the movie if only seen for itself, isn't bad. In fact, it's very good. Best thing to do, though, is to read the book (Homer has written six by the count on this site) and also check out his web site at homerhickam.com. I think you'll agree that Rocket Boys/October Sky is an exceptional book. I'm hoping someday somebody else will make a movie out of it that will capture its true genius.
Rating:
Summary: Genuine and inspiring
Review: An inspiring movie based on the true story of how Homer Hiccum, NASA astronaut trainer, won a college scholarship in a national science fair by building amateur rockets. The October Sky features the classic hero that overcomes the challenges before him to realize a dream. The story is strengthened by not oversimplifying the main antagonists, Homer's father and the small town of Coalwood. While both are often frustratingly intolerant, they are also capable of genuine kindness and eventual support. Overall, an uplifting movie with depth and real heroes.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Great Films of 1999
Review: I was turned off by the trailers for October Sky and decided to skip it when it was in theaters. I may not have been alone in this decision, as the movie's income stayed earthbound. It was a bad decision. I have an excuse. I am a critic. Everyone knows critics can be exceptionally faulty when it comes to judgment calls. After finally seeing it, I can report that it is one of the best films of 1999. Hollywood has a spotty track record when it comes to movies about small town life, especially when the place is truly in the boondocks -- in this case, the coal country of West Virginia. A bit of history: In the 1930s, studio bosses, most of whom were from places like New York City, created a sort of parallel universe of small towns. The houses and the business were immaculate, as where the citizens. Father knew best. Mom fought with, but eventually sided with, Dad. The kids, who rebelled at times, always wound up sharing the hopes and values of their parents. These movies were quite entertaining [and still are], and the audiences came away both smiling and filled with simplistic moral lessons. Decades later, directors such as Steven Spielburg, were still showing us these same villages. Eventually, these dreamy Hollywood towns became real to people. The problem was it was never the town the moviegoer lived in. It is October 1957. Homer Hickman lives in a tiny hamlet. It's a company town. Its only reason for being is mine coal. Some of the houses are cheerful, but they are built around the bleak company offices. Unlike his brother, who is athletic and may get a football scholarship, Homer's schooling seems destined to end in this, his Senior year. It looks like he will become a miner like his father, but it is obvious from the start that this idea makes the boy miserable. 1957 was the year the Soviet Union launched its first satellite, Sputnik. The space race had begun. Some nights, people could stand outside and actually see this wondrous thing flying across the sky. With Homer, it is love at first sight. Just as Sputnik soars, so does his spirit. He has a goal now. He will build a rocket. His two best friends find this a source of great amusement. Homer turns to the school's weird, shy genius -- a nerdy kid who is considered a complete outcast by the student body. Finally, his friends decide to join in on the risky venture. Homer, John, Quentin and Roy Lee find out that successfully launching a small rocket is no easy thing. Encouraged by Miss Riley, one of those rare teachers one never forgets, they persist. She points out to them that they can enter the science fair, and if, by some remote chance, they should win it and go on to the national contest, college scholarships are a possibility. The story itself is interesting enough, but it is the focus on what goes on within Homer's family that makes October Sky so good. Director Joe Johnston has etched an indelible portrait of an American family. The external issues they face are often unlike the ones people face today. The internal issues are timeless. There is the father, John, who has transferred his emotions to his job and who dreams fondly of his sons following in his footsteps. The mother, Elsie, is torn by her unconditional love for Homer and for her stern, taciturn and often distant husband. Homer has to decide between pleasing his father, whom he adores, and following his own dreams. Rarely has a movie so poignantly shown the underlying tension that exists in even the most closely knit family. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as Homer. His is a soulful, thoughtful performance. He has Oscar written all over him -- if not for this part, then for some future role. As the other "Rocket Boys," as the town dubs them, Chad Lindberg, Chris Own and William Lee Scott are excellent. A plus is that each of these boys is shown to have a unique personality. While Natalie Canerday is memorable as Elsie, Chris Cooper is masterful as John. His is the most difficult role. In lesser hands, the father would have come off as the villain of the piece, but Cooper avoids that mistake entirely. While the role of Miss Riley is smaller than Laura Dern is used to playing, she makes the most of it. Parts of October Sky will make you laugh out loud, while others will bring a tear or two. All of it will be good for your soul.
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