October Sky (1999) - full transcript

While most of President
Eisenhower's advisors...

Today are ominous.

Washington...

If you have just tuned
in to this special bulletin,

Washington has confirmed
that, yesterday,

on the fourth of October, 1957,

the Soviet Union
successfully launched

history's first
man-made satellite

into space orbit
around the Earth.

The satellite, which the
Russians have dubbed Sputnik

is being hailed as a
milestone in history.



No one in our nation's capital
could deny that the satellite

has ushered in a grim
new chapter in the Cold War.

And indeed, a wave
of national anxiety

already seems to be
sweeping the country.

Still maintaining its
speed of 18,000 miles an hour,

completing an orbit
of the Earth every 96 minutes.

Doctor Wernher von Braun,

chief engineer of the army
ballistic missile agency,

expressed the hope
that the United States

would soon be following
the Russians into space

with our own artificial satellite.

Mister von Braun confirmed

that there has
still been no actual

sighting of
the Soviet satellite,



but the U.S. expects
to be tracking it very soon.

We are told that Sputnik will
be visible to the naked eye

about an hour after sunset
and an hour before dawn,

as it traverses the October
sky over the United States.

What the beeping signal means
we still don't know.

It may be nothing more...

Let's go, Roy Lee.

It's almost 9:00.

Sure are in a hurry
to get yourself killed.

No kiddin'. There are easier ways

to commit suicide, Homer.

Will you just step on it, Roy Lee?

I am steppin' on it.

Okay, Maguire, Longstreet,
Hickam. Let's see what you got.

Hey, take it easy
on my kid brother.

Make him look good, all right?

Let's go! Hut!

Hut two!

I thought I told you
to take it easy on him.

I did take it easy on him.

Ten!

I'm gonna run right over
you, you son of a bitch.

You hear me?

Hut one! Hut two!

Homer, you sure got guts,

but you gotta know when to quit.

Okay, Miller! You're up!

Why should the damn jocks

be the only ones
gettin' scholarships?

They're also the only
ones that get the girls.

This burns my ass.

What do you boys think about this?

Isn't that something? Hmm...

Let 'em have outer space.

We got rock 'n' roll.

I'm with you. We got enough
to worry about down here.

Homer, your dad say
anything about any layoffs?

No.

Have they pulled any more pillars?

Uh, he didn't say.

Does he talk at all?

Oh, yeah. He talks.

Damn it, Jake!

Didn't I tell you to put some men

to work on those roof bolts?

Was I talkin' to the wall?

I'm sorry, John.
We was just tryin' to get...

Make sure the hoot owl shift

sets those timbers by the vent!

Two more days on that block,

we're gonna be down to the bone.

I guess that's...

Jensen!

Get out of the way!

Jensen, look out!

Come on. Come on, Jensen.

Come on back.

Come on. What happened?

Whole damn mountain
'bout fell on your head.

And John here...
He saved your life.

That's my dad.

I want you out of this mine.

Don't come back, you
stupid son of a bitch.

Didn't I tell you to
watch the roof, huh?

Now we could've all been killed

'cause you didn't have
the sense to look up!

That's my dad.

Homer.

Well, how'd it go?

Well, I told you. You spend
the summer shovelin' coal,

and you'll be playin'
linebacker next fall.

What's the matter, Homer?
Not cut out for mining coal?

Me neither.

Hey, let's get that mess cleaned up!

Let's get some cribbin' on that roof!

Buck up, Homer. You're a Coalwood boy.

When you get down in the mine,

get that coal shovel in your hand,

feel just as natural to
you as a tick on a dog.

And get that slate off the loader!

It's the radio signal

transmitted by the Soviet Sputnik.

Listen now for the sound which for
evermore separates the old from the new.

That's it? That's the Sputnik?

That's Sputnik.

Well, big deal.

Big deal? What you fail to grasp

is that the sound you're
hearin' is bein' transmitted

by an object that is travelin'
at 18,000 miles per hour,

559 miles high,

and orbitin' the Earth every nine...

Shut up!

Boys, not in my class!

Thank you, Quentin.

Now Quentin's right, y'all.

Sputnik is a milestone in history.

Things'll never be the same again.

What do you think about that, Homer?

Well, yes, ma'am. Uh...

Cat got your tongue?

We were talkin' about bein' in orbit,

hundreds of miles away from the Earth.

You know anything about that?

No, ma'am.

I got my eye on you, boy.

Now who can tell me why
Sputnik is so important?

We ought to just
shoot the damn thing down.

It's got one of them
little spy cameras in it.

It takes pictures of every
one of our missile bases.

This country'd better get on
the ball before it's too late.

All I know is this Sputnik
had better show up soon.

I'm gettin' a crick in my neck.

All right. What you need to do

is take her to the movies.

Somethin' scary, like
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

Then you take your arm
and put it up round

the back of her chair, like so.

Now when it gets real scary,

and she ain't payin' attention
to nothin' but the movie,

you sort of let your arm sort
of slide on down her shoulder,

real nice and slow and easy,

until...

Hey! Hey!

I see it! Right there!

Where? Where?

You seein' things, Carl?

I see it.

Where?

I see it. It's right there.

Wow.

Son of bitches gonna be droppin'
bombs on us from up there.

Don't know why they'd
drop a bomb on this place.

Be a heck of a waste of a bomb.

The first game against Welch...

That's the one that's
gonna draw the scouts.

Yeah. Welch knows it too.
They're gonna be coming after us.

Well, y'all be careful, Jim.

Last year, those two boys from
Welch got their arms broken.

Well, they started it.

It don't matter much who started it.

I don't call that football.

You don't worry about Jim.

Ain't nobody on the Welch
team that can catch him.

I wish the scouts could've seen
that first game with Bluefield.

I'm gonna build a rocket.

