Top Gun
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Top Gun is a 1986 American action 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 , written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. The film stars Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, with Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt in supporting roles. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete Maverick Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick Goose Bradshaw (Edwards), are given the chance to train at the US Navy s Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.

Top Gun was released on May 16, 1986. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews from film critics. 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 $357 million globally against a production budget of $15 million. Top Gun was the highest grossing domestic film of 1986. The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013. Additionally, the soundtrack to the film has since become one of the most popular movie 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, titled Top Gun: Maverick, released 36 years later on May 27, 2022.

Plot

US Naval Aviator Lieutenant Pete Maverick Mitchell and his radar intercept officer (RIO) Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick Goose Bradshaw, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard the USS Enterprise, 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 defies orders to land and shepherds him back to the carrier. Cougar resigns his commission. Maverick and Goose are sent in his place by CAG Stinger to attend TOPGUN, the Naval Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar.

Prior to the first day of instruction, Maverick unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar. He learns the next day she is an astrophysicist and civilian TOPGUN 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 defeats instructor Lieutenant Commander Rick Jester Heatherly, but to do so, he flies below 10,000 feet (3,000 m), breaking a major rule of engagement. Maverick and Goose also buzz the control tower. They are reprimanded by chief instructor Commander Mike Viper Metcalf.

Privately, Jester tells Viper that while he admires Maverick s skill, he is not sure if he would trust him as a teammate 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. Lieutenant Iceman Kazansky calls his behavior foolish , dangerous and worse than the enemy.

Maverick and Iceman, the leading contenders for the TOPGUN 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 is killed when his head slams into the jettisoned aircraft canopy.

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-era air battle where he was killed. Contrary to official reports faulting Mitchell, Viper says he died heroically. He tells him he can succeed if he regains his self-confidence. Maverick chooses to graduate and congratulates Iceman, who has won the TOPGUN Trophy. Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick receive immediate deployment orders to deal with a crisis situation; they are sent to the 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, Maverick is scrambled. He goes into a spin after encountering another jet wash, but recovers. Shaken, he breaks off, 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. Maverick later throws Goose s dog tags overboard.

Offered the choice of any assignment, Maverick chooses to return to TOPGUN as an instructor. He and Charlie reunite at a bar in Miramar.

Cast

  • Tom Cruise as LT Pete Maverick Mitchell, a US Navy pilot. The character was loosely based on Duke Cunningham and his accomplishments during the Vietnam War.
  • Kelly McGillis as Charlotte Charlie Blackwood, instructor of Top Gun and Maverick s love interest. The character is based on a real-life person, Christine Fox, who worked at Naval Air Station Miramar.
  • Val Kilmer as LT Tom Iceman Kazansky, one of Top Gun s students and Maverick s rival turned wingman.
  • Anthony Edwards as LTJG Nick Goose Bradshaw, Maverick s radar intercept officer and best friend
  • Tom Skerritt as CDR Mike Viper Metcalf, commanding officer and instructor of Top Gun. A veteran of the Vietnam War who served with Duke Mitchell, Maverick s father. The character was based on a real person: Rear Admiral Pete Viper Pettigrew, a former Navy aviator, Vietnam War veteran, and Topgun instructor, who served as a technical advisor on the film and also makes a cameo appearance in the film as a colleague of Charlie s.
  • Michael Ironside as LCDR Rick Jester Heatherly, a Naval Aviator, and Top Gun instructor
  • John Stockwell as LT Bill Cougar Cortell, Maverick s former wingman
  • Barry Tubb as LTJG Leonard Wolfman Wolfe, Hollywood s radar intercept officer
  • Rick Rossovich as LTJG Ron Slider Kerner, Iceman s radar intercept officer
  • Tim Robbins as LTJG Sam Merlin Wells, Cougar s radar intercept officer (later Maverick s during the climax)
  • Clarence Gilyard as LTJG Marcus Sundown Williams, Chipper s radar intercept officer (later Maverick s during the end of training)
  • Whip Hubley as LT Rick Hollywood Neven, a student from Top Gun and Iceman s wingman during the climax
  • James Tolkan as CDR Tom Stinger Jardian, Commander of the USS Enterprise Carrier Air Group. Stinger s role was not defined in the film.
  • Meg Ryan as Carole Bradshaw, Goose s wife
  • Adrian Pasdar as LT Charles Chipper Piper, a Naval Aviator and student of Top Gun
  • Aaron and Adam Weis as Bradley Bradshaw, Goose and Carole s son (uncredited)

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 as 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 attendance at several declassified Topgun 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. 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 (that went to Tom Cruise) because he felt the film s pro-military stance went against his politics. Julianne Phillips was in consideration for the role of Charlie, and had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise.

