Top Gun (1986)

As students at the Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young flyer learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers:

Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr.,

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Maverick
Kelly McGillis	...	Charlie
Val Kilmer	...	Iceman
Anthony Edwards	...	Goose
Tom Skerritt	...	Viper
Michael Ironside	...	Jester
John Stockwell	...	Cougar
Barry Tubb	...	Wolfman
Rick Rossovich	...	Slider
Tim Robbins	...	Merlin
Clarence Gilyard Jr.	...	Sundown
Whip Hubley	...	Hollywood
James Tolkan	...	Stinger
Meg Ryan	...	Carole
Adrian Pasdar	...	Chipper

Storyline

Maverick is a hot pilot. When he encounters a pair of MiGs over the Persian Gulf, his wingman is clearly outflown and freaks. On almost no fuel, Maverick is able to talk him back down to the Carrier. When his wingman turns in his wings, Maverick is moved up in the standings and sent to the Top Gun Naval Flying School. There he fights the attitudes of the other pilots and an old story of his father's death in combat that killed others due to his father's error. Maverick struggles to be the best pilot, stepping on the toes of his other students and in a different way to Charlie, a civilian instructor to whom he is strongly attracted.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | flying | death | fighter pilot | famous line | 

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Taglines:

Up there with the best of the best.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Top Guns

Filming Locations:

USS Carl Vinson, Pacific Ocean

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,965,737 (USA) (8 February 2013)

Gross:

$179,767,866 (USA) (15 February 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Voted #3 Must See Movie of all time by listeners of Capital FM in London.

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Goofs

Viper mentions that he flew F-4s with Maverick's father in VF-51, aboard the USS Oriskany. VF-51 never served aboard the Oriskany, and they flew F-8 Crusaders in 1965, the year Maverick's father was shot down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Flight Captain: Good morning, Scott.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the memory of Art Scholl

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XVIII (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Destination Unknown"
By Franne Golde, Jake Hooker & Paul Fox
Performed by Marietta Waters
Produced by Harold Faltermeyer

User Reviews

Jerry Bruckheimer delivers again.

Jerry Bruckheimer; the name strikes fear into my heart.

The man honestly cannot tell the difference between action and boredom. With him its hit or miss.

In this case, hit.

Big hit.

Tom Cruise's performance is stellar, playing a role that he would end up playing again and again as the overconfident 'Maverick' who eventually learns his lesson. And a ham-handed lesson it is, hammered home in the end by his constant "I'm not leaving my wingman!" yell.

Val Kilmer shines...heck, the whole supporting cast shines! Meg Ryan, Anthony Edwards, Rim Robbins, Micheal Ironsides, Skerrit--they all come through beautifully. The action scenes are some of the best aerial shots ever shot.

On to the complaints.

Jerry Bruckheimer loads the sap on with a cement truck, nearly drowning this movie in it. The dialogue is corny. Basically--the very things that made the entire movie 'Armageddon' horrible mar the corners of Top Gun. The ending is worse than corny; it's a clear case of deus ex machina. A very clear case. The deus almost knocked me out of my seat.

A satisfying movie, altogether. Four out of five stars.