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 Pokrifiki
Grace Zabriskie	...	Esther Pokrifiki
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 | navy | military officer | u.s. military | naval uniform | 

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Taglines:

Life gave him nothing, except the courage to win...and a woman to love.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Filipino

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reto al destino

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$129,795,552

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Film Entertainment,Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Gere rides a 750cc Triumph T140E Bonneville introduced halfway in the 1978 selling season. Two T140E Bonnevilles were supplied by Dewey's Cycle Shop in Seattle, Washington. One had Receipt no.16787 dated April 8, 1981 as sold to Paramount Pictures.

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Goofs

When Gunny Seargent Foley has Zack Mayo doing push ups in the sand pit, it's noticeable that his forearm sleeves are already wet from getting into a prone position to chew the recruit out, before he actually does it.

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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

NBC cut 6 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in 10 pelis (2011)

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Soundtracks

Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree
(1972)
Music and Lyrics by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown

User Reviews

A great and honest movie!

I am a huge fan of "Full Metal Jacket", but I think it is wrong to compare this movie w/ "An Officer and A Gentleman", they are just too different. It is no surprise that Louis Gosset Jr. won on Oscar for "best supporting actor", he was very convincing!!

This movie is a good example of great characters and the dynamics between them. They were all great!! Richard Gere plays a likable loner. But he is less arrogant than he is untrusting, and I think Foley finally gains some respect for him when he realizes this.

The most memorable scenes for me were when Seegar couldn't make it up the wall the first time and she caves into tears at Foley's caustic (and very funny!) comments. The scenerio were she finally makes it over due to Mayo's newfound concern and trust of others is also great and shows his maturing. But I think Louis Gosset Jr. shines the most when he challenges Mayo to a fight (I believe he did this out of respect for Mayo as a last ditch effort to keep him from dropping out), a wonderful scene indeed!!

Debra Winger was some serious eye-candy in this flick and Lisa Eilbacher has the cutest doll face.

Great characters and cast!