The producers wanted the assistance of the US 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 US 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 (MAS), developing tactics for aircraft carrier defense.

Filming

The Navy made several aircraft from F-14 fighter squadron VF-51 Screaming Eagles (which Mike Viper Metcalf mentions in the scene at his home) available for the film. Paramount paid as much as US$7,800 per hour (equivalent to $19,700 at 25 August 2022) for fuel and other operating costs whenever aircraft were flown outside their normal duties. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard USS Enterprise, showing aircraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 Aardvarks and VF-213 Black Lions . 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 (equivalent to $63,000 today) 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 piloted F-14 aircraft for many of the film s stunt sequences, having been recently stationed at NAS Miramar at 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.

Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada, using ground-mounted cameras. Air-to-air shots were filmed using a Learjet, piloted by Astrovision inventor and legendary pilot Clay Lacy (his name is misspelled in the closing credits, as Clay Lacey ). 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.

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 and also the cameras would fall off their mounts when the fighter jets maneuvered on their sides.

Reshoots after Top Gun s filming wrapped conflicted with Made in Heaven, in which McGillis starred with brown hair. Top Gun s filmmakers were forced to hide her hair color, which for example resulted that the scene shot in an elevator featured McGillis in a baseball cap.

The San Diego restaurant and bar Kansas City Barbeque served as a filming location for two scenes (shot in July 1985). 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 Wurlitzer jukebox, was also filmed at the restaurant. Both scenes were filmed consecutively. After the 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.

In 1985, Paramount Pictures rented The Graves House, a historic San Diego Folk Victorian/Queen Anne cottage located at 102 North Pacific Street, and used it as the home for Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood. Charlie s backyard scenes were filmed at another house located at 112 First Street (Seagaze Drive) that was behind The Graves House. In May 2020, The Graves House was relocated and later renovated into a pie shop called High Pie located at 250 North Pacific Street.

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. 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 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for five non-consecutive weeks in the summer and fall of 1986. Harold Faltermeyer, who previously worked with both Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson on 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 Faltermeyer, with Steve Stevens also performing on the former.

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. 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

Theatrical

The film s premiere was held in New York City on May 12, 1986, with another held in San Diego on May 15.

The film opened in the United States and Canada in 1,028 theaters on May 16, 1986, a week prior to the Memorial Day weekend, which was considered a gamble at the time.

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. It was the first new-release blockbuster on video cassette to be priced as low as $26.95 and, backed by a massive $8 million marketing campaign, including a Top Gun-themed Diet Pepsi commercial, the advance demand was such that the film became the best-selling videocassette in the industry s history on pre-orders alone, with over 1.9 million units ordered before its launch on March 10, 1987. It eventually sold a record 2.9 million units.

The film was first released in the U.S. on DVD under Paramount Pictures on October 21, 1998, and included the film in both Widescreen (non-anamorphic Univisium 2.00:1) and Full Screen (open matte) versions. Top Gun s home video success was again reflected by strong DVD sales, which were furthered by a Special Collector s Edition 2-disc DVD release on December 14, 2004, in both Widescreen (anamorphic 2.39:1) and Full Screen (open matte) versions, that include new bonus features. Special features comprise audio commentary by Bruckheimer, Tony Scott and naval experts, four music videos including the Top Gun Anthem and Take My Breath Away , a six-part documentary on the making of Top Gun, and vintage gallery with interviews, behind-the-scenes and survival training featurettes.

Subsequently, the film was first released on a Special Collector s Edition Blu-ray disc on July 29, 2008, with the same supplemental features as the previous 2004 DVD. A 2-disc limited edition 3D copy was issued on February 19, 2013. The remastered Blu-ray and Digital Copy version of the film was released on May 19, 2019, on Paramount Movies. Top Gun was released in the U.S. on remastered Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on May 19, 2020, with two new special features titled The Legacy of Top Gun and On Your Six: Thirty Years of Top Gun, with the remaining bonus features being carried over.

Top Gun reached number one on the U.K. Official Film Chart based on DVD, Blu-ray and download sales on the week ending May 31, 2022.

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.

2021 re-release

Top Gun was re-released in Dolby Cinema and screened by AMC Theatres on 153 screens on May 13, 2021. On the first weekend it grossed a total of $248,000 ranking at number 10. It grossed a total of $433,000 in a ten-day period.

