Top Gun

Top Gun

Promotional film poster
Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Don Simpson
Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by Ehud Yonay
Jim Cash
Jack Epps, Jr.
Starring Tom Cruise
Kelly McGillis
Val Kilmer
Anthony Edwards
Tom Skerritt
Music by Harold Faltermeyer
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball
Editing by Chris Lebenzon
Billy Weber
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) May 16, 1986
Running time 110 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $353,816,701

Top Gun is a 1986 American action film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with the Paramount Pictures company. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., and was inspired by the article "Top Guns" written by Ehud Yonay for California Magazine.

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 backseater, Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lt. j.g. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards), are given the chance to train at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School. The film depicts Maverick's progress through the training, his romance with a female instructor, and his overcoming a crisis of confidence following a fatal training accident.

Top Gun opened in the United States on May 16, 1986. It grossed $353,816,701 worldwide.[1]

Contents

Plot

United States Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) fly the F-14A Tomcat aboard USS Enterprise (CV-65). They, with Maverick's wingman "Cougar" and his RIO "Merlin" (Tim Robbins), intercept Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-28s over the Indian Ocean. After one of the MiGs missile locks on Cougar he is too shaken to land, despite being low on fuel. Maverick defies orders and assists Cougar in landing despite also being low on fuel, but Cougar gives up his Wings of Gold citing his newborn child which he has never seen. Despite disliking Maverick's reckless flying and breaking of rules, due to his talent CAG "Stinger" (James Tolkan) must send him and Goose—now his top crew—to attend the Top Gun school at NAS Miramar.

The single 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 (Meg Ryan) and child. The two officers are nonetheless close friends and effective partners, whose mantra is "I feel the need...The need for speed!". At a bar the day before Top Gun starts, Maverick, assisted by Goose, unsuccessfully approaches a girl by singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". He learns the next day that she is Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), an astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor.

Maverick's reckless flying both annoys and impresses LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly (Michael Ironside) 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" Kazansky (Val Kilmer), who considers Maverick's methods "dangerous"; and continues to pursue Charlie. During class she analyzes Maverick's engagement with the MiG-28, 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 relationship.

During a training sortie Maverick abandons his wingman "Hollywood" to chase chief instructor CMDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skeritt). Although Maverick effectively challenges the older pilot, 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 attempting to gain a missile lock on the target. Under intense pressure from Maverick, Iceman breaks off. Maverick's F-14 flies through the jet wash of Iceman's aircraft and suffers a flameout of both engines, entering a flat spin from which he cannot recover, forcing him and Goose to eject. Goose ejects directly into the jettisoned aircraft canopy and is killed on impact.

Although the court-martial clears Maverick of responsibility he feels guilt for Goose's death, losing his aggressiveness when flying. Charlie and others attempt to console him, but Maverick considers leaving the Navy. 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 show that 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 report 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 sortied 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 hears "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and recalls meeting Charlie. She enters the bar and the two reunite.

Cast

Production

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.[2] 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.[3]

The producers wanted the assistance of the United States Navy in production of the film. The U.S. 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, the language was toned down, and a scene that involved a crash on the deck of an aircraft carrier was also scrapped.[4] 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 U.S. Department of Defense's prohibition of fraternization between officers and enlisted personnel.[2] The "Charlie" character also replaced an aerobics instructor from an early draft as a love interest for Maverick. Dawn Steel hated the character and refused to give the go-ahead for the making the film until the role was improved.

The former Top Gun instructor pilot 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.[5]

Filming

The Navy committed the use of an entire F-14 fighter squadron (VF-51 Screaming Eagles which Tom Skerrit mentions in the scene at his home) to the film, which went through the standard 16-week Top Gun training curriculum. Paramount paid as much as $7,800 per hour for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside of their normal duties. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). The majority of the shots were of normal aircraft operations and the film crew had to make use of the shots they could, save for the occasional flyby which the film crew would request. During filming, the 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.[6]

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. The Northrop Grumman company was commissioned by Paramount films 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. Hand-held cameras were used for some of the interior cabin shots. Navy F-14 pilots were used to fly the planes, changing helmets as needed. Many of the scenes were shot in and around the actual facilities at NAS Miramar and the (now demolished) Naval Training Center, which was located adjacent to San Diego's Lindbergh Field municipal airport. The filming was primarily conducted during the fall of 1985.

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 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 September 16, 1985. Neither Scholl nor his aircraft were recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown.[7] Top Gun was dedicated to the memory of Art Scholl.

Music

The Top Gun soundtrack is one of the most popular soundtracks to date, reaching #1 on The Billboard Top Pop Albums chart for five weeks. 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 #1 "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' #2 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, "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers, were added. The soundtrack does also include "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. 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.[8]

Reception

The film opened in the United States in 1,028 theaters on May 16, 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.[9]

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,[10] the advanced 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, previous cassettes sold closer to $80 at that time.[11] 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.[12] The film 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.[13]

Critical reaction was mixed. Roger Ebert 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."[14] The film is currently rated at 45% on Rotten Tomatoes.[15]

The AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes list had the line "I feel the need — the need for speed!" from Top Gun at number 94 on the list.

