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

James Tolkan's character is referred to as "Stinger" in the credits, but is never addressed by anything other than "Sir" throughout the film.

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Goofs

Several times you can see missiles that are supposed to be live for combat hanging from aircraft wings. The missiles have a blue band around them indicating they are inert training missiles. Live missiles would have a yellow band as a warning of the live high explosive warhead.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

A song called "Through the Fire" (by Larry Greene) appears in the end credits music listings, but isn't anywhere in the film. This song, however, does appear on the soundtrack.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Great Balls of Fire"
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Hammer and Otis Blackwell
Performed by Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis

User Reviews

And all the Air Force got was "Iron Eagle" .....

If there's ever proof of the cachet of Naval Aviation, this is it. Those poor Air Force guys got a trio of "Iron Eagle" flicks that went from bad to horrible, whereas the Navy flyboys got this great 1980's classic. Sure, it's cheesy and corny, but it makes the cheese and corn taste pretty damn good. A cynic might argue that it's just a two hour long Navy recruiting ad (one that worked for me, two years later I found my ass in Pensacola sweating through AOCS, short for Aviation Officer Candidate School, the program immortalized in "An Officer and a Gentleman") but by making a pro-Navy movie, the filmmakers also got invaluable technical assistance from top Navy aviators, and it shows.

For starters, although this movie takes numerous liberties in order to entertain, the basic setup, in which fighter pilots from the fleet get sent to NAS Miramar, aka, "Top Gun" for intensive training, is 100% accurate. The Navy, back during Vietnam, was getting sick of losing too many pilots in air-to-air combat. The problem, they discovered, was their fighter jocks had been trained for purely long-range missile interceptions, meaning they'd lost their dogfighting skills. And, in Vietnam, several American planes were accidentally shot down by their own side by missiles, so, as a safety factor, enemy planes had to be visually identified, meaning American pilots were back to engaging the enemy at short range, hence the need for dogfighting. The "Top Gun" school was started as a result, and the rest is history.

Now, back to the movie. Tom Cruise is Maverick, a hotshot pilot but also somewhat unstable. If "Risky Business" launched his career as a movie star, then "Top Gun" cemented it. Guys wanted to be like him, and women of course lusted after him. The plot is pure formula, but executed with consummate professionalism. The team who put this movie together knew exactly how to push all the right buttons. But the crème de la crème is surely the flying. I don't think that any movie, before or since, has ever rendered air combat in a more convincing and dramatic fashion. For nearly 100 years fighter pilots have been the modern equivalent of olden knights, men who brought a sense of glamour and romance to the deadly art of war, and this movie gives them a fitting tribute.

8/10