Top Gun (film)

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Top Gun
Promotional movie poster
Directed by	Tony Scott
Produced by	Don Simpson Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by	Ehud Yonay (article) Jim Cash (screenplay) Jack Epps Jr. (screenplay)
Starring	Tom Cruise Kelly McGillis Val Kilmer Anthony Edwards Tom Skerritt Adrian Pasdar
Music by	Harold Faltermeyer
Editing by	Billy Weber
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	May 16, 1986
Running time	109 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Top Gun is a 1986 American 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 written by Ehud Yonay for California Magazine entitled "Top Guns." The film stars Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer and Tom Skerritt.

The film follows LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young Naval aviator who aspires to be a top fighter pilot in the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, which trains the top 1% of all Naval aviators. Maverick gets his chance to attend the school after one pilot drops out, allowing him and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer, the "back seater" in the two-man F-14) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw to train with the best. The film opened in America on May 16, 1986 to good reviews, the aerial scenes being most notably praised. Similar praise followed soon afterwards when the film broke records at the box office, becoming a mega hit. The film accumulated over $350 million world-wide, and broke home-video sales records.

[edit] Plot summary

Tom Cruise plays Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young United States Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot aboard the USS Enterprise. Maverick is the son of Duke Mitchell, a fighter pilot shot down during the Vietnam War (on 5 November 1965) and listed as missing in action with all details classified, a mystery that haunts Maverick. Former Top Gun instructor pilot (and later Member of Congress) Randy "Duke" Cunningham claimed to have been the inspiration for Duke Mitchell, although the movie's producer denied this, saying that the character was not based on any specific aviator.^[1] In any case, Cunningham survived while Mitchell did not, leaving his son Maverick wondering whether his father "screwed up".

The film begins "somewhere in the Indian Ocean" with Maverick and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) flying wingman to lead pilot "Cougar" and his RIO "Merlin", en route to intercept an unknown inbound aircraft (a bogey). It turns out to be two hostile Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-28 aircraft; the country is unnamed, though the adversary pilots (masked by flight helmets) are presumably Soviet advisors flying for some country that is presumably equipped with Soviet equipment and having Soviet military advisors. Though restrained by rules of engagement against pre-emptive fire, and despite Cougar being outflown and trapped almost immediately, Maverick manages to intimidate both "bandits" into withdrawing by playing "chicken" with them, gaining a missile lock on the first (though he holds his fire) and outflying the second. Though saved, Cougar is thoroughly shaken and does not obey return-to-base orders from an increasingly impatient CAG, callsign "Stinger", despite his fighter's dwindling fuel supply. Maverick, also low on fuel, disobeys Stinger's orders and risks his own plane to guide Cougar home.

Cougar is deeply troubled by the incident, which caused him to fear widowing his wife and orphaning his child. He realizes he has "lost the edge" and "turns in his wings" (resigns). This is serendipitous timing for Maverick and Goose, now the top pilot-RIO team in the squadron, as squadron commander Stinger has been called upon to send his best team to the Navy's elite "TOPGUN" fighter-pilot school (US Navy Fighter Weapons School) at NAS Miramar in San Diego, California. With Cougar gone, Stinger has to send Maverick and Goose - something he is reluctant to do, not least because of Maverick's attitude.

While testing his instructors' patience with his reckless flying (on his very first day, he outflies an instructor [LtCdr Rick "JESTER" Heatherly played by Michael Ironside] but breaks two rules of engagement in the process) and establishing a rivalry with top student Tom "Iceman" Kazanski (Val Kilmer), Maverick falls in love with his beautiful female civilian instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). While Maverick first meets Charlie at an off-base bar, he does not realize she is a TOPGUN faculty member until she shows up to instruct the class. Maverick manages to gain her attention by regaling her with details about the MiG encounter from the film's opening, jesting that the details are classified (possibly true, since Maverick saw the MiG-28 outperform its alleged envelope) and claiming, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Though a talented pilot, Maverick lives up to his name when called upon to be a team player. At one point, flying a mock combat mission alongside the pilot-RIO team of "Hollywood" and "Wolfman," he abandons his teammates to chase after TOPGUN's chief instructor, Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skerritt). Though he gives the older pilot a run for his money, Viper's wingman, "Jester" (Michael Ironside), defeats Hollywood and then easily sneaks up on Maverick himself, proving that teamwork outweighs sheer flying ability.

