Goofs:
Continuity: Mis-matched shots when "real" footage is mixed with fictional as Shepard leaves the van heading for the Redstone rocket. (more)

Trivia:
For close-up shots of the reentry, no actual fire was used. The larger model capsule in these shots had liquid nitrogen pumped into it. This immediately evaporated, producing a fog of condensation, which escaped through a carefully placed ring of vents around the base of the capsule to form a flame-like pattern all around it. Then, to make the color right, the effect was simply filmed in orange light. (more)

Filming Locations:
California & Montgomery, Financial District, San Francisco, California, USA (more)

Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator: There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier.
(more)

Awards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 11 nominations (more)