Like Sputnik.

Well, I'm not sayin' it's gonna
go up in space or anything,

but I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna build a rocket.

Well, just don't blow yourself up.

More eggs, anybody?

Nice rocket, Homer.

How high do you think it will fly?

Well, I got it packed with
the powder from 30 sky rockets.

Three, four miles.

You ready? Yeah.

Yeah.

Ten, nine,

eight, seven, six...
Should we get behind somethin'?

What happened?

My rocket blew up.

Are you okay?

I guess.

My heart's poundin'.

I thought the mine blew up. Oh, Homer.

I waited six months
for the company carpenter

to finally get around
to puttin' up that fence.

Didn't I tell you not
to blow yourself up?

Yes, ma'am.

Then let's not.

Elsie.

It's all right, Ms. Fields.

It's all right.

Dear Dr. von Braun...

Six, five, four, three...

My name is Homer Hickam.
Two, one...

I'm 17 and I live in a small
mining town in West Virginia.

Ignition.

Liftoff. Liftoff.

I'm writing to offer my
condolences to you and your team

on your recent attempt
to launch the Vanguard rocket.

I also had a disastrous occurrence

during the launch of my own small rocket.

Since here in Coalwood,
everyone's much more interested

in what's down below the Earth
than what's above it,

there isn't a whole lot
of material to be found

on the subject of rocketry.

So I've been kind of
stumbling around in the dark.

You can't be seen with him, Homer.

He's a weirdo. You go ahead,

but you can kiss your
social life goodbye.

Hi, Homer. Hi.

I don't let anybody
copy my homework.

I don't wanna copy your homework.

Um,

do you know anything
about rockets?

Of course I do.

Uh, you wanna come with
me over to the library?

No.

What do you wanna
know about rockets?

Everything.

Well, rocketry was actually invented
by the Chinese as early as 1,000 A.D.

And, supposedly, they
were quite sophisticated.

"Potassium chlorate and sulfur."

Uh, well, what'd you use?

Uh, somethin' like that.

Hey, Quentin, this is great.

This is exactly... We have
everything we need in here.

Roy Lee, drive me to my house.

We can use my basement.

Yeah, at least nobody'll
see us down there.

Go, go, go.

Come on.

You got a loose choke cable.

You hear that?

The butterfly valve
isn't closin' all the way.

Uh, last year I built
an internal combustion engine

and entered it in
the science fair.

Yeah, well, you wouldn't happen
to have it on you, would you?

Ugh!

Ow! I'm sorry.

You missed a spot.

This thing's startin'
to look like a rocket.

Listen to this. "Weld the washer

"to the base of the rocket body,

"creating a combustion chamber
and nozzle."

We don't know how to weld. Weld.

Homer, your brother's in metal shop.
Maybe he could, uh...

Do we really need
this nozzle thing?

For cryin' out loud,

the nozzle's
the most important part.

It directs the flow
of the hot gases!

Hey, cool it, Quentin.

Man, talkin' about
your hot gases.

I don't think your father

would like you sneaking up in
the middle of the night in here,

and I know that
he wouldn't like me

welding for you on company time.

Well, what if I paid
the company for your time?

Homer, I can't.

I would lose my job.

I'm sorry.

Did you see Sputnik go
over the other night? Nah.

'Cause it was beautiful.

I stood there and watched it
streak across the sky.

And anywhere in the world,

someone could look up
and see exactly what I saw.

For once, it felt like Coalwood
was part of the outside world.

Homer, believe me,
there are much

worse places than
Coalwood in this world.

Besides, this is just
a flying piece of steel.

You know, a rocket took
it up there, Mr. Bykovsky.

I don't know. I...

When I was workin' on
this rocket, I felt like,

I felt like I was,

like I was Wernher von Braun.

Let me see.

Homer,

it will be our secret.

Mr. Bykovsky did
a dang good job on this.

Yeah, well, he used
a washer for the weld.

Man, it looks just like it did
in the picture. Prodigious.

When, uh, when do we go?

Give me that. Uh, Saturday...

What is this,
a weapon of some kind?

No, sir. It's a, it's a rocket.

I don't allow dangerous
devices on school grounds.

Mr. Turner, I asked Homer
to bring that to school.

To show it in class.

You know, the boys
are thinkin' about

enterin' that
county science fair.

Be careful, gentlemen.

I'm gonna have my eye on you.

Thank you, Mr. Turner.

That science fair is rigged.
All the judges are from Welch,

so only the kids
from Welch ever win.

And besides, science
fairs are for geeks.

No offense, Quentin.

Well, it's too bad
you feel that way.

You know, the winners go on to the
national Science fair in Indianapolis,

and colleges from all over the
country hand out scholarships.

It's great.
Have a good lunch, boys.

College scholarships
for winning a science fair?

Well, maybe it's not for you.

Well, what do you mean?

Homer, you got a great mind.

But science requires math,

which has never been one
of your favorite subjects.

Can't just dream your way
out of Coalwood, Homer.

Auk I. Stroke of genius, Homer.

It won't fly unless
somebody lights the fuse.

What the hell is a Auk?

It's a bird that don't fly.

What, kind of like a parakeet?

Ready?

Well, Youngstown's
always been fair, Otis,

but you're asking me to

lay off damn near half the town.

The mine is just not producin'

the way it was
10 years ago, John.

We're payin' the same labor
for half the tonnage.

What if we were to
open up a new shaft?

That coal is down there, Otis.

You just let me go after it.

The Coalwood mine is
givin' out, Mr. Hickam.

Move!

Ten...

Nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two...

Uh-oh. Holy shit, it's
headed for the mine!

I told you we didn't
know what we were doin'!

I told you! Oh, no. Oh, no.

I don't believe this.

Go ahead.

God in heaven, I thought
it was a guided missile!

