Top Gun

This article is about the film. For other uses, see Top Gun (disambiguation).
Top Gun

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Don Simpson
Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by Jim Cash
Jack Epps, Jr.
Starring
Music by Harold Faltermeyer
Giorgio Moroder
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by Chris Lebenzon
Billy Weber
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • May 16, 1986 (1986-05-16)
Running time
 110 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $356.8 million[1]

Top Gun is a 1986 American romantic military action drama film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., and was inspired by an article titled "Top Guns" published in California magazine three years earlier.

The film stars Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young Naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards) are given the chance to train at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Miramar in San Diego.

In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]

Plot

United States Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radar Intercept Officer LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw fly the F-14A Tomcat aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65). They, with Maverick's wingman "Cougar" and his RIO "Merlin", intercept fictional Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-28s over the Indian Ocean. During the engagement, Maverick flies his Tomcat parallel to one of the MiGs and inverts his craft in order to give the other pilot the finger – a feat that adds to his already wild reputation. Cougar is almost taken out by one of the hostile aircraft, however, and afterwards is too shaken to land despite being low on fuel. In defiance of orders, Maverick aborts his landing and escorts Cougar back to the carrier being low on fuel. Cougar gives up his wings, citing his newborn child that he has never seen. Despite his dislike for Maverick's recklessness, CAG "Stinger" sends him and Goose—now his top crew—to attend the Top Gun school at NAS Miramar.

Maverick flies recklessly in part to compensate for his father Duke Mitchell, a Naval Aviator with VF-51 aboard the USS Oriskany (CV-34) during the Vietnam War. The elder Mitchell died when his F-4 Phantom II was shot down in an incident Maverick refuses to believe was his fault. Goose is cautious and devoted to his wife Carol and child. The two officers are nonetheless close friends and effective partners. At a bar the day before Top Gun starts, Maverick, assisted by Goose, unsuccessfully approaches a woman. He learns the next day that she is Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, an astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor. Upon learning that Maverick is the pilot who flipped off a MiG-28 pilot (and as a result disproved her data suggesting the MiG-28 was limited in performing a "negative-G pushover" due to a "problem with its inverted flight tanks"), she is instantly more interested in him.

Maverick's reckless flying both annoys and impresses LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly and other instructors. He defeats Jester in combat but breaks two rules of engagement in the process; becomes a rival to top student LT Tom "Iceman" Kazanski, who considers Maverick's methods "dangerous"; and continues to pursue Charlie. During class she analyzes Maverick's engagement with Jester's aircraft, calling it "an example of what not to do". Later, Charlie admits to him that she admires his tactics but criticized them to hide her feelings for him from the others, and they begin a romantic relationship.

During a training sortie Maverick abandons his wingman "Hollywood" to chase chief instructor CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf. Maverick matches the older pilot move for move, but Viper maneuvers Maverick into a position from which his wingman Jester—who has already defeated Hollywood—can shoot down Maverick from behind, demonstrating the value of teamwork over individual ability.

Near the end of the training program, Maverick and Iceman both chase Jester; the latter attempts to gain a missile lock on the target. Maverick is close enough to take out Jester with his guns, and pressures Iceman to break off the engagement and clear his shot. Maverick's F-14 flies through the jet wash of Iceman's aircraft and suffers a flameout of both engines, forcing Maverick's aircraft into an unrecoverable flat spin. Maverick and Goose eject, but the force of the ejection slams Goose's head into the jettisoned aircraft canopy, killing him instantly.

Although the board of inquiry clears Maverick of responsibility for Goose's death, he feels guilty and loses his aggressiveness when flying. Charlie and others attempt to console him, but Maverick considers retiring. Unsure of his future, he seeks Viper's advice. Viper reveals that he served with Maverick's father in VF-51, and tells him classified details that prove Duke Mitchell died heroically. He informs Maverick that he can graduate from Top Gun if he can regain his self-confidence. Maverick chooses to graduate, but Iceman wins the award for top pilot.