The film also ranked at number 455 in Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest films of all time.[16]

Yahoo! Movies recently ranked Top Gun #19 on their list of greatest action films of all-time.[17]

Awards and nominations

The film won the following awards:

Year Award Category - Recipient(s)
1987 ASCAP Film and Television Music Award Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures - Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1987 Academy Award Best Music, Original Song - Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1986 Apex Scroll Award Achievement in Sound Effects
1987 BRIT Award Best Soundtrack
1987 Golden Globe Best Original Song - Motion Picture - Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song "Take My Breath Away".
1987 Golden Screen
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 Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects
1987 People's Choice Award Favorite Motion Picture
1988 Award of the Japanese Academy Best Foreign Language Film
No year AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes Won for the line, "I feel the need. The need for speed." Ranked 94th.

The film was nominated for the following awards:

Involvement of the U.S. military

The film's producer, John Davis, stated that "Top Gun was a recruiting video for the Navy. It really helped their recruiting. People saw the movie and said, 'Wow! I want to be a pilot.'"[18]

The United States Navy stated that after the release of the film that the number of young men who enlisted, wanting to be Navy aviators, went up by 500 percent.[19]

Paramount Pictures offered to place a 90 second Navy recruiting advertisement at the beginning of the videocassette for Top Gun, in exchange for $1 million in credit towards their debt to the Navy for production assistance. An internal memo to the Pentagon from an advertising agency stated that "Both movies are already wonderful recruiting tools for the military, particularly the Navy, and to add a recruiting commercial onto the head of what is already a two-hour recruiting commercial is redundant."[20]

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 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 known 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.

The "Top Gun Anthem" is a downloadable song for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

In popular culture

The success and resulting cultural influence of Top Gun has spawned many references. The use of the fighter pilot nicknames in masculine communication, particularly "Maverick" and "Goose", is often replicated or parodied. The masculine theme of the film has been the subject of humorous examination, with the homoerotic subtext examined in a monologue by Quentin Tarantino in Sleep with Me. The film has also been the subject of a Rifftrax audio commentary with humorous effects.

Top Gun has also been spoofed in the 1991 comedy film Hot Shots!, and liberally borrowed from in the 2004 Bollywood film Agnipankh.[21]

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

See also

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

References

  1. ↑ "Box office records". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=topgun.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Top Gun Movie -The 80s Rewind «
  3. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with Jack Epps
  4. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with the producers
  5. ↑ Roth, Alex (2006-01-15). "down Cunningham's legend". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. A-1. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20060115-9999-lz1n15legend.html. Retrieved 2006-02-19. 
  6. ↑ Special Edition DVD, Interview with Tony Scott and Pete Pettigrew
  7. ↑ Ashurst, Sam (November 4, 2008). Hollywood's deadliest stunts. Total Film.
  8. ↑ http://www.toto99.com/blog/ency.php?/archives/378-TOP-GUN-soundtrack.html
  9. ↑ "boxofficemojo.com". Top Gun (box office). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=topgun.htm. Retrieved November 8, 2006. 
  10. ↑ Taylor, Rod (March 1, 2005). High Flyer. Promo.
  11. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (May 17, 1988). "Wearing Spielberg Down To Put 'E.T.' on Cassette". http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D9133FF934A25756C0A96E948260. 
  12. ↑ August, Melissa; Derrow, Michelle; Durham, Aisha; Levy, Daniel S.; Lofaro, Lina; Spitz, David; Taylor, Chris (July 12, 1999). "Through A Glass Darkly". http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,991503,00.html. Retrieved November 8, 2006. 
  13. ↑ Top Gun versus Sergeant Bilko? No contest, says the Pentagon. The Guardian. August 29, 2001.
  14. ↑ Roger Ebert - Top Gun Review
  15. ↑ Top Gun. Rotten Tomatoes.
  16. ↑ The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Empire.
  17. ↑ Yahoo! Movies All-Time Greatest Action Movies
  18. ↑ Robb, David (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies. New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 181. ISBN 1-59102-182-0. 
  19. ↑ Robb, David (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies. New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 182. ISBN 1-59102-182-0. 
  20. ↑ Robb, David (2004). Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies. New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 180–181. ISBN 1-59102-182-0. 
  21. ↑ Bollywood's Top Gun. Oneindia.in. October 13, 2006.

External links

Films directed by Tony Scott
1960s
Loving Memory (1969)
1980s
The Hunger (1983) · Top Gun (1986) · Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
1990s
Revenge (1990) · Days of Thunder (1990) · The Last Boy Scout (1991) · True Romance (1993) · Crimson Tide (1995) · The Fan (1996) · Enemy of the State (1998)
2000s
Spy Game (2001) · Man on Fire (2004) · Domino (2005) · Déjà Vu (2006) · The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
2010s
Unstoppable (2010)