I thought the damn
Russians were attackin' us.

The boy's in trouble now.

So this is what you been
up to in the basement, huh?

Yes, sir.

Damn, Homer.

You could've killed somebody
with this idiot thing.

I know, sir. I'm sorry. I was...

Well, Homer here wants to be a
rocket scientist. Is that it, John?

He has no idea
what he wants to be.

But I know what he is.
He's a menace,

and he's a damn thief.

Dad...
And so is whoever helped you.

Ike Bykovsky did this, didn't he?

Don't you ever let me catch you

with these fool things on company
property again, you understand me?

Yes, sir.

Then go home.

Yeah? What's your tunnel number?

He called me a thief, Ma,
in front of everybody.

I mean, how could he do that?

He was dead wrong
callin' you that.

He'd never have
done that to Jim.

They could catch Jim
stickin' up the company store,

and Dad would probably laugh
and say, "That's my boy."

I know he's hard to understand
sometimes, Homer,

but you have to
know he loves you.

He loves the mine...

More than Jim even.

More than you.

You hush up.

What's it given him back?

Nothin' but a spot on his lung
the size of a damn quarter.

You don't know what
the mine gives me.

You don't know
'cause you're still a boy.

But, by golly, you're gonna
find out soon enough.

I'm never goin' down there.

You better have a talk
with your son, Elsie,

'cause he's out of control.

Where's my rocket stuff?

Right where they belong.

Quentin, you know, that rocket
went up at least 100 feet.

More like 200.

God...

Man, will you
cut it out, Roy Lee?

Die, you son of a bitch.

Come on. My turn now.

Hey, man. What's with you?

Man, we should be tryin'
to get in that science fair

instead of sittin' around here
like a bunch of hillbillies.

I got some really bad news for you,
Homer. We are a bunch of hillbillies.

Besides, um, didn't your
dad say no more rockets?

No. He said no more rockets
on company property.

Do you realize how far

we'd have to go to get
off company property?

Yeah. We have to go to Snakeroot.

Snakeroot? That's eight miles.

It's not that far. I mean,
we could walk if we have to.

Oh, walk. That's
a fantastic idea.

Let's go! Come on!

Wake the hell up,
will ya, Homer?

I got about as much chance
of winnin' that science fair

as you do winnin'
a football scholarship.

I know I'm gonna be a miner.

I've known my entire life.

What the hell's so
bad about minin' coal?

Nothin', Roy Lee.
Coal minin's great.

That's why your stepdaddy's the
biggest drunk in West Virginia.

I mean, come on, guys!
You know the mine'll kill ya.

Did you ever hear the story
about how O'Dell's dad died?

Homer, will you forget it, man?

Shut up, Homer.

A piece of slate caught
him right in the neck

and cut his head clear off.

Bitch! Come on!

O'Dell!

Get off of me!

Hey, fellas.
We're lookin' for U.S. 52.

Uh, fellas?

Uh, just, uh, stay
left at the fork.

It's about another
five miles straight ahead.

Thanks.

You fellas see the way
she was lookin' at me?

Man, you all
wanna be coal miners,

you all go ahead
and be coal miners.

There. There.

God's honest truth, Homer,

what are the chances

of a bunch of kids from Coalwood

actually winnin'
the National Science Fair?

A million to one, O'Dell.

That good?

Well, why didn't you say so?
Come on. Give me that.

Quentin.

What?

We hiked eight miles for this?

Oh, it's great.
What should we call it?

How 'bout a slack dump?

What about "No Man's Land"?

Cape Coalwood.

I mean, it's perfect.

We could build
a blockhouse over there,

and... And a...
And a... And a launchpad.

And we could even
build a test stand!

Dear Dr. Von Braun,

our launch site, which
we've named Cape Coalwood,

is nearing completion.

Thanks to the generosity
of local businesses.

Inspired by our efforts,

everyone is anxious to help
by donating materials.

We've been fortunate to have
the support of our classmates.

And the whole community
here in Coalwood is behind us.

Hey, Rocket Boy.
Mars is that way.

But no one has been more encouraging
to our efforts than my father.

No, the company doesn't have any
cement left over for launchpads.

I just thought I'd ask.

Besides, I told you
no more rockets.

Uh, you said no more
rockets on company property.

And Olga doesn't own Snakeroot.

So, you walk eight miles?

Yes, sir.

Well, tell me something, Homer.

Uh, what exactly is this
Wernher von Braun

and the rest of those
Germans accomplishin' anyway?

'Cause if you ask me,
it's nothin' but a stunt.

You think...
You think catchin' up

to the Russians in
space is a stunt?

When the novelty wears off,
they're all gonna be sent packin'.

Maybe then they'll have to
find themselves a real job.

Like minin' coal?

You listen here.

The coal we mine
makes steel, Homer.

And if steel fails,
this country fails.

If you had half a damn brain
in your head, you'd know that.

Well, who's down there now?

Hold on just a second.
Hey, listen here.

I had an engineer
estimate a new walkway.

They had some cement left over,

so it got caught in the rain...
It's probably ruined.

But if you wanna
haul it out, it's all yours.

Thanks, Dad.

I'll be down there in a minute.

And Miss Riley wanted to make
sure you document your results.

You will be graded
when she returns.

You have one hour.

Potassium chloride
has a potassium atom.

If we mix it with
sugar and add heat,

we'll get three parts oxygen,
two parts carbon dioxide,

along with some other
by-products.

In other words, lots of
good expanding gases.

It should make
an excellent propellant.

It smells like candy. Ooh!

Better get started.

All right, quick. Get rid of it.

Mr. Bolden, have you
seen Mr. Bykovsky around?

He's not in the shop anymore.

Your dad sent him
down to the mine.

He's takin' it out on you
because you helped me.

That's enough of that.
Your father is a fair man.