During the graduation party Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick are ordered to immediately return to Enterprise to deal with a "crisis situation", providing air support for the rescue of a stricken communications ship that has drifted into hostile waters. Maverick and Merlin are assigned to one of two F-14s as back-up for those flown by Iceman and Hollywood, despite Iceman's reservations over Maverick's state of mind. The subsequent hostile engagement with six MiGs sees Hollywood shot down; Maverick is scrambled alone due to catapult failure and nearly retreats after encountering circumstances similar to those that caused Goose's death. Upon finally rejoining Iceman they shoot down four MiGs and force the others to flee, and return triumphantly to Enterprise. Offered any assignment he chooses, Maverick decides to return to Top Gun as an instructor. At a bar at Miramar, Maverick and Charlie reunite.

Cast

Production

Background

The primary inspiration for the film was the article "Top Guns" by Ehud Yonay, from the May 1983 issue of California magazine, which featured aerial photography by then-Lieutenant Commander Charles "Heater" Heatley.[3] The article detailed the life of fighter pilots at the Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, self-nicknamed as "Fightertown USA". Numerous screenwriters allegedly turned down the project.[3] Bruckheimer and Simpson went on to hire Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., to write the first draft. The research methods, by Epps, included an attendance at several declassified Top Gun classes at Miramar and gaining experience by being flown in an F-14. The first draft failed to impress Bruckheimer and Simpson, and is considered to be very different from the final product in numerous ways.[4]

Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (that went to Tom Cruise) because he felt the film's pro-military stance went against his politics.[5]

The producers wanted the assistance of the US Navy in production of the film. The Navy was influential in relation to script approval, which resulted in changes being made. The opening dogfight was moved to international waters as opposed to Cuba, the language was toned down, and a scene that involved a crash on the deck of an aircraft carrier was also scrapped.[6] Maverick's love interest was also changed from a female enlisted member of the Navy to a civilian contractor with the Navy, due to the US military's prohibition of fraternization between officers and enlisted personnel.[3] The "Charlie" character also replaced an aerobics instructor from an early draft as a love interest for Maverick after producers were introduced to Christine "Legs" Fox, a civilian mathematician employed by the Center for Naval Analyses as a specialist in Maritime Air Superiority (MAS), developing tactics for aircraft carrier defense.[7] Rear Admiral Pete "Viper" Pettigrew, a former Navy aviator, Vietnam War veteran, and Top Gun instructor served as a technical advisor on the film, and also made a cameo appearance in the film as a colleague of Charlie's.

Former Top Gun instructor pilot and Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham claimed to have been the inspiration for Pete Mitchell, although the film's producers have denied that the character was based on any specific Naval aviator.[8]

Filming

F-14A Tomcats of Fighter Squadrons VF-51 Screaming Eagles and VF-111 Sundowners, and F-5E/F Tiger IIs of the Navy Fighter Weapons School

The Navy made several aircraft from F-14 fighter squadron VF-51 Screaming Eagles (which Tom Skerritt mentions in the scene at his home) available for the film. Paramount paid as much as $7,800 per hour for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside their normal duties. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), showing aircraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 Aardvarks and VF-213 Black Lions.[9] The majority of the carrier flight deck shots were of normal aircraft operations and the film crew had to take what they could get, save for the occasional flyby which the film crew would request. During filming, director Tony Scott wanted to shoot aircraft landing and taking off, back-lit by the sun. During one particular filming sequence, the ship's commanding officer changed the ship's course, thus changing the light. When Scott asked if they could continue on their previous course and speed, he was informed by the commander that it cost $25,000 to turn the ship, and to continue on course. Scott wrote the carrier's captain a $25,000 check so that the ship could be turned and he could continue shooting for another five minutes.[10]

Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at NAS Fallon, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. Air-to-air shots were filmed using a Learjet. Grumman, manufacturer of the F-14, was commissioned by Paramount Pictures to create camera pods to be placed upon the aircraft that could be pointed toward either the front or rear of the aircraft providing outside shots at high altitude.

