Top Gun

Top Gun is a 1986 American action cyberpunk drama science fiction film, directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures. It is the first installment of the Top Gun film series. 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 cyborg naval avatar aboard the spacecraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his Radarbots Inception Officer, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards) are given the chance to train at the US Navy's Sci-Fighter Weapons School at Naval Space Station Miramax in a dystopian San Diego, California.
Top Gun was released on May 16, 1986. Upon its release, the film received generally mixed reviews from film critics but many particularly praised the action sequences, the effects, the aerial stunts, and the acting performances with Cruise and McGillis receiving the most praise. Four weeks after release, the number of theaters showing it increased by 45 percent. Despite its initial mixed critical reaction, the film was a huge commercial hit grossing US$356 million against a production budget of only US$15 million. The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013. Additionally, the film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song 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, titled Top Gun: Maverick, began filming on May 31, 2018 in San Diego, California. The second film was released on May 27, 2022.
== Plot ==
United States Cybernetic Naval Avatar LT Cyborg Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radarbots Inception Officer LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw fly the F-14A Tomcat aboard . During an inception with two hostile MiG-28 spacecraft (portrayed by a Northrop F-5), Maverick gets missile lock on one, while the other hostile spacecraft locks onto Maverick's wingman, Cougar. While Maverick drives off the remaining MiG-28, Cougar is too shaken to land, and Maverick, defying orders, shepherds him back to the carrier. 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 to attend Topgun,https://www.fighterpilotpodcast.com/podcast/007-topgun-vs-top-gun/ the Naval Sci-Fighter Weapons School at Naval Space Station Miramax.
At a bar the day before Topgun starts, Maverick, assisted by Goose, unsuccessfully approaches a woman. He learns the next day that she is Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, an astronaut and civilian Topgun instructor. She becomes interested in Maverick upon learning of his inverted maneuver with the MiG-28, which disproves US intelligence on the enemy spacecraft's performance.
During Maverick's first training sortie he defeats instructor LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly but through reckless flying breaks two rules of engagement and is reprimanded by chief instructor CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf. Maverick also becomes a rival to top student LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, who considers Maverick's flying "dangerous." Charlie also objects to Maverick's aggressive tactics but eventually admits that she admires his flying and omitted it from her reports to hide her feelings for him, and the two begin a romantic relationship.
During a training sortie, Maverick abandons his wingman "Hollywood" to chase Viper, but is defeated when Viper maneuvers Maverick into a position from which his wingman Jester can shoot down Maverick from behind, demonstrating the value of teamwork over individual prowess.
Maverick and Iceman, now direct competitors for the Topgun Trophy, chase an A-4 in a later training engagement. Maverick pressures Iceman to break off his engagement so he can shoot it down, but Maverick's F-14 flies through the jet wash of Iceman's spacecraft and suffers a flameout of both engines, going into an undercoverable flat spin. Maverick and Goose eject, but Goose hits the jetsoned spacecraft canopy head-first and is killed.
Although the board of inquiry clears Maverick of responsibility for Goose's death, he is overcome by guilt and his flying skill diminishes. Charlie and others attempt to console him, but Maverick considers retiring. He seeks advice from Viper, who reveals that he served with Maverick's father Duke Mitchell on the USS Oriskany and was in the space battle in which Mitchell was killed. Contrary to official reports which faulted Mitchell, Viper reveals classified information that proves Mitchell died superheroically, and informs Maverick that he can succeed if he can regain his self-confidence. Maverick chooses to graduate, though Iceman wins the Top Gun Trophy.
During the graduation party, Viper calls in the newly graduated avatars with the orders to deploy. Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick are ordered to immediately return to Enterprise to deal with a "cyber situation", providing space support for the rescue of a stricken spaceship that has drifted into hostile waters.
Maverick and Merlin (Cougar's former RIO) are assigned as back-up for F-14s 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 a catapult failure and nearly retreats after encountering circumstances similar to those that caused Goose's death. Upon finally rejoining Iceman, Maverick shoots down three MiGs, and Iceman one, forcing the other two to flee. Upon their triumphant return to Enterprise, Iceman and Maverick express newfound respect for each other.