If he's strict,
it's because he has to be.

Besides, he did me a big favor,

transferring me
from the machine shop.

What are you talkin' about?

I can make twice as much money
down there working the high coal.

You can?

I've got relatives in Europe

who've had hard time
recovering from the war.

They depend on me for
whatever I can provide.

So, believe me,
I can use the extra money.

I'm just sorry I won't be able

to weld any more rockets for you.

That's for good luck.

Maybe you could
teach me how to weld.

Welding is very
difficult, Homer.

I could learn.

You don't give up, do you?

I can't.

- Come on, son.
- Hi, Mr. Bolden.

Hey, Homer. I heard
you tellin' Ike

you were gonna be shootin' off
another rocket up here today.

I... I thought that might be
somethin' we'd like to see.

Whoa!

Eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three...

Hey, look out!

Mr. Bolden!

Mr. Bolden, are you okay?

I'm all right.

I'm sorry about that, sir.

Oh, that's all right.
That's all right.

Homer, I flew with the
Red Tails in World War II.

And seein' that rocket
come at me...

It almost took me back there.

Hey, let me have
a look at that thing.

That's a good job
on the weld, Homer,

but the heat from the
exhaust melted the washer.

It's referred to as
a nozzle... Uh, sir.

Son, you can call it
whatever you wanna call it,

but you're gonna have
to have a better steel

that can take the heat.

Now I'd say S.A.E. 10-20 bar
stock ought to do you fine.

And I can order it for you.

Well, that'd be
great, Mr. Bolden.

But it's kind of expensive.
Um...

Twelve miles of scrap iron,

and all we gotta
do is pop it loose.

Yeah. Now what are we gonna tell

the railroad when they catch
us pryin' up the track?

It's abandoned.
See, the county's

covered with abandoned spur lines.

A mine shuts down,
the track just rusts over.

$8.20.

This is worth $8.20?

A ton.

Come on.

This thing weighs
a ton all by itself!

Four-hundred pounds.

Four-hundred pounds?

All right.

O'Dell, you're sayin'
this thing is worth a buck 65?

Woo-hoo!

Whoa.

O'Dell?

I... It's abandoned.
Uh, look at the rust.

Caretta number two
shut down in '51.

Shit!

Get it up!
Get it up! Just get it up!

Give me a hand, man. Come on!

Forget it! Forget it!
Just stop the train!

Roy Lee!

- Stop!
- Stop! The track's out!

Stop! Stop!

Stop it!

Stop! Stop!

The track!

S.A.E. 10-20 bar stock.

Then go 30 degrees crucial.
When the fuel combusts,

it creates a controlled explosion.

The nozzle directs a river of hot gas

that can reach the speed of sound

when it hits the mouth of the nozzle!

Hey, Quentin. Sorry.

It's called a tapered bore.

A tapered bore. Now he's takin'
off just a little bit at a time.

Good deed, good deed.

I'm concerned that the mass
of the added propellant

compared to the mass of the
empty rocket will be too little.

Uh, he's afraid
it'll be too heavy.

Why don't we
just make it longer?

Longer would allow
increased volume

for the propellant
without much additional mass.

Great idea.

We got one!

My guess is, is we're gettin' air
pockets in the body of the propellant.

When the fire hits 'em, they act
like little combustion chambers.

I think we're gonna need
a liquid binder of some sort.

What about gasoline?
That's a good idea.

"Four unidentifiable
high school students

"lost their lives
earlier this mornin'

"when their
toy rocket exploded."

Alcohol. I mean,
alcohol's stable.

And it'll evaporate quickly.

Yeah, but it'd have
to be 100% undiluted.

None of that watered-down stuff
they sell at the company store.

I have no idea
where we could find that.

Listen. I know these fellas,
so let me do all the talkin'.

I'm not gonna say a word.

Is that rocket fuel or what?

Great.

How'd they find out about it?

My brother.

You know, we poop out this
time, the whole county's

gonna be laughin' at us.

Who cares what
any of them think?

Easy for you to say, Quentin.

You're used to people
makin' fun of you.

All right now.

Quentin's right, y'all.

Homer, you don't have to
prove anything to anybody.

You remember that.

Now go launch yourself a rocket.

Come on, boy.

Homer!

Hello, Dorothy.

Is that thing really gonna fly?

Well, it, uh...

That thing had better fly, or
you can kiss your chances of

losin' your virginity goodbye.

Hey, couldn't you guys
find somethin' better to do?

Hey, listen.
There's no practice on Saturdays.

You little sisters are the
only entertainment in town.

Yeah, we were gonna drive over
to War, but then we thought,

"Hey, let's go see
Homer blow himself up."

That's real funny, Jim.

Hey, Homer, come on.
We don't got all day.

Shut up, Jim.
Homer, everything ready?

Wait, wait. What?
What do you mean, wait?

Where are you goin'?

Hurry up, y'all.

All right. It won't fly unless
somebody pulls the string.

- Ten...
- Nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four...

Oh, my God!

That's great!

Homer, that was unbelievable!

Let's go, Dorothy.

I'll tell you
what's unbelievable...

The captain of the football
team bein' jealous of you.

What you think about gettin'
in that science fair now?

I think we got a chance.

Well, bless her heart.

Aunt Joanne hasn't seen you
in about a year and a half.

You look like a sausage.

He does not.

Happy birthday, Homer.

It'll stretch some
when you wear it.

You be sure and send her
a nice thank you note now.

All right.

John? Huh?

Oh, happy birthday, Homer.

And I got this in the mail.

Must be a present from Grandma.

What's this?

Oh, it's an autographed picture.

Of Grandma? Rather get socks.

Wernher von Braun.

Well, wonder how he knew
it was your birthday.

I don't reckon he did.

"Dear Homer, congratulations
on your rocket building.

