As Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark prepare themselves to fulfil many a little boys dream and become real life astronauts on rocket-ship New Shepard, here’s a look at space flight in the movies.
No doubt part of the fun for Jeff will be tweaking the noses of fellow space rival billionaires Elon Musk and Richard Branson. Unless one or both of the pesky duo steal a march on the Brothers Bezos before July 20th that is. I have tried to avoid the obvious choices: Gravity, Interstellar, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Passengers and Apollo 13 – all worthy of a watch – and introduce you to lesser known titles.
Understandably, the rigours of space flight are rarely the subject for full blown comedy movies (although there are numerous TV series that do), but older pictures such as Dark Star (1974), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) and Galaxy Quest (1999) continue to deliver on the laughter front.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in