In July 1985, Kansas City Barbeque served as a filming location for two scenes. The first scene features Goose and Maverick singing Great Balls of Fire while seated at the piano. The final scene, where You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' can be heard on the restaurant's jukebox, was also filmed at the restaurant. Both scenes were filmed consecutively. After release of the movie, the restaurant went on to collect a significant amount of memorabilia from the motion picture until a kitchen fire on June 26, 2008 destroyed much of the restaurant. Some memorabilia and props, including the original piano used in the film, survived the fire, and the restaurant re-opened in November 2008.

Renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl was hired to do in-flight camera work for the film. The original script called for a flat spin, which Scholl was to perform and capture on a camera on the aircraft. The aircraft was observed to spin through its recovery altitude, at which time Scholl radioed "I have a problem... I have a real problem". He was unable to recover from the spin and crashed his Pitts S-2 into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on September 16, 1985. Neither Scholl's body nor his aircraft were recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown.[11] Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl's memory.[12]

Music

Further information: Top Gun (soundtrack)

The Top Gun soundtrack is one of the most popular soundtracks to date, reaching 9× Platinum certification[13] and #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart for five nonconsecutive weeks in the summer and fall of 1986.[14] Harold Faltermeyer, who previously worked with both Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson on the films Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop, was sent the script of Top Gun by Bruckheimer before filming began. Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock worked on numerous songs including the Oscar-winning "Take My Breath Away". Kenny Loggins performed two songs on the soundtrack, "Playing with the Boys", and "Danger Zone". Berlin recorded the song "Take My Breath Away", which would later win numerous awards, sending the band to international acclaim. After the release of Loggins's single "Danger Zone", sales of the album exploded, selling 7 million in the United States alone. On the re-release of the soundtrack in 2000, two songs that had been omitted from the original album (and had been released many years before the film was made), "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers, were added. The soundtrack also includes "Top Gun Anthem" and "Memories" by Steve Stevens/Faltermeyer and Faltermeyer. However, no soundtrack release to date has included the full Faltermeyer score.

Other artists were considered for the soundtrack project but did not participate. Bryan Adams was considered as a potential candidate but refused to participate because he felt the film glorified war.[15] Likewise, REO Speedwagon was considered but backed down because they would not be allowed to record their own composition. The band Toto was originally meant to record "Danger Zone", and had also written and recorded a song "Only You" for the soundtrack. However, there was a dispute between Toto's lawyers and the producers of the film, paving the way for Loggins to record "Danger Zone" and "Only You" being omitted from the film entirely.[16]

Release

Home media

In addition to its box office success, Top Gun went on to break further records in the then still-developing home video market. Backed by a massive $8 million marketing campaign including a Top Gun-themed Diet Pepsi commercial,[17] the advance demand was such that the film became the best-selling videocassette in the industry's history on pre-orders alone. It was also one of the first video cassette releases in the $20 price range.[18] Top Gun's home video success was again reflected by strong DVD sales, which were furthered by a special-edition release in 2004. Bomber jacket sales increased and Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses jumped 40%, due to their use by characters in the film.[19] The film also had boosted Navy recruitment. The Navy had recruitment booths in some theaters to attract enthusiastic patrons.[20]

IMAX 3D re-release

Top Gun was re-released in IMAX 3D on February 8, 2013, for six days.[21] A four-minute preview of the conversion, featuring the "Danger Zone" flight sequence, was screened at the 2012 International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[22] Subsequently, the film was released in Blu-ray 3D on February 19, 2013.[23]

Reception

Box office

The film opened in the United States in 1,028 theaters on May 16, 1986. It quickly became a success and was the highest-grossing film of 1986. It was number one on its first weekend with a $8,193,052 gross, and went on to a total domestic figure of $176,786,701. Internationally it took in an estimated $177,030,000 for a worldwide box office total of $353,816,701.[24] The film sold an estimated 47,650,100 tickets in North America in its initial theatrical run.[25]

Critical response

Upon the film's original release, critical response was mixed. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 55% of 51 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.8 out of 10 and the critical consensus states: "Though it features some of the most memorable and electrifying aerial footage shot with an expert eye for action, Top Gun offers too little for non-adolescent viewers to chew on when its characters aren't in the air".[26]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, pointing out that "Movies like Top Gun are hard to review because the good parts are so good and the bad parts are so relentless. The dogfights are absolutely the best since Clint Eastwood's electrifying aerial scenes in Firefox. But look out for the scenes where the people talk to one another."[27]