"Continue your education
and maybe one day..."

Boy, you better take an
interest in your own damn town.

Instead of wastin' your time,

worryin' about Wernher von Braun
and, uh, uh, Cape Canaveral.

John, it's his birthday.

All right, Homer. Uh...

Yeah?

Homer, there's strike
talk startin' up again.

Your father's...
Yeah, he's got a lot on his mind.

Yeah, well, I don't give a damn.

"Principles of
Guided Missile Design."

I had Miss Waters order it

for you a while back,
and it just came.

I know the math is too advanced
for you. It is for me too.

There's Calculus,
differential equations...

No, I'll learn the math.

This is great, Miss Riley.
I'll learn everything.

It's the best present
that anyone's ever given me.

Thank you.
I'm gonna show the guys.

Well, Quentin will
probably go cra...

Goodness gracious, Hickam.

Watch where you're goin'.
Just...

Where'd you get this?

I gave it to him.

Bye, Miss Riley.

Miss Riley, our job is to
give these kids an education,

not false hopes.

False hopes?

Do you want me to sit quiet,

let 'em breathe in coal dust
the rest of their life?

Miss Riley, once in a while,

a lucky one will get out
on a football scholarship.

The rest of 'em
work in the mines.

How about I believe
in the unlucky ones, hmm?

I have to, Mr. Turner,
or I'd go out of my mind.

It's good, it's good.

Hey, Homer.

Happy birthday, Son.

Got some good news
for you, Homer.

Say hello to Fred Smith from
the University of West Virginia.

Hello, Homer. Hi, sir.

Mr. Smith wants Jim
to play football there.

He's offerin' him
a full scholarship.

Well, congratulations, Jim.

Do you play ball, son?

No, Homer shoots off rockets.
Whoosh and all that st...

Well, rockets are not
exactly my field, son,

but maybe if you work hard
enough, you'll get to college too.

Yeah, on a science fiction
scholarship, maybe.

Jim.

Dear Dr. von Braun,

thank you for
the autographed picture.

It will only further
inspire me to keep working

toward our all-important goal

of entering that
science fair this spring.

We're shootin'
off a rocket today.

I thought you'd
like to come see it.

I gotta catch up on some work.

How come... How come you never
have work when Jim plays football?

You never miss a game.

What time are you gonna do it?

About 4:00.

Uh, I can't promise you...

Somebody pulled a pillar too close.

Yeah?

Well, thank God for that.
Yeah, right now.

Nobody hurt.

Go, Rocket Boys!

Ten!

Nine, eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three, two,

one, liftoff!

You got it? Can you see?

Uh, no. Yes.

See it?

Yeah, I see it.

What's the time?

Looks like 12 seconds.

Which one of you
fellas is Homer Hickam?

Um, it's me, sir.

I'm Basil Thorpe with
the Bluefield Telegraph.

Can I ask you a few questions?

Sure.

"The silvery cylinder
burst forth

"in a fiery column
of smoke and flame,

"racing the very wind
as it soared into the sky,

"a messenger of these
Rocket Boys of Big Creek...

"These boys who use
their brains, not brawn,

"who play not football,
but with Apollo's fire."

Hi, Homer.

Hi, Dorothy.

Would you please
sign my newspaper?

Sure.

I just know you're gonna
be really famous someday.

H-O-M-E-R.

Which one of you fellas
is Homer Hickam?

Excuse me. Excuse me.

What you cost the taxpayers...

What in the world is goin' on?

Miss Riley, this does
not concern you.

You have these
boys in handcuffs.

You have these boys in handcuffs
in a high school, Mr. Turner.

You probably heard about the
forest fire last week over by Welch.

A lot of timber went up.

Mr. Turner, you take these
handcuffs off these boys.

They found a rocket
on the side of the road.

We knew it started
the fire, ma'am.

What we didn't know
is where it came from,

till this morning.

Mr. Hickam, can you account
for all your rockets?

No, sir. I can't.

If you weren't a minor, you'd
be in the state penitentiary.

I know, Dad. I...
Homer, I've been confused by you,

I've been mad as hell at you.

But, boy, it's the first time in
your life I've been ashamed of you.

You couldn't stop, man.
You couldn't!

Get in the car, Homer!

Homer, get in the car.

Idiot! I ought to
goddamn kill ya.

We ain't at the mine now.
This ain't your business.

You get in the car
with Homer, son.

You listen to me,
you drunken son of a bitch.

If that boy's father was
alive, he'd kick your ass.

So I'm gonna have
to do it for him.

If I see him with a
bruise, you get a scar.

If I see him with a limp,
you get crutches!

You hear me? Do you hear me?

You know, I'm reportin'
you to the union!

Screw you and your damn union.

Your father was one of the best
men I ever had workin' for me.

I was lucky to know him.

Come on.

Let's go have some
fun for a change.

They watched us get arrested.

We're practically ex-convicts.

They'll never dance with us.

Jesus, Quentin. You don't
know anything about women.

I heard she broke up
with that dumb jock.

See you later, Elvis.

Hi, Homer.

Hi, Dorothy.

Jim, look who's here.

Yeah, ain't it past
your bedtime?

Let's go.

Hey, Jim.

Way to go.

Hi, Valentine.

I'm glad you didn't go to jail.

It sure was exciting
watching your rockets go up.

You ever see that movie,
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman?

Homer!

Homer! Down here! Homer!

Homer! Homer! What is it?

Mom! Mom!

Mom?

Your father always
has to be the big hero.

I swear to God, if he gets
killed, I won't shed a tear.

It's comin' up!

Who... Who is it?

It's Ike Bykovsky. Bykovsky.

It's John Hickam!

Dad, Dad!

The cable snapped.

May have fractured his skull!

Get out of the way. Move back,
folks! Let us through here!