Maverick contemplates whether he should return to the Navy.

During the next engagement, Maverick and Iceman, ever competitive, chase the same target (Jester), with Maverick tailgating Iceman while the latter attempts to gain a missile lock on the target. When Iceman gives up and pulls out, Maverick gets caught in his jet wash; his F-14's engines flame out, and he enters a flat spin from which he cannot recover (not unexpected behavior from the TF30 turbofan engines used in early-model F-14s) meaning both he and Goose are forced to eject. Maverick ejects clear of the airplane, but Goose ejects directly into the jettisoned cockpit canopy and is killed on impact. (While this has not happened in real life, it is not outside the realm of possibility; canopies are specifically designed to blast upward and backward, but may not succeed in clearing the cockpit area due to the low pressure area above the cockpit while an F-14 is in a flat spin. Furthermore, pilot and RIO do not eject simultaneously: Lt. Kara Hultgreen was killed for this reason, though her death was the result of ejecting directly into the ocean, as her F-14 had rolled sufficiently during the 0.4 seconds between her RIO ejecting and her own seat activating.) Although the inquiry clears Maverick of any responsibility, he is overwhelmed with guilt and subsequently loses his competitive edge, refusing to take risks and engage enemy targets. During one training exercise, Jester deliberately makes himself an easy target and literally begs to be attacked; despite this, Maverick disengages and retreats, much to the annoyance of his replacement RIO, Sundown.

Finally, unsure of his future and having alienated Charlie with his despondency, Maverick begins to wonder whether he should remain in the Navy. When he goes to Viper for advice, Viper tells him that he had served with Maverick's father in Vietnam, with the VF-51 Screaming Eagles off USS Oriskany. Viper risks his career to reveal the truth of the Mitchell senior's demise: during a fierce dogfight, Duke Mitchell's F-4 was hit, but he refused to disengage, saving three allied pilots before being downed himself. Normally, this would have qualified Duke Mitchell for the Medal of Honor, but the engagement took place "over the wrong line on some map," and the State Department, hoping to avoid an international incident, classified the details. Maverick, fortified by the memory of his father, decides that he will graduate from TOPGUN and remain a pilot.

During the post-graduation party Iceman, Slider, Hollywood, Wolfman, and Maverick are ordered to report to the Enterprise. (Viper, to show confidence in Maverick, offers to fly as his RIO if no one else can be found; ultimately, Cougar's ex-RIO Merlin takes Maverick's back seat.) An intelligence-gathering ship has 'broken down' inside hostile waters and the pilots are to fly cover for it until repairs are completed, with the other two teams in the air and Maverick as back-up on Alert Five. While Hollywood and Iceman are on patrol, six MiGs ambush them, downing Hollywood's craft (the crew safely ejects and pilot and co-pilot are rescued in a helicopter) and damaging Iceman's (he is able to continue flying). Maverick, the back-up pilot, scrambles into action; the Enterprise's catapults are found to be "broken" (in the words of Stinger's subordinate), preventing them from launching any further reinforcements.

When Maverick reaches the dogfight, he inadvertently flies through a MiG-28's jet wash and starts spinning out of control, in circumstances almost identical to those that caused Goose's death. Though he manages to recover, his confidence is gone and he flees the scene. Clutching Goose's dog tags and begging his friend to speak to him one last time, Maverick finds his courage. He re-engages the enemy and downs three MiGs while covering Iceman (who scores a single kill of his own), employing both teamwork as well as his signature high-risk flying style. Returning to the Enterprise as a hero, Maverick is given his choice of any posting and decides to return to Miramar as an instructor, much to Stinger's amusement.

On Maverick's return to Fightertown USA, he goes for a drink in the local bar; "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" starts playing on the jukebox. Charlie appears, and the two rekindle their romance as the movie closes.