Awards

The film was nominated for and won many awards, most prominently for its sound and effects. The film won the following awards:

Year Award Category – Recipient(s)
1987 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures – Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1987 Academy Awards Best Music, Original Song – Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1986 Apex Scroll Awards Achievement in Sound Effects
1987 BRIT Awards Best Soundtrack
1987 Golden Globe Awards Best Original Song – Motion Picture – Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1987 Golden Screen Award
1987 Grammy Awards Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) – Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens for "Top Gun Anthem".
1987 Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects
1987 People's Choice Awards Favorite Motion Picture
1988 Award of the Japanese Academy Best Foreign Language Film

The film was nominated for the following awards:

In 2008, the film was ranked at number 455 in Empire's list of the 500 greatest films of all time.[29] Yahoo! Movies ranked Top Gun #19 on their list of greatest action films of all-time.[30] The film has been nominated multiple times for various AFI lists, ranking only once. In 2005, the line "I feel the need... the need for speed!" was ranked 94 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list.

American Film Institute lists

Effect on military recruiting

Movie producer John Davis claimed that Top Gun was a recruiting video for the Navy, that people saw the movie and said, "Wow! I want to be a pilot." After the film's release, the US Navy stated that the number of young men who joined wanting to be Naval Aviators went up by 500 percent.[35]

Legacy

Since its initial release, the film has made many top film lists and has been the subject of comedic interpretation.

The 1991 film Hot Shots! was a comedy spoof of Top Gun.

The masculine theme of the film has been the subject of humorous examination, with the homoerotic subtext examined in a monologue performed by Quentin Tarantino in the 1994 film Sleep with Me.[36][37][38][39]

Top Gun is one of many war and action films, especially those by Jerry Bruckheimer, parodied in the 2004 comedy Team America: World Police.[40]

The 2013 computer-animated film Planes pays homage to Top Gun, with Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards as voice cast.

Sequel

A sequel has been in the works since at least 2010[41] However plans have been complicated by Scott's 2012 suicide.[42] Still all parties were still reported interested in the project with Bruckheimer stating in 2013 "For 30 years we've been trying to make a sequel and we're not going to stop. We still want to do it with Tom [Cruise] and Paramount are still interested in making it. What Tom tells me is that no matter where he goes in the world, people refer to him as Maverick. It's something he is excited about so as long as he keeps his enthusiasm hopefully we'll get it made."[43]

By September 2014 it was revealed that Justin Marks was already in negotiations to write the screenplay, [44] which was confirmed that following June.[45] Marks would go on later to say that the film was a dream project for him, stating that the film "iconic film in my memory" due in part to it being one of the first films he remembers seeing in a movie theater.[46]

Video games

Top Gun also spawned a number of video games for various platforms. The original game was released in 1987 under the same title as the film. It was released on five platforms in total: PC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) (with an equivalent version for Nintendo's "VS." arcade cabinets). In the game, the player pilots an F-14 Tomcat fighter, and has to complete four missions. A sequel, Top Gun: The Second Mission, was released for the NES three years later.

Another game, Top Gun: Fire at Will, was released in 1996 for the PC and later for the Sony PlayStation platform. Top Gun: Hornet's Nest was released in 1998. Top Gun: Combat Zones was released for PlayStation 2 in 2001 and was ported to the Nintendo GameCube and Windows PCs a year later. Combat Zones was considerably longer and more complex than its predecessors, and also featured other aircraft besides the F-14. In late 2005, a fifth game, simply titled Top Gun, was released for the Nintendo DS. At E3 2011, it was announced that a new game, Top Gun: Hard Lock which was released in March 2012 for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3.