Tell you what, Homer.

A dozen men would've died today

if it hadn't been for your dad.

Thank you, Doctor.

Mmm-hmm. Bye-bye.

The, uh, doctor says

there's a chance your dad
could lose his eye.

He has to go to
the hospital in Charleston,

and Olga won't pay for all of it.

I'm gonna go down to the mine
and ask Jake Mosby to sign me on.

You can't do that, Jim.
You've got school.

Olga owns this house, Mom,
and half the furniture in it.

If you drop out, you'll
lose your scholarship.

Homer, I'm the oldest.
It's my responsibility.

I'll work in the mine.

Here you are, Mr. Turner.
Thank you, Miss Wade.

Mining coal is an
honorable trade, Mr. Hickam.

Nothing to be ashamed of.

Miss Riley! Miss Riley!

Turn your light on, boy.

Remember when you
gave me these, John?

Carbon crystals from the mine.

Yeah. Honeymoon.
At Myrtle Beach.

And you said,
"You always wanted diamonds.

"But these are the best I
can do. I wish they were real."

John, I never wanted diamonds.

This whole year

has been pretty rough
going down at the mine.

Bad tempers

and a lot of strike talk.

An accident makes things worse.

In a way, I guess,

I'm the one who's responsible
for what happened to Mr. Bykovsky.

Listen to me, Homer.

Last month,

I gave Ike the chance to go
back to the machine shop,

and he turned it down.

Yeah, he stayed in the mine
'cause the money was better.

That was his decision.

You understand me?

Yes, sir.

Well, is mining coal as
terrible as you figured it'd be?

I guess not.

But almost.

Everybody says to say hi.
Michael and Billy.

Valentine Carmina.

How about Miss Riley?

She ain't been around much.
She got some new boyfriend over in Welch.

So, uh, what's it like down there?

You get used to it after a while.

Besides, shoveling coal
has got its advantages.

Check this out.

Man, no wonder my stepdad
can slug me so good.

After a month down there,
you'd be able to knock him out.

Well, I ain't in no hurry.

See ya all later. See ya, man.

See ya, Homer.

In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Amen.

We appreciate the sacrifice
you made here, Homer.

But pretty soon,
you'll be able to go back

and finish up the school year.

I'm not going back to school.

A few weeks left in the term,

I'll just stay put.

Well, I think you ought
to finish high school.

Well, tell him, John.

Homer's not a boy anymore.

I don't think I can
tell him anything.

John, is the cutoff was not

done proper
according to contract.

Well, the company
did what it had to do.

Well, you know the Union
won't put up with it.

Just give it a rest, Jake.
It's my first day back.

Hey, Lenny, how's he doing?

He's a chip off
the old block, John.

It's good to have you back.

Thank you.

Hi. I'm headed toward the
face. You wanna come along?

Even though I don't
have that piece of paper,

the thing from college,
they listen to me.

You know why?

'Cause you know
more than they do.

You bet your life I do. Homer,

I know the mine
like I know a man.

Heck, I can take
one look around here...

Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm not afraid
of a little coal dust.

Hell, Homer,
I was born for this.

I guess it shouldn't surprise
me that you were too.

Let's go watch
'em shoot some coal.

Elsie, hold dinner
for a while, will you?

I have to make a call.

Homer,

I was in the store today,
and I heard some talk.

Boy, it's sure hard to keep a
secret in this town, isn't it?

But I guess I did
a pretty good job.

You know, there's a rumor
going around that I been

sneaking off to Welch
to see some beau.

I wish that rumor'd been true.

Yeah.

They told me Hodgkin's
can go into remission,

so I might have some time.

Is there anything
I can do, Miss Riley?

You can accept my apology.

For what?

My life's work is teaching.

And I believed that if you
boys won that science fair,

got scholarships,
went off and did

something great with your lives,

somehow my life would
have counted for something.

Homer.

You know what?

Sometimes you really can't
listen to what anybody else says.

You just gotta listen inside.

You're not supposed
to end up in those mines.

You know why? 'Cause I
think you made other plans.

I want you to know something.

I'm proud of you. I am.

Whatever you choose.

Excuse me, ma'am,
is Quentin home?

Quentin.

Homer, you figured this
equation out by yourself?

Well, if I did the math right.
It proves that you can't...

It proves we didn't
start that fire!

Quentin, what're you doin'?

Now, the Auk XIII
was the only one

that we couldn't find that day.

And our best guess for
fall time with the Auk XIII,

which is exactly identical,
was about 14 seconds.

If you help me with
the trig part, Quentin,

we should be able
to make a good guess

where that rocket landed.

Six thousand, three hundred
and twenty-eight feet.

1.2 miles.

Homer? Yeah?

Are you gonna tell Roy Lee
and O'Dell where I live?

It wouldn't matter if you lived
in the governor's mansion,

they'd still think you're weird.

I'll see you at dawn.

Don't you have
to go to the mine?

I don't work there anymore.

One.

Two.

Ninety-nine.

A hundred seven.

One hundred and twenty-six.

That's 6,300 feet.

It's gotta be
around here somewhere.

What'd we do wrong?

I don't know. I...
I'll check the math again.

Was there a wind that day?

I... I don't remember.

'Cause if there was,

the wind probably
came from the west,

which means that it
would've pushed the rocket...

Right there.

Prodigious.

Associated...

Mr. Hayes, where you
off to in such a hurry?

Okay, everybody,
back in your seats.

Miss Stanton,
Miss Blue, let's go,

back in your seats. Mr. Hancock.

That goes for you
too, Mr. Wilson.

Miss Riley, what's
going on in here?

They didn't start
that fire, Mr. Turner.

In the first place, you are
not a member of this classroom.

Neither are you, Mr. Turner.

Why don't you let
the boy defend himself?

And in the second place,
this rocket proves nothing.