[edit] Production

[edit] Background

The primary inspiration for the film was the article "Top Guns," by Ehud Yonay, in the May 1983 issue of California magazine, which also featured aerial photography by then-Lieutenant Commander Charles "Heater" Heatley.^[2] The article detailed the TOPGUN fighter pilots at the Miramar Naval Air Station, located 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 capture the imagination of Bruckheimer and Simpson, and the first draft is considered to be very different from the final product in numerous ways.^[4]

The producers wanted the assistance of the United States Navy in production of the film. The US Navy was influential in relation to script approval, which saw changes being made; the opening dogfight was moved to international waters as opposed to Cuba, salty language was trimmed down, and a scene that involved a crash on the deck of an aircraft carrier was also scrapped.^[5] Also, Maverick's love interest in the film was originally intended to be a female enlisted member of the Navy, but due to the US Department of Defense prohibition of fraternization between officer and enlisted personnel, her position was changed to be that of an outside contractor.^[6]

Other changes included the introduction of the semi-fictional Top Gun trophy (there had been an interservice air-to-air gunnery competition in the 1940s and 50s; but it is defunct, as the Navy decided to discourage competitive flying). There were also concerns that the lead female was not appropriate and was a stereotype; subsequently changes were made to the lead female character, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. She was loosely based on the real-life Christine H. Fox, a mathematician, who at the time was a representative of the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) at NAS Miramar. She briefed aircrew members for multiple types of aircraft before a series of exercises known by the name Hey, Rube!. She was later appointed as the President of CNA in March, 2004.^[7][8]

[edit] Cast

• Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell
• Kelly McGillis as Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood
• Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky
• Anthony Edwards as Lt. (j.g.) Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw
• Tom Skerritt as Cmdr. Mike 'Viper' Metcalf
• Meg Ryan as Carol Bradshaw
• Michael Ironside as Lt. Cmdr. Rick 'Jester' Heatherly
• John Stockwell as Lt. Bill 'Cougar' Cortell
• Barry Tubb as Lt.(j.g.) Leonard 'Wolfman' Wolfe
• Rick Rossovich as Lt. (j.g.) Ron 'Slider' Kerner
• Tim Robbins as Lt. (j.g.) Sam 'Merlin' Wells
• Clarence Gilyard Jr. as 'Sundown'
• Whip Hubley as Lt. Rick 'Hollywood' Neven
• James Tolkan as Cmdr. Tom 'Stinger' Jordan
• Adrian Pasdar as 'Chipper'
• Iain Garrett as Lt. Palmer
• Linda Rae Jurgens as Mrs Metcalf
• Taylor Middleton at Security Officer
• Troy Hunter as Radio Operator
• Pete Pettigrew as Perry Siedenthal
• Frank Pesce as Bartender
• Ron Clark as Inquiry Commander
• Brian Sheehan as 'Sprawl'
• Duke Stroud as 'Air Boss Johnson'
• Randall Brady as Lt. Davis

[edit] Aircraft

A formation of F-14A Tomcats of Fighter Squadrons VF-51 Screaming Eagles and VF-111 Sundowners, and F-5E/F Tiger II's of the Navy Fighter Weapons School. Note the fictitious markings on the tail of at least one F-14.

F-14 Tomcat. The Tomcat is the main aircraft featured in the movie, as the plane flown by the TOPGUN trainees. At the time of the film, the Tomcat was the US Navy's primary Air superiority fighter.

A-4 Skyhawk. The Skyhawk (or "Scooter") is featured in the movie as the aircraft used by the TOPGUN instructors pitted against the trainees. As in real life, this aircraft was used in the Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) role.

F-5E and F-5F Tiger II. The F-5 is featured in the movie as the enemy aircraft. In real life the F-5 was also used in the DACT role at TOPGUN. This is referred to by Charlie, but not shown, in the film.

The enemy aircraft are referred to as MiG-28s. They are painted black, with no NATO reporting name, and of unspecified nationality, but with vaguely communist red markings. In real life, the MiG aircraft company is a Soviet aircraft manufacturer, although they never produced an even numbered fighter model.

The film also features US Navy Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King and US Coast Guard HH-3F Pelican helicopters conducting search and rescue operations. Since the movie, the F-14 Tomcats were retired on 22 September 2006, the A-4 Skyhawk retired from US Navy service in 2003; the Navy's Adversay role is currently flown by a mix of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, and the F-5.

[edit] Music

Further information: Top Gun (soundtrack)

The Top Gun soundtrack is one of the most popular soundtracks to date.^{[citation needed]} 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 "Take My Breath Away" and "Danger Zone". Kenny Loggins had 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 Berlin to international acclaim. After the release of Loggins' "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, "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers, were added. However, no soundtrack release to date has included the Faltermeyer score (apart from the Memories and "Top Gun Anthem" pieces.)

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.^[9] Likewise, REO Speedwagon was considered, but backed down because they would not be allowed to record their own composition.

