Top Gun
Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled "Top Guns", written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, are given the chance to train at the United States Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and Tom Skerritt also appear in supporting roles.
When Top Gun was released on May 16, 1986, although its visual effects and soundtrack were universally acclaimed, the film initially received mixed reviews from film critics. Despite this, four weeks after its release, the number of theaters showing it increased by 45 percent, and it overcame initial critical resistance to become a huge commercial hit, grossing $357.4 million dollars globally against a production budget of $15 million. Top Gun was the highest-grossing domestic film of 1986, as well as the highest-grossing film of 1986 worldwide.
The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013, while the retrospective critical reception became more positive, with the film also emerging as a cult classic. Additionally, the soundtrack to the film has since become one of the most popular film soundtracks to date, reaching 9× Platinum certification. The film won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for "Take My Breath Away" performed by Berlin.
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". A sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, in which Cruise and Kilmer reprised their roles, was released 36 years later on May 27, 2022 to widespread critical acclaim and commercial success.
Plot
and his Radar Intercept Officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard, fly the F-14A Tomcat. During an interception with two hostile MiG-28s, Maverick missile-locks on one, while the other hostile locks onto Maverick's wingman, Cougar. Maverick drives it off, but Cougar is so shaken that Maverick, despite being low on fuel, defies orders to land first, so he can shepherd him back to the carrier. As a result, Cougar resigns his commission, and loses his opportunity to attend Top Gun, the Naval Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar. Maverick and Goose are sent in his place by CAG "Stinger," but not without getting a reprimand for disobeying the landing order.Before the first day of instruction, Maverick unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar. He learns the next day she is an astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. She becomes interested in Maverick upon learning of his inverted maneuver with a MiG-28. In Maverick's first training hop, he flies below, breaking a major rule of engagement, to defeat instructor Lieutenant Commander Rick "Jester" Heatherly. Maverick and Goose also buzz the control tower when specifically told not to do so. They are reprimanded by the Top Gun Commanding Officer, Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf.
Privately, Jester tells Viper that while he admires Maverick's skill, he is not sure if he would trust him in combat. In class, Charlie objects to Maverick's aggressive tactics against the MiG-28, but privately tells him she admires his flying; they begin a romantic relationship.
On training Hop 19, Maverick abandons his wingman, "Hollywood," to chase Viper. As a result, first Hollywood, and then Maverick, are defeated in a demonstration of the value of teamwork. Jester tells Maverick his flying is excellent, but criticizes him for leaving his wingman. Maverick's rival, Lieutenant Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, calls his behavior "foolish," "dangerous," and worse than the enemy, to which Maverick responds, "I am dangerous."
Maverick and Iceman, the leading contenders for the Top Gun Trophy, chase an A-4 in Hop 31. As Iceman has trouble getting a lock on the A-4, Maverick pressures him to break off so that he can move into firing position. However, Maverick's F-14 flies through Iceman's jet wash and suffers a flameout of both engines, going into an unrecoverable flat spin. Maverick and Goose eject, but Goose slams into the jettisoned aircraft canopy and is killed by the impact.
The board of inquiry clears Maverick of any wrongdoing, but he is shaken and guilt-ridden, and considers quitting. He seeks advice from Viper, who flew with Maverick's father in the Vietnam War air battle where he was killed. Contrary to official reports faulting Mitchell, Viper says he died heroically. He tells Maverick he can succeed if he regains his self-confidence. Maverick chooses to graduate and congratulates Iceman, who has won the Top Gun Trophy. Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick receive immediate deployment orders to deal with a crisis situation; they are sent to Enterprise to provide air support for the rescue of the SS Layton, a disabled communication ship that drifted into hostile waters.
Aboard Enterprise, Iceman and Hollywood are assigned to provide air cover, with Maverick and RIO Merlin on standby. Iceman expresses his concerns to Stinger about Maverick's mental state, but is told to just do his job. Iceman and Hollywood are pulled into a dogfight with what first appear to be two MiGs, but turn out to be six. After Hollywood is shot down and parachutes to safety, Maverick is scrambled alone due to catapult failure. He goes into a spin after encountering another jet wash, but recovers. Shaken, he breaks off temporarily, but then re-engages and shoots down three MiGs. Iceman destroys a fourth, and the remaining two MiGs withdraw. Upon their triumphant return to Enterprise, the pilots share their newfound respect for one another. Finally confident and able to let go of the guilt caused by the training accident, Maverick later throws Goose's dog tags overboard.