Reception

Box office

The film 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 a gross of $8.2 million, and went on to a total domestic gross of $176.8 million, and $177 million internationally, for a worldwide box office total of $353.8 million. The film sold an estimated 47.65 million tickets in North America in its initial theatrical run.

The film grossed an additional $3 million in its IMAX re-release in 2013, and an additional $471,982 in its 2021 re-release, bringing its domestic gross to $180.3 million and its worldwide gross to $357.3 million.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 58% based on reviews from 74 critics, with an average rating of 6.0/10. The website s 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. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, saying 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. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising the action sequences but criticizing the romantic subplot, writing that it belongs in a teenage sex-fantasy film and not in a movie that deserves the genuine romantic value of An Officer and a Gentleman . American film critic Pauline Kael commented, When McGillis is offscreen, the movie is a shiny homoerotic commercial: the pilots strut around the locker room, towels hanging precariously from their waists. It s as if masculinity had been redefined as how a young man looks with his clothes half off, and as if narcissism is what being a warrior is all about.

Some critics have said that the film promotes US jingoism. Filmmaker Oliver Stone told Playboy that the film sold the idea that war is clean, war can be won … nobody in the movie ever mentions that he just started World War Three! In 1990, Tom Cruise, while promoting Stone s Born on the Fourth of July said the film should be taken as a fairy tale instead of real depiction of wars and added that it would have been irresponsible to make a sequel because the film gave a misleading view of war. Cruise has reprised his role in the sequel 36 years later, this time to mostly positive reviews. Val Kilmer, who was critical of warmongering in the first film have also returned for the sequel.

Accolades

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards Best Film Editing Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon Nominated
Best Original Song Take My Breath Away
Music by Giorgio Moroder;
Lyrics by Tom Whitlock
Won
Best Sound Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O Connell, Rick Kline and William B. Kaplan Nominated
Best Sound Effects Editing Cecelia Hall and George Watters II Nominated
Apex Scroll Awards Best Picture Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Meg Ryan Nominated
Best Film Editing Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon Nominated
Best Original Song – Motion Picture Take My Breath Away
Music by Giorgio Moroder;
Lyrics by Tom Whitlock
Nominated
Achievement in Compilation Soundtrack Top Gun Nominated
Achievement in Sound Nominated
Achievement in Sound Effects Won
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Box Office Films Harold Faltermeyer Won
Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures Take My Breath Away
Music by Giorgio Moroder;
Lyrics by Tom Whitlock
Won
Brit Awards Best Soundtrack Top Gun Won
Fennecus Awards Best Film Editing Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon Nominated
Best Original Song – Motion Picture Take My Breath Away
Music by Giorgio Moroder;
Lyrics by Tom Whitlock
Nominated
Achievement in Compilation Soundtrack Top Gun Nominated
Achievement in Sound Nominated
Achievement in Sound Effects Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Original Score – Motion Picture Harold Faltermeyer Nominated
Best Original Song – Motion Picture Take My Breath Away
Music by Giorgio Moroder;
Lyrics by Tom Whitlock
Won
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing – ADR Andy Patterson and Juno J. Ellis Won
Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects Won
Golden Screen Awards Won
Grammy Awards Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) Top Gun Anthem – Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens Won
Japan Academy Film Prize Outstanding Foreign Language Film Nominated
National Film Preservation Board National Film Registry Inducted
People s Choice Awards Favorite Motion Picture Won
  • In 2008, the film was ranked at number 455 in Empire s list of the 500 greatest films of all time.
  • Yahoo! Movies ranked Top Gun number 19 on their list of greatest action films of all-time.
  • AFI s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes: I feel the need—the need for speed. – #94
  • I feel the need—the need for speed. – #94

Influence

Film producer John Davis said that Top Gun was a recruiting video for the Navy, that people saw the movie and said, Wow! I want to be a pilot. The Navy had recruitment booths in some theaters to attract enthusiastic patrons. 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.

The U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General blamed sexist behavior depicted in Top Gun for making sexual assault more likely in the real-life military, contributing to the Tailhook scandal in 1991.

In popular culture

This section appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject s impact on popular culture, providing citations to reliable, secondary sources, rather than simply listing appearances. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2019)

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

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

Top Gun, along with A Few Good Men, is recognized for being an inspiration for the TV series JAG and the subsequent NCIS franchise in turn. JAG and NCIS are also owned by Paramount.