[edit] Fatal accident during filming

Renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl, 53, was hired to do in-flight camera work for the film. The original script called for a flat spin, which he was to perform and capture on an onboard camera. The aircraft was observed to spin through its recovery altitude at which time he radioed "I have a problem...... I have a real problem".

Scholl was unable to recover and crashed his Pitts S-2 into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on 16 September 1985. Neither Scholl or his aircraft were ever recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown.

Top Gun was dedicated to the memory of Art Scholl.

[edit] Reception

The film opened in the United States in 1,028 cinemas on May 16, 1986. On its first weekend, it came in at number one with a $8,193,052 gross, and went on to a total domestic figure of $176,786,701. Internationally it took in $177,030,000 for a worldwide box office total of $353,816,701.^[10] The film was highly praised for the action sequences.

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 Pepsi commercial, the advanced demand was such that the film became the best-selling videocassette in the industry's history on pre-orders alone. 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.^[11] The movie also boosted Air Force and Navy recruitment. This was evident in the fact that the Navy used its success by having recruitment booths in some theaters to lure enthusiastic patrons.^[12] Despite the fact that they used the film as an informal marketing tool, real Navy fighter pilots that saw it ridiculed the film, citing numerous inaccuracies. Several said that if they had done any of the things that the main character did, e.g., refusing to land when low on fuel, flying at high speed by air control towers, they would have faced a court-martial and prison time and at the very least, probably would have been kicked out of the Navy.^{[citation needed]}

The AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list had the line "I feel the need — the need for speed!" from Top Gun on the list.

[edit] Awards and nominations

The film won the following awards:

The film was nominated for the following awards:

• Academy Award (1987)
  • Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing - Cecelia Hall and George Watters II
  • Best Film Editing - Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon
  • Best Sound - Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline and William B. Kaplan
• Apex Scroll Awards (1986)
  • Actress in a Supporting Role- Meg Ryan
  • Film Editing - Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon
  • Best Original Song - Motion Picture - Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
  • Best Picture
  • Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer
  • Achievement in Compilation Soundtrack
  • Achievement in Sound
• Golden Globe (1988)
  • Best Original Score - Motion Picture - Harold Faltermeyer
• Award of the Japanese Academy (1988)
  • Best Foreign Language Film
• Fennecus Awards (1986)
  • Achievement in Compilation Soundtrack
  • Best Original Song - Motion Picture - Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
  • Film Editing - Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon
  • Achievement in Sound
  • Achievement in Sound Effects

[edit] Video games

Main article: Top Gun (video game)

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 Game Cube 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.

Mobile Game Publisher Hands-On Mobile (formerly knows as Mforma) have published three mobile games based around Top Gun. The first two were top-down scrolling arcade shooters. The third game takes a different approach as a third-person perspective game, similar to Sega's 'Afterburner' games.

Also, Top Gun is a inspiration for the Namco Bandai's Ace Combat series.

[edit] Use by the military

Somewhat ironically, since the movie is about naval aviation, incoming Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy are shown the introductory scene depicting Maverick guiding Cougar back to the carrier in defiance of the squadron commander. The moral dilemma presented in the scene is used to illustrate the necessity to follow the chain of command in all situations.

[edit] References in popular culture

The success of Top Gun has seen it have a cultural influence in society which has spawned many references, some of which lampoon the film:

• In the FedEx ad titled "Carpet" the warehouse tourguide radio's to a worker "Goose this is Iceman, we've got a wild bird," referring to a flying carpet that is getting away.^[13]
• Rifftrax.com has released an audio commentary track of Top Gun featuring the comedy of Mike Nelson and Bill Corbet of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame^[14].
• In the Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson comedy "Meet The Parents" (2000), Stiller's girlfriend makes many references to her ex-boyfriend asher being Maverick and the ex-boyfriend being Goose.
• In the computer game World of Warcraft, there are two non-player characters in the Alterac Valley battleground named Wing Commander Mulverick, and Wing Commander Ichman. (Maverick and Ice Man respectively)

[edit] See also

Historical incidents similar to those in the film's climax:

• Gulf of Sidra incident (1981), US-Libyan air engagement over territorial claim, 2 Libyan jets shot down by F-14s
• Gulf of Sidra incident (1989), another US-Libyan air engagement over territorial claim, 2 Libyan jets shot down by F-14s

Similar films:

• Les Chevaliers du ciel (2005)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Top Gun

• Top Gun at the Internet Movie Database
• Top Gun at Rotten Tomatoes

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