You've already admitted having
lost a number of your rockets.

You cannot prove conclusively

that another one of them
didn't start that fire.

Yes, I can.

Are we to conclude, Mr. Hickam,
that since leaving school,

you've not only become an
expert in rocket science,

but in the field
of trigonometry?

I didn't say that I was a rock...
Obviously, you learned more

in the coal mines than
you did in high school.

Let the boy talk.
Go ahead, Homer.

Now, that fire was near Welch, just
under three miles from our launchpad.

And at the time of the fire,
the best that we could do

was 1.2 miles,

which is exactly where we
found that rocket, Mr. Turner.

See, Mr. Turner, that rocket fell
for about 14 seconds, which means

that it flew to an altitude
of 3,000 feet.

According to the equation,

S = 0.5at^2,

where S is the altitude, a is
he gravity constant or 32,

and t is the time it took for
that rocket to come back down.

Velocity equals
acceleration times time.

Get him, Homer, get him.

Are you following
this, Mr. Turner?

All right, we're all
duly impressed.

But do you mind telling me, if you
did not start that fire, who did?

What is it?

Whatever it is, it's ingenious.
The fins are spring-loaded.

That isn't a rocket at all.

It's an aeronautical flare.

There's an airport
here in Welch.

It's right above
where the fire started.

Mr. Hickam, report to my office

as soon as we return to school.

You do intend to enter the
county science fair, do you not?

Yes, sir, we do.

Well, if you intend
to represent Big Creek,

you're gonna have to be
enrolled as a student at Big Creek.

"Prodigenous."

Do you think you
can draw well enough

so Mr. Bolden could build it?

Yep. Let me see.

Yeah. Hey, Homer.

Hi, Dad.

What's this stuff doin' here?

Mr. Hickam, we didn't start the fire.

The troopers gave it back to us.

Yeah, it wasn't even
one of our rockets.

It was an aeronautical flare.

Y'all go on home now.

Yes, sir.

This the reason you
skipped work today?

Yes, sir.

I thought you put all this
nonsense behind you, Homer.

I thought you weren't gonna be doin' it...
Dad, it isn't nonsense.

I... I don't wanna
argue with you.

Look, son,

I can't even begin to tell you

how proud of you
I've been these past weeks.

I mean, you've just been doin'
a hell of a job in that mine.

You keep goin', you're
gonna have my job someday.

Everybody says so.

You got any idea how
proud that would make me?

Dad, but I...

I guess what I'm
sayin' is, is that

if this rocket stuff
is so important to you,

then so be it, as
long as you're careful.

Guess there's worse
hobbies you could have.

But skippin' work,
that's out of line.

And you gotta know that.

So let's go and get
you right with Jake.

Tell him you'll work
the hoot owl shift tonight.

No.

The coal mine's your life.
It's not mine.

I'm never going
down there again.

I wanna go into space.

Home Hickam,
Roy Lee Cook, Quentin Wilson,

and Sherman O'Dell
of Big Creek High,

for their ingenious display

of amateur
rocket-building techniques.

I can't believe we beat
the kid with the robot dog.

And I thought the
see-through ear was gonna win.

I got Miss Wade workin'
on your travel arrangements,

so you boys are gonna have to
decide who's goin' to Indianapolis.

We're all goin'.

Yeah.

Son, I wish you could, but we can't
afford to send all four of you.

Only one.
Let me know what you decide.

I'm gonna have
to know by Friday.

You boys did a fine job today.

I need to borrow a suitcase, and
I'm gonna need you guys' addresses,

because I'm gonna
write some postcards.

Oh, you shut up, Roy Lee.

Come on, you dope.
You know, you're goin', Homer.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Say hello to the outside world for us.

Do we know what we want?

Yeah!

- Are we gettin' it?
- No!

All right! All in favor of
goin' out on strike, say aye!

Aye!

All right, let's go!

All right, settle down!
Let's go!

Strike! Strike! Strike!

Well, they sure are
gettin' themselves worked up.

Everybody's sayin' this
one's gonna be a long one.

And it will, if I have
anything to say about it.

Ungrateful sons of bitches.

Mom, have you seen
the big green suitcase?

Did you look in the attic?

Yes, ma'am.

Well, I don't know.
John, you know where the suitcase is?

How the hell should I know
where the suitcase is?

I don't know, sug.

John!

Y'all stay inside!

Earl Lee!

I'm gonna kill
that son of a bitch!

Oh, don't be a damn fool.

All right, well,
what are we gonna do?

Nothin'.

Drunken bastard couldn't hit
the broad side of a barn.

He tried to kill you, Dad.
Yeah, Dad, you can't just stand...

Hey, hey, don't
trouble yourself, Homer.

You got more important
things to worry about.

Just go look for your suitcase.

Forget about it, Homer.

Shut up, Jim!

Listen, I'm sorry
about what's goin' on

around here,
but it isn't my fault!

What do you want from me anyway?

Better watch yourself, Homer!

If I win at Indianapolis,
maybe I can go to college,

maybe even get a job
at Cape Canaveral!

There's nothing here for me!
The town is dyin'!

The mine is dyin'!
Everybody knows it here but you!

You wanna get out of here
so bad, then go! Go!

Yeah, I'll go! Yeah, I'll go!

Go, go! I'll go!

And I'll be gone forever!
I won't even look back!

Welcome to Indianapolis.

Visitors to the fair will include

prominent members of every branch

of the national scientific community.

The fair will be open to the
public over the next two days.

The following day, the judges
will arrive to select the winners.

By timing the rocket's descent,

we would be able to figure out
just how high the rocket flew.

Would you like to see?
This is a de Laval nozzle.

Do any of y'all know
what a de Laval noz...

Two, please.

The judges always go for
the most expensive exhibits.

That guy with
the biosphere's gonna win.