The DisneyToon Studios film Planes (2013) pays homage to Top Gun with Kilmer and Edwards appearing in the film as part of the voice cast.

Two Chinese war films, 2011 s Jian Shi Chu Ji ( Skyfighters ) and 2017 s Kong Tian Lie ( Sky Hunter ), were based on Top Gun. On January 23, 2011, China s state broadcaster China Central Television published a TV news story about the alleged efficiency of Chinese fighter pilots which incorporated footage from the Top Gun action sequences. Chinese internet users noticed the plagiarism, whereupon the broadcast was immediately withdrawn. The CCTV has declined comments on this incident.

Sequel

A sequel had been in active development since at least 2010. By September 2014 it was revealed that Justin Marks was in negotiations to write the screenplay, which was confirmed that following June. In May 2017, during the promotional tour for The Mummy, Cruise confirmed that a sequel to Top Gun would start filming in 2018. By June of the same year, he said that the title would be Top Gun: Maverick with Faltermeyer back as composer for the sequel. Later that month it was announced that Joseph Kosinski, who directed Cruise in 2013 s Oblivion, was set to direct, and Kilmer was announced to reprise his role as Iceman. McGillis was not asked back for the sequel, but appears in the film via archive footage. The impersonators of the Bradshaw family – Edwards, Ryan and the Weis twins – also appear via archive footage, while Miles Teller plays their grown-up son, Lt. Bradley Rooster Bradshaw.

Video games

Top Gun also spawned a number of video games for various platforms. The original game was released in 1986 under the same title as the film. It was released on Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST. Another game, also titled Top Gun, was released in 1987 for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Nintendo VS. System arcade cabinets. In the 1987 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 subsequently released for the GameCube and Microsoft Windows. Combat Zones features other aircraft besides the F-14. In 2006, another game simply titled Top Gun was released for the Nintendo DS. A 2010 game, also titled Top Gun, retells the film s story. 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.

