An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

A young man must complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator, with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writer:

Douglas Day Stewart

Stars:

Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith

Won 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Gere	...	Zack Mayo
Debra Winger	...	Paula Pokrifki
David Keith	...	Sid Worley
Robert Loggia	...	Byron Mayo
Lisa Blount	...	Lynette Pomeroy
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Casey Seeger
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Sgt. Emil Foley
Tony Plana	...	Emiliano Della Serra
Harold Sylvester	...	Perryman
David Caruso	...	Topper Daniels
Victor French	...	Joe Pokrifki
Grace Zabriskie	...	Esther Pokrifki
Tommy Petersen	...	Young Zack
Mara Scott-Wood	...	Bunny (as Mara Scott Wood)
David Greenfield	...	Schneider

Storyline

Zack Mayo is a young man who has signed up for Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School. He is a Navy brat who has a bad attitude problem. Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley is there to train and evaluate him, and will clearly find Zack wanting. Zack meets Paula, a girl who has little beyond family, and must decide what it is he wants to do with his life.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | military industrial complex | navy | military officer | u.s. military | 

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Taglines:

His struggle...Her love...The fight for their future.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, Mayo's dad, Byron (Robert Loggia) visited his son during training, and had a much bigger role.

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Goofs

After Foley pulls Daniels out from the pool, his medal ribbons are missing their devices (little stars etc.). They are present before he jumps into the pool. It's unlikely they would have just fallen off.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mayo: [whispered to sleeping father] Hey.
[flashback to Manila]
Byron: Hey, kid! Are you Zack?
Young Zack: Yes, sir.
Byron: I'm Byron; nice to meet you. Come on, let's get your bags, OK?
Young Zack: Yes, sir.

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Crazy Credits

With special thanks to Art Kulman of the Washington State Dept. of Commerce & Economic Development, Fort Worden State Park, Gus Gustafson, Brent Shirley, and the people of Port Townsend, Washington.

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Alternate Versions

Some of the music in the VHS version has been changed - namely the ZZ Top, Pat Benatar, Dire Straits, and Van Morrison songs.

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Connections

Referenced in The Take: Episode #1.1 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Be Real
(1970)
Written by Doug Sahm (as D. Sahm)
Performed by Sir Douglas Quintet (as The Sir Douglas Quintet)
Courtesy of Phillips Records

User Reviews

Always will be a great crowd pleaser

Even though An Officer and a Gentleman came out when I was a year old I still recall seeing the film on video when I was about four or five because my mother is a huge Richard Gere fan. An Officer and a Gentleman is a classic tale of overcoming yourself, beating the odds, friendship and the all amercian love story. The film which to this day Taylor Hackford has never topped gets great performances out of all it's actors especially Gere and Debra Winger as the two love birds in love and the odds they over come to be together. The film doesn't make training look unrealstic or promosing and of course there's going to be errors in the film's deception of the miltray but what film about the miltray has been perfect through out ? What makes An Officer and a Gentleman work for me is the performances and we all know that even though Gere and Winger give great performances the film belongs to Louis Gosset Jr who won a well deserved Oscar for his role as Foley. The difference between Gosset and R. Lee Emery in Full Metal Jacket is Emery was a former gunnery sergerant in the Marines and Gosset never had milatry experince to my knowledge which makes the film all the more enjoyable. Throw in some comedy, a few fight scenes and some sex scenes and you have a great crowd pleasing film that anyone can enjoy. I give the film **** stars.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Filipino

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

An Officer and a Gentleman

Filming Locations:

City of Olongapo aka Olongapo City, Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,304,679, 1 August 1982

Gross USA:

$129,795,554

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$129,795,554

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Film Entertainment, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1