I don't think so. My money's on
the kid with the rocket display.

Have you seen it yet?
It's really cool.

Mr. Owens, to the security office.

Mr. Owens, to the
security office, please.

It's not like we got a hell
of a lot of time, Roy Lee.

The judging is tomorrow.

There's nothin'
we can do without Mr. Bolden.

And he can't get anywhere
near the machine shop.

They even took my
picture of Dr. von Braun.

They stole everything.

Leon, what are you doing back here?

You know you shouldn't be seen back here.

I know, Elsie,
but Homer's in trouble.

Elsie, I don't have the power
to settle this strike.

The bosses listen to you.
They'll do what you tell 'em.

I am not gonna crawl on my belly

in front of those
miserable Union rats.

Is that what this is about, John?
Is this about your pride?

No, it's about
what's best for Coalwood.

If this mine doesn't produce,
then the town dies.

Think the Union gives
a good damn about that?

They're nothin' but a bunch of
greedy sons of bitches that...

Shut up, John. Just shut up.

Homer once said you love the
mine more than your own family.

And I stuck up for you 'cause
I didn't wanna believe it.

Homer has gotten a lot of help
from the people in this town.

They've helped him
build his rockets,

they've gone out there
and watched him fly 'em.

But not you, John. You never
showed up. Not even once.

Now, I'm not asking
you to believe in him,

but he's your son,
for God's sake, John.

And I am askin' you to help him.

If you don't, I'll leave you.

I'll find work. I'll do whatever
it takes to get away from here.

I'll live in a tree to get away
from you. Don't you think I won't.

Where would you go?

Myrtle Beach.

I guess we all know
this isn't gonna fix things,

uh, at least not for long.

We know you did
what you could for us.

Jake. Thanks.

Leon.

Yes, John.

Don't you have some work to do?

It's packed and shipped and on its way.

Be at the bus station, 8:00 a.m.

Okay, Mom, but how'd you...

Your father, Homer.

It was your father.

Give 'em hell, Homer!

Good luck, sweetie.

Bye.

Thanks, Dad.

When the rocket
propellant burns,

it produces a river of gas

which flows through the
convergent section of the nozzle.

If the river continues
through the nozzle,

or through the throat
at less than sonic speed,

that is to say,
less than the speed of sound,

it becomes compact in the...
Compacted in the divergent section,

bound in turmoil and inefficient.

Lyle Wells and Jean Cooper,
Schrader High School, McMinnville, Oregon.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, the big moment.

The highest scholastic
achievement award for Science.

The national science fair
first prize gold medal

goes to Homer Hickam,

Quentin Wilson, Roy Lee Cook
and Sherman O'Dell,

Big Creek High School,
McDowell County, West Virginia.

Tom Webster of
Virginia State College.

I wanna talk to you
about a scholarship.

Jack Palmer, Virginia Tech.

We got the best science program
in the state, buddy, okay?

Congratulations, son.
Good luck to you.

What did he say to you?

What did who say?

Von Braun. That was Wernher von Braun.
You just shook his hand.

Oh, Homer, I'm so proud of you.

Thanks, Mom.

He's not here, hon.

Where's Miss Riley?

Hello, Miss Riley.

Hi, Homer.

Hi. Hi.

Oh! You did it!

I knew you would.

The Rocket Boys
are goin' to college.

We all got scholarships.

And you know what?

From now on, every school year,

I'm gonna brag to
all my new students

about how I taught Homer Hickam
and the Rocket Boys.

Maybe one day,

one of them'll feel like
they can do what y'all did.

You know, just, stuff
like that takes time.

Will you let me out?

I don't know what they
were doin', charging Olga

for that kind of a pump.

Hell, why don't we
salvage something up here?

Hey, Dad. Hi.

Hello, Homer.

I just wanted
to tell you how much

I appreciate what
you did for me.

I know it wasn't easy
for you, so thank you.

And we're shootin' off
our last rocket today at 5:00,

so if you'd like
to come see it...

I got a lot of work to do.

All right. Well, I just
thought I'd ask.

Hear you met your big hero.

Didn't even know it.

Look,

I know you and me don't exactly
see eye to eye on certain things.

I mean, man, we don't see eye
to eye on just about anything.

But, Dad, I come to
believe that I got it

in me to be somebody
in this world.

And it's not because I'm so
different from you either.

It's 'cause I'm the same.

You know, I can be just as
hardheaded and just as tough.

I only hope I can be
as good a man as you are.

I mean, sure,

Dr. Von Braun's a great scientist,

but he isn't my hero.

It's our last rocket.

Yeah, let's do it.

Wire it up for me, will ya?
Yeah.

I gotta do something.

Hi, Homer. Hi.

Congratulations on winning
the science fair.

It's gotta be
the most exciting thing

that's ever happened around here.
Yeah.

Um, I was thinking, Homer,
if... If you've got some time...

Excuse me, Dorothy. Hi.

Hi.

Good luck. Thanks.

Hey, everybody, can we
have your attention, please?

Come on, Homer, let her fly!

We're gonna launch
the rocket in a minute,

but we'd like to
say thank you first.

If it wasn't for y'all, we'd never
have gotten into any science fair.

We'd probably never have gotten

past blowin' up my mom's fence.

But we did,

because of your help and support.

And this is for Coalwood.

There are a few people who
believed in us even before we did.

We'd like to dedicate
this rocket to them.

To Ike Bykovsky.

To Mr. Bolden,
who helped us so much.

To the person who
first inspired us,

our teacher, Miss Riley.

And, finally, I'd like to dedicate
this rocket to my mom and to...

My dad.

You know, it, uh, won't fly
unless somebody pushes the button.

It's yours, if you want it.

Ten, nine...

Eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

Look at it go, Homer.
This one's gonna go for miles.