Year 1986
ReleaseDate 1986-05-16
RuntimeMins 110
RuntimeStr 1h 50min
Plot As students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Awards Won 1 Oscar, 11 wins & 5 nominations total
Directors Tony Scott
Writers Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Ehud Yonay
Stars Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis
Produced by Bill Badalato,Jerry Bruckheimer,Don Simpson,Warren Skaaren
Music by Harold Faltermeyer
Cinematography by Jeffrey L. Kimball
Film Editing by Chris Lebenzon,Billy Weber
Casting By Margery Simkin
Production Design by John DeCuir Jr.
Set Decoration by Robert R. Benton
Makeup Department Scott H. Eddo,K.G. Ramsey,Rick Sharp
Production Management Bill Badalato,Jason Pomerantz
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Patrick Cosgrove,Dan Kolsrud,Sharon Mann,James Dillon
Art Department Tom Burzinski,Craig Edgar,Stacey S. McIntosh,Jonathan O’Connell,Richard A. Villalobos,Mark Wade,Giovanni Casalenuovo
Sound Department Pamela Bentkowski,James Cavarretta,Virginia Cook-McGowan,Teri E. Dorman,Juno J. Ellis,Julia Evershade,John P. Fasal,Daniel F. Finnerty,Cecelia Hall,Mike Haney,Frank Howard,Joseph A. Ippolito,William B. Kaplan,David Kelson,Rick Kline,Donald O. Mitchell,Sarah Monat,Robert Nichols II,Martin Nicholson,Kevin O’Connell,Andrew Patterson,Earl Sampson,Stephen Stalheim,Edward M. Steidele,David E. Stone,George Watters II,Robert Winder,Marshall Winn,David W. Alstadter,Ed Golya,Ken J. Johnson
Special Effects by Peter Cairo,Steven C. Foster,Gary Gutierrez,Allen Hall,Robert G. Willard,Marvin Gardner,Jamie Hyneman,Mike Menzel
Visual Effects by Troy Alexiadis,Dane Anderson,Kamran Arian,Taylor Armstrong,Nathan Behmlander,Kevin Bennett,Jason Bowers,Sean Callahan,David Carothers,Dan Carpenter,Peter Charron,Sam Comstock,Stuart Cudlitz,Anderson Dane,Rikk Davis,Josh Deason,Anthony Dunifer,John Eaves,James Eggleston,Erick Escobales,Mark Philip Escobar,Paul John Faeldo,Phylicia Feldman,Rick Fichter,Rodney Figueroa,Anthony Garcellano,Anthony Garcia,Adam Ghering,Whitney Green,William Groshelle,Miles Hall,Donald Hansard Sr.,Don Hansard,Derek Hanson,Andrew Harris,Shizue Harrison,Adam Hlavac,Mike Hopkinson,Craig Houston,Danny Huynh,Paul Ingegneri,Matthew Kemper,Gerry Kodo,Keith Kolod,Alexander Limpin,Marc Llorin,Jason Lodas,Chris Longo,Kim Mandilag,Tyler Marino,Tony Masiello,Dexter Matias,Jonathan McClintic,Elizabeth McClurg,Marghi McMahon,Ted Moehnke,Earle Murphy,Kjell Ness,Liana Padilla,Allessandro Palladini,Sandy Phetchamphone,Jason Reese,Mitchell Romanauski,Erasmo P. Romero III,Steve Romero,Ali Said,James Salas,Steve Sanders,Daniel Sandoval-Guillen,David Settlow,Jared Simms,David Sosalla,Wes Takahashi,Sunny Thipsidakhom,Brian Thomason,Ted Trabucco,Patrick Trienta,Johnne Tyson,Ben Ussher,Bret Watkins,Aaron Williams,Eddy Wolfson,Kimberly Henry,Lorraine Torres
Stunts Gary Epper,Steve Holladay,Donna Keegan,Randy Peters,R.A. Rondell,Art Scholl
Camera and Electrical Department Nick Alavardo,Larry Blanford,Michael W. Blymyer,James Campana,Bob Carmichael,Richard Clark,John J. Connor,Jack Cooperman,William Coss,Dan Delgado,Jim Duggan,Robert Duggan,Jon Else,John Gazdik,John Gilbert,David Hallinger,C.J. Heatley,Jan M. Heyneker,George Howe,William E. Kelley Jr.,Dan Koblash,Clay Lacy,Al LaVerde,George P. Leahy,Stephen Lighthill,Ralph Nelson,Ken Nishino,David B. Nowell,Tom Prophet Jr.,Tony Rivetti,Ward Russell,Gregory J. Schmidt,Donald Smith,Jeff Stanman,Peter Thomas,Don Thompson,Gary Tolbert,Joseph F. Valentine,D. Michael Wheeler,Wayne Baker,John Earl Burnett,Scott Dale,Robert Edesa,Henry Minski,Richard Walden
Casting Department Lisa Clarkson,Jeff Greenberg,Tina Real
Costume and Wardrobe Department Wingate Jones,John Napolitano,Bobbie Read,James W. Tyson,Lew Richard
Editorial Department Richard Childs,Mark Elson,Claudia Finkle,Stacey A. Foiles,Mike Moskowitz,Bruce Pearson
Music Department Bob Badami,Jellybean Benítez,Arlene Matza-Jackson,Talmadge Pearsall
Script and Continuity Department June Samson
Transportation Department Dan Marrow,Al Orazi,Randy Peters,Mike Robinson
Additional Crew Lloyd Abel,Scott D. Altman,Julianna Arenson,Diana Austin,Billy Badalato,Dave Baranek,Michael Blue,Dennis Broska,Patti Carr,T.J. Cassidy,Peter Caulk,Dan Curry,John Cushing,Jim Destafney,Michael Dilbeck,Dennis Dilucente,Gregory Dishart,Ron Eisenman,Michael Galpin,J.A. Garrow,Barbara Gerard,Ricky Hammonds,Thomas R. Harmon,James L. Holloway III,John Horton,Catalaine Knell,Chuck Lewis,Terrence McGuire,Scott Metcalfe,Rick Moe,David B. Nowell,Ron Oberman,Gayle Peabody,Pete Pettigrew,Gary Platek,James Ray,Brian Reeves,David Robertson,Marsha Robertson,Ben Schneider,Ray Seckinger,John Henry Semcken,Tracy Skeels,Kenneth Smith,Matthew Snyder,Thomas Sobieck,William Spence,Ron Stack,Sandy Stairs,Richard T. Stevens,Randy Stiles,Peter Stolz,Michael Straight,Sally Syberg,Barbara Weintraub,Christine Whitney,Robert Willard,Erick Willenbrock,James Winnefeld,Greg Ferris,Jerry Irvine,Liz Siegel,Kathleen Walker,Lynnanne Zager
Thanks John F. Lehman Jr.,Art Scholl
Genres Action, Drama
Companies Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Countries USA
Languages English
ContentRating PG
ImDbRating 6.9
ImDbRatingVotes 422029
MetacriticRating 50
Keywords pilot,flying,male camaraderie,u.s. navy,fighter pilot