References

  1. ↑ Box Office Mojo, accessed August 29, 2011.
  2. ↑ Mike Barnes (December 16, 2015). "'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun,' 'Shawshank' Enter National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Top Gun". fast-rewind.com.
  4. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with Jack Epps
  5. ↑ Murphy, Tim (June 15–22, 2009). "154 Minutes With Matthew Modine". New York magazine.
  6. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with the producers
  7. ↑ Richman, Alan (August 5, 1985). "Air Warfare Expert Christine Fox—Fighter Pilots Call Her "Legs"—Inspires the New Movie Top Gun". People Magazine. p. 115. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Roth, Alex (2006-01-15). "down Cunningham's legend". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. A-1. Retrieved 2006-02-19.
  9. ↑ Baranek, Dave "Bio", "Topgun Days", Skyhorse Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-1-61608-005-1
  10. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with Tony Scott and Pete Pettigrew
  11. ↑ Ashurst, Sam (November 4, 2008). Hollywood's deadliest stunts. Total Film.
  12. ↑ Top Gun - Abspann (Sat 1, 1989). YouTube. 23 April 2008.
  13. ↑ "RIAA Searchable Gold and Platinum Database". Retrieved July 6, 2012. (may have to press the Search button)
  14. ↑ "Top 200 Albums - Billboard". Billboard.
  15. ↑ www.tcm.com/this-month/article/21800%7C0/Top-Gun.html
  16. ↑ "toto99.com - Official TOTO Website - Encyclopedia". toto99.com.
  17. ↑ Taylor, Rod (March 1, 2005). High Flyer. Promo.
  18. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (May 17, 1988). "Wearing Spielberg Down To Put 'E.T.' on Cassette". The New York Times.
  19. ↑ August, Melissa; Derrow, Michelle; Durham, Aisha; Levy, Daniel S.; Lofaro, Lina; Spitz, David; Taylor, Chris (July 12, 1999). "Through A Glass Darkly". Time. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
  20. ↑ Top Gun versus Sergeant Bilko? No contest, says the Pentagon. The Guardian. August 29, 2001.
  21. ↑ Lussier, Germain (2012-12-11). "Top Gun Gets IMAX Re-Release in February". Flash Film. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  22. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (2011-09-12). "Top Gun Coming to Theaters in 3D". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  23. ↑ "Top Gun 3D Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com.
  24. ↑ "Top Gun (box office)". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
  25. ↑ "Top Gun (1986)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Top Gun". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  27. ↑ Roger Ebert (May 16, 1986). "Top Gun". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  28. ↑ "The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  29. ↑ The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Empire.
  30. ↑ "Yahoo Movies". yahoo.com.
  31. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills Nominees
  32. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees
  33. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees
  34. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers Nominees
  35. ↑ Robb, David (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies. New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 180–182. ISBN 1-59102-182-0.
  36. ↑ "ESPN.com: Page 2 : 'Talk to me, Goose. Talk to me.'". go.com.
  37. ↑ "Why the Homoeroticism in "Top Gun" Matters". Reel Change.
  38. ↑ http://www.cracked.com/funny-1906-quentin-tarantino-movies/ Cracked Magazine.com "Tarantino on Pop Culture (AKA If Cracked.com Was Written on Cocaine)"
  39. ↑ YouTube.com Film Clip: Sleep With Me: Tarantino on Top Gun
  40. ↑ Slate.com "Strings Attached: The puppets of Team America skewer the right. If only they'd stopped there." By David Edelstein, October 14, 2004.
  41. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (October 13, 2010). "Top Gun 2 is Heading to the Runway". New York magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  42. ↑ "'Top Gun' producer Jerry Bruckheimer reveals how he won over Tom Cruise". Yahoo!. January 23, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Jerry Bruckheimer says Top Gun 2 is still on the cards". Flickering Myth. June 10, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  44. ↑ Kit, Borys (September 8, 2014). "'Top Gun 2' Lands 'Jungle Book' Writer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  45. ↑ Zumberge, Marianne (June 26, 2015). "'Top Gun 2′ to Feature Maverick, Drone Warfare". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  46. ↑ McKittrick, Christopher (April 19, 2016). "King of the Swingers: Justin Marks on 'The Jungle Book'". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

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