Offered the choice of any assignment, Maverick chooses to return to Top Gun as an instructor. He and Charlie reunite at a bar in Miramar.
Cast
Production
Development
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. The article detailed the life of fighter pilots at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, self-nicknamed "Fightertown USA". Numerous screenwriters allegedly turned down the project. Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson went on to hire Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., to write the first draft. The research methods, by Epps, included 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. David Cronenberg and John Carpenter were approached to direct the film, but both declined. Tony Scott was hired to direct on the strength of a commercial he had done for Swedish automaker Saab in the early 1980s, where a Saab 900 turbo is shown racing a Saab 37 Viggen fighter jet.Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of Pete Mitchell because he felt the film's pro-military stance went against his politics and he chose to do Full Metal Jacket instead. The producers wanted Tom Cruise for the role after seeing him in Risky Business. Cruise was offered the part while he was in London filming Legend; he was reluctant to take the part but Tony's brother Ridley Scott convinced him to take it. Cruise liked the script and convinced the producers to rewrite it before starring in the film. For the role of Maverick, before Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Sean Penn, Rob Lowe, Charlie Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Ralph Macchio were considered, while Brooke Shields, Demi Moore and Julianne Phillips were the possible candidates for Charlie. Phillips had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise.
Val Kilmer was reluctant to play Kazansky as he found the script "silly" and disliked warmongering in films, but took the role as he was under contractual obligations with the studio and Scott's enthusiasm on the project. Kilmer's role however, turned out to be one of his best performances upon release.
The producers wanted the assistance of the U.S. Navy in the 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. 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. military's prohibition of fraternization between officers and enlisted personnel. 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, developing tactics for aircraft carrier defense.
Filming
Filming began in Oceanside, California, on June 26, 1985, with it later moving to Miramar to begin shooting scenes on the aircraft. The Navy made aircraft and crew from Carrier Air Wing Fifteen available for the movie, which then consisted of F-14 squadrons VF-51 "Screaming Eagles" and VF-111 "Sundowners". Paramount paid as much as US$7,800 per hour for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside their normal duties. After filming wrapped up, one of the aircraft used was sent to the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas, where it resides today. Aside from the aircraft of CVW-15, F-14s of other squadrons made background appearances. Aircraft of VF-114 "Aardvarks" and VF-213 "Blacklions" appear in shots of the carrier sequences filmed aboard the Enterprise, while the fleet of VF-1 "Wolfpack" is visible in shots taken at Miramar. 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 film 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 US$25,000 to turn the ship, and to continue on course. Scott wrote the carrier's captain a check so that the ship could be turned and he could continue shooting for another five minutes.Future NASA astronaut Scott Altman was among the pilots of VF-51 who flew F-14 aircraft for many of the film's stunt sequences, having been recently stationed at NAS Miramar at the time of filming. Altman was the pilot seen "flipping the bird" in the film's well-known opening sequence, as well as piloting the aircraft shown "buzzing the tower" throughout the film. The infamous "buzzing the tower" sequence raised concern among residents who called the base and local news media to report a "berserk pilot".
Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. The majority of air-to-air filming was done using a Learjet. The F-14s also had cameras mounted both inside the cockpit and on six external camera mounts, which were built by Grumman for filming The Final Countdown and modified for use on Top Gun.
The fictitious MIG-28 enemy aircraft was depicted by the Northrop F-5.
The film was shot in the Super 35 format, as anamorphic lenses were too large to fit inside the cockpits of the fighter jets.
Reshoots after Top Guns filming wrapped conflicted with Made in Heaven, in which McGillis starred with brown hair. Top Gun filmmakers were forced to hide her hair color, which for example resulted in the scene shot in an elevator featured McGillis in a baseball cap. While filming her scenes, McGillis had to be shoeless to match Cruise's height.
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 Special biplane 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. The film was as dedicated to Scholl's memory.