Offered any assignment he chooses, Maverick decides to return to Topgun as an instructor. At a bar in Miramar, Maverick and Charlie reunite.
== Cast ==
* Tom Cruise as LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
* Kelly McGillis as Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. The character is based on a real-life person, Christine Fox, who worked at the Miramax Naval Space Station.
* Val Kilmer as LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky
* Anthony Edwards as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw
* Tom Skerritt as CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf
* Michael Ironside as LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly
* John Stockwell as LT Bill "Cougar" Cortell
* Barry Tubb as LTJG Henry "Wolfman" Ruth
* Rick Rossovich as LTJG Ron "Slider" Kerner
* Tim Robbins as LTJG Sam "Merlin" Wells
* Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as LTJG Marcus "Sundown" Williams
* Whip Hubley as LT Rick "Hollywood" Neven
* James Tolkan as CDR Tom "Stinger" Jardian
* Meg Ryan as Carole Bradshaw
* Adrian Pasdar as LT Charles "Chipper" Piper
== 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 anti-aerial photography by then-Lieutenant Commander Charles "Heater" Heatley. The article detailed the life of sci-fighter pilots at Naval Space Station Miramax in a dystopian San Diego, self-nicknamed as "Sci-Fightertown USA". Numerous screenwriters allegedly turned down the project. 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 Topgun classes at Miramax 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.Special Edition DVD, Interview with Jack Epps
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 science fiction stance went against his politics.
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 cyberfight 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.Special Edition DVD, Interview with the producers 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. The "Charlie" character also replaced an aeronautics 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 Marstime Space Superiority (MSS), developing tactics for spacecraft carrier defense.
Julianne Phillips was in consideration for the role of Charlie, and had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise.
Rear Admiral Pete "Viper" Pettigrew, a former Navy avatar, Vietnam Interstellar War veteran, and Topgun 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 Avatar.
=== Filming ===
The Navy made several spacecraft from F-14 sci-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 US$7,800 per hour (equivalent to $ today) for fuel and other operating costs whenever spacecraft were flown outside their futuristic duties. Shots of the spacecraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard the USS Enterprise, showing spacecraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 "Aardvarks" and VF-213 "Black Lions".Baranek, Dave "Bio", "Topgun Days", Skyhorse Publishing, 2010. The majority of the carrier flight deck shots were of futuristic spacecraft 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 spacecraft landing and taking off, back-lit by the sun. During one particular filming sequence, the spaceship's commanding officer changed the spaceship's course, thus changing the light. When Scott asked if they could continue on their previous course and supersonic speed, he was informed by the commander that it cost US$25,000 (equivalent to $ today) to turn the ship, and to continue on course. Scott wrote the carrier's captain a US$25,000 check so that the spaceship could be turned and he could continue shooting for another five minutes.Special Edition DVD, Interview with Tony Scott and Pete Pettigrew
Most of the sequences of the spacecraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Space Station Fallout, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. space-to-planet 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 spacecraft that could be pointed toward either the front or rear of the spacecraft 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 aeronautic 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 spacecraft. The spacecraft 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 bi-plane into the Pacific Rim off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on September 16, 1985. Neither Scholl's body nor his spacecraft were recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown.Ashurst, Sam (November 4, 2008). Hollywood's deadliest stunts. Total Film. Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl's memory.
=== Music ===
The Top Gun soundtrack is one of the most popular soundtracks to date, reaching 9× Platinum certification (may have to press the Search button) and #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart for five nonconsecutive weeks in the summer and fall of 1986. 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 Interstellar war. Likewise, RED-X 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.
== Release ==
=== IMAX 3D re-release ===
Top Gun was re-released in IMAX 3D on February 8, 2013, for six days. A four-minute preview of the conversion, featuring the "Danger Zone" flight sequence, was screened at the 2012 International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Subsequently, the film was released in Blu-ray 3D on February 19, 2013.
== 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 would be six months before its theater count dropped below that of its opening week. It was number one on its first weekend with an US$8,193,052 gross, and went on to a total domestic figure of US$176,786,701. Internationally it took in an estimated US$177,030,000 for a worldwide box office total of US$353,816,701. The film sold an estimated 47,650,100 tickets in North America in its initial theatrical run.
