Top Gun

"Up there with the best of the best."

1986 1h 50m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 9,960

ActionDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

“Up there with the best of the best.”

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Cast

Tom Cruise
Maverick
Kelly McGillis
Charlie
Val Kilmer
Ice
Anthony Edwards
Goose
Tom Skerritt
Viper
Michael Ironside
Jester
John Stockwell
Cougar
Barry Tubb
Wolfman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tony Scott
Writers: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Ehud Yonay
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $357M — a 23.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Top Gun Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

206+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tony Scott, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Harold Faltermeyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Billy Weber shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tony Scott directs. Jeffrey L. Kimball behind the camera. Harold Faltermeyer scores. Billy Weber cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $357M — a 23.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
240 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Top Gun Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4206+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Tony Scott, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Harold Faltermeyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Billy Weber shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Up there with the best of the best.".
10IMDB entry: tt0092099 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "dying and death", "secret love", "lovesickness", "airplane".
12Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Original score: Harold Faltermeyer
Editing: Billy Weber
Production design: John DeCuir Jr.
Makeup / hair: Scott H. Eddo
Sound: Rick Kline
Stunt coordinator: R.A. Rondell
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $356,830,601
Return: 2379% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Top Gun (1986)

Part of

Top Gun Collection

Top Gun is an American action drama multimedia franchise based on the 1983 article "Top Guns" by Ehud Yonay, which was adapted into the eponymous 1986 film, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.

Also by

Tony Scott

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2022-05-24
★ 8/10
You'll struggle to find a more cheesy film, even so 'Top Gun' is a super film. I need to check out more of Tony Scott's work because he has yet to let me down from the flicks of his that I've seen; on that note I'd put this below '<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/crimson-tide/" rel="nofollow">Crimson Tide</a>' and <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/unstoppable-2010/" rel="nofollow">Unstoppable</a>', but it is still one of his best I'm sure. The action is great, as is the pacing and music; even with "Take My Breath Away" being slightly overused at one point. Tom Cruise is excellent in the lead role, no doubt the perfect choice to play Maverick. Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside... ace cast! Tim Robbins, Andy Dufresne himself, is even involved too. They all commit to their roles and give noteworthy performances. 'Top Gun: Maverick' is literally right around the corner. I'm expecting positive things from that sequel.
Manuel São Bento2022-05-27
★ 7/10
MORE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ Rewatched Top Gun before seeing the sequel. Its treatment of female characters clearly didn't age well, but I still had tons of fun. The aerial sequences remain exciting and the male camaraderie originates many memorable dialogues. Awesome score and iconic sunglasses. Rating: B
CinemaSerf2022-08-28
★ 6/10
Back in 1986, "Take My Breath Away" was ubiquitous. It had airplay everywhere and made the band "Berlin" an household name. That is just about all, I have to say, that is memorable about this otherwise rather dull, testosterone driven, airborne adventure movie that really doesn't show these military elite in much of a good light. "Maverick" (Tom Cruise) is the aptly named hot-shot who is sent to the "Top Gun" flying school for the top 1% of the top 1%, where his individual style - along side his co-pilot "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) - manages to irk just about everyone; especially his arch rival "Ice" (Val Kilmer). Who will win out in this ultimate of willie-waving exercises? Well if you can't guess that from the very start, then don't bother. I suppose this is meant to extol the virtues of pride and loyalty, but for the most part - for me anyway - this is the kind of movie that does those is the military no favours at all. The dialogue is frequently vulgar and puerile, offering us characterisations that are at best smug, at worst just plain irritating. Of course, there is a romance as our Levi-clad diminutive star hits it off with his tutor "Charlie" (Kelly McGillis); we have a little bit of tragedy and then, of course, a denouement that was simply never in doubt. Tony Scott has managed to deliver a film that is quickly paced, with plenty of decent action photography as the planes and the aircraft carriers do their stuff, but the substance to the characters and the acting itself - Kilmer and McGillis are really just acting by numbers - leaves this film to ride on it's handsome and mischievous star who does exude a certain charm, as he always does, and on it's AOR soundtrack that features many songs way more memorable than the movie. I appreciate that those more technically savvy have poked loads of holes in the detail of the film. I am not one of those folks, so I watched it the other day in the cinema on face value, and I can't say these flaws seem to matter too much to the overall look of the film. It's just that it's not really very good.