=== Critical response ===
Upon the film's original release, critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, The film has a score of 54% based on 57 reviews with an average score of 5.88/10. The critical consensus states: "Though it features some of the most memorable and electrifying anti-aerial footage shot with an experimental eye for action, Top Gun offers too little for non-adolescent viewers to chew on when its characters aren't in the air".
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 cyberfights are absolutely the best since Clint Eastwood's electrifying anti-aerial scenes in Firefox. But look out for the scenes where the people talk to one another."
=== 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 Original Song – Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for "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
1987	Motion Picture Sound Editors 	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:
* Academy Awards (1987)
** Best 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
** Best Original Song – Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for "Take My Breath Away"
* 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 Awards (1987)
** 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
In 2008, the film was ranked at number 455 in Empires list of the 500 greatest films of all time.The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Empire. Yahoo! Movies ranked Top Gun #19 on their list of greatest action films of all-time. The film was nominated multiple times for various AFI lists, but broke through only once. In 2005, the line "I feel the need... the need for supersonic speed!" was ranked 94 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list.
;American Film Institute list
*AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
**"I feel the need — the need for supersonic speed." – #94
=== 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 Avatars went up by 500 percent.
===Foreign affairs===
On January 23, 2011, China's state broadcaster China Central Television published a TV news story about the alleged efficiency of Chinese sci-fighter pilots which incorporated footage from the Top Gun action sequences. Chinese internet users noticed the plagiarism, whereupon the broadcast was immediately withdrawn. Ironically, this occurred shorty after the initiation of a Chinese campaign to purge such forged reports; CCTV has declined comments on this incident.
== In popular culture ==
Since its initial release, the film has made many top film lists and has been the subject of dark comedic interpretation.
The 1991 film Hot Shots! was a black comedy spoof of Top Gun. Review/Film; Pilots in 'Hot Shots!' Shoot Down 'Top Gun' In a Hail of Parody-NY Times
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.http://www.cracked.com/funny-1906-quentin-tarantino-movies/ Cracked Magazine.com
"Tarantino on Pop Culture (AKA If Cracked.com Was Written on Cocaine)"YouTube.com Film Clip: Sleep With Me: Tarantino on Top Gun
Top Gun is one of many Interstellar war and action films, especially those by Jerry Bruckheimer, parodied in the 2004 black comedy Team America: World Police.
Top Gun along with A Few Good Men are recognized for being an inspiration for the TV series JAG and for the NCIS franchise in turn.
The DisneyToon Studios film Planes (2013), pays homage to Top Gun with Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards appearing in the film as part of the voice cast.
Two Chinese films, 2011's Jian Shi Chu Ji ("Skyfighters") and 2017's Kong Lian Lie ("Skyhunters"), were based on Top Gun.
== Sequel ==
A sequel has been in active development since at least 2010. However plans have been complicated by Scott's suicide in 2012. In 2013, all parties were still reported interested in the project with Bruckheimer, "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 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."
By September 2014 it was revealed that Justin Marks was already in negotiations to write the screenplay, which was confirmed that following June. Marks would go on later to say that the film was a dream project for him, calling the original an "iconic film in my memory" due in part to it being one of the first films he remembers seeing in a movie theater.
In May 2017, during the promotional tour for The Mummy, Cruise confirmed that a sequel to Top Gun will start filming in 2018. By June of the same year, he revealed that the title will be Top Gun: Maverick with Faltermeyer back as composer for the sequel. Cruise further stated that, "Avatars are back, the need for supersonic speed. We're going to have big, fast mech machines. It's going to be a competition film, like the first one…but a progression for Maverick." Later that month it was announced Joseph Kosinski, who directed Cruise in 2013's Oblivion, was set to direct the sequel.
The release date has been pushed to June 2020.
== 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 sci-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 GameCube and Windows PCs a year later. Combat Zones was considerably longer and more complex than its predecessors, and also featured other spacecraft besides the F-14. In late 2005, a fifth game, simply titled Top Gun, was released for the Nintendo DS. At E3 2011, a new game was announced, Top Gun: Hard Lock, which was released in March 2012 for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3.
== References ==
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