Tony Scott's 1986 blockbuster and the 2022 sequel are the best recruitment tools the US Navy could hope for.
See full article...
See full article...
Top Gun turns 40
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
Upvote
6
(7
/
-1)
I want David Suchet back but this time the villain is a diminutive fussy Belgian.
Upvote
5
(5
/
0)
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
Yes, he was an instructor on the F-5.
But for the purposes of the "MiG-28" as depicted in the film there were European designs that looked much more MiG-like than the F-5.
Upvote
3
(4
/
-1)
Nothing about that is ironic, not even a Canadian studying by flashlight in an air conditioned but dark room. Irony is when the words and the deeds of a story conflict with each other in a way that drives its core meaning.
Upvote
-12
(1
/
-13)
It's how Americans like to think war looks like.
I occasionally browse r/Ukraine. Being chased by FPV drones in a forest isn't cool- even with Tom Cruise. Just terrifying.
I occasionally browse r/Ukraine. Being chased by FPV drones in a forest isn't cool- even with Tom Cruise. Just terrifying.
Upvote
2
(11
/
-9)
ubercurmudgeon
Ars Praefectus
His RIO being a blink-and-you'll-miss-him early role for Tim Robbins. Who was far too tall to fit the top of his head both into a real F-14 cockpit and the same frame as Tom Cruise...
Upvote
15
(15
/
0)
Yes, that's the one. He's also often a compelling movie actor, one of the best on screen in his lifetime, even if not in Top Gun. I too am repelled by actors rendering themselves unwatchable by the sordid details of their real lives, but Cruise is good enough onscreen that it usually doesn't distract me while watching. It's more of a bad aftertaste following the movie.
Upvote
9
(14
/
-5)
I haven't yet seen any of the films (I've been busy) but perhaps later.
Well, if Disney can create films based around theme park attractions, why not a web browser?
Interesting.
Well, if Disney can create films based around theme park attractions, why not a web browser?
You lost me at Michael Bay.
Was that because of the lights?
Upvote
4
(4
/
0)
jonbob_newcastle
Ars Scholae Palatinae
The Guardian had an article too, but no indication of why in that one either. Maybe nobody wanted to wait until it was a nice, round fifty years.
Upvote
0
(0
/
0)
It's how people everywhere like to think war looks like when fought by Americans. Even in countries where real American war has devastated lives and the land pollyanna American war movies are popular. So even many people who know better like to be entertained by what they know war is not like.
Upvote
4
(4
/
0)
While Top Gun is certainly not an accurate depiction of an aerial dogfight, I don't think a movie culminating in an air to air dog dogfight over the Indian Ocean in 1985 can be reasonably criticized for not depicting 21st century drone warfare on land.
Upvote
24
(26
/
-2)
jonbob_newcastle
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Fun fact: Suchet’s trademark Poirot walk was accomplished by him gripping a coin between his arse cheeks.
Upvote
1
(3
/
-2)
Yes, this is the plot of the movie. Everything Iceman tells him is correct and he has to learn some humility to overcome his own ego and his clear trauma at the death of Goose.
Upvote
22
(22
/
0)
jonbob_newcastle
Ars Scholae Palatinae
What are the odds that it doesn’t mention the part where they had to scuttle $200 million worth of aircraft because they couldn’t take off again?
Is it still scuttling if it isn’t a boat?
Upvote
1
(2
/
-1)
jm_leviathan
Ars Scholae Palatinae
I mean, yes, absolutely. But one can compartmentalise these things. The sentiment that fighter jets are really cool can coexist alongside a deep ambivalence about the nature of military power and its real-world application. There are a multiplicity of meanings that exist simultaneously.
We compartmentalise reality and impose our own limited schema upon it because we must, because the alternative is paralysis. We all make choices. I don't play modern military shooter games, but I'll begrudgingly admit that doing so doesn't necessarily suggest that one is blind to the same factors that cause me to shy away from them. Similarly, I'm not saying you're wrong to dismiss Top Gun as you do, only that it isn't a necessary entailment of disgust with American foreign policy and an awareness of the film as an instrument of military propaganda.
Upvote
9
(12
/
-3)
It's an availability thing. The US Navy already operated the F-5s and A-4s as aggressor aircraft, so were already available in the right locations for filming, possibly with some filming just tacked onto their normal flying assignments instead of the cost and logistics of securing access to European planes and transporting them, pilots, parts, etc. etc. to the filming location.
Looks like they're still in use in that role with a few reserve units (2 Navy, 2 Marine Corps) and one of the commercial providers of aggressor services (Tactical Air Support, Inc.)
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)
My 14 year old self loved this movie. A bunch of guys, acting macho, flying cool planes. My friend and I practiced that over/under high five slap multiple times in order to impress the ladies. It didn’t work. Heck it was entertaining and didn’t require much thought. Heck, Val Kilmer was in it. I still love watching Real Genius.
You know every time I went to a woman’s house for the first time, I always asked if I can take a shower. /s
You know every time I went to a woman’s house for the first time, I always asked if I can take a shower. /s
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
"Confession: I’ve never been a huge Cruise fan, particularly in his early career. "
I would concur with this assessment, with one exception. I thought Cruise's performance in 'Rain Man' was very well done, especially considering he was holding his own against Dustin Hoffman, who would go on to win an Oscar for his role.
I would concur with this assessment, with one exception. I thought Cruise's performance in 'Rain Man' was very well done, especially considering he was holding his own against Dustin Hoffman, who would go on to win an Oscar for his role.
Upvote
10
(11
/
-1)
I don't know about "terrible" but definitely over-rated. Heck, I'm a private pilot and consider the F-14 aesthetically the best looking Western swing-wing. Still think it is over-rated.
Lets compare to "633 Squadron" - which is a terrible movie, but is also redeemed by great flying scenes (Mosquitoes) and a decent film score. As with the Top Gun score, Ron Goodwin will have his fans and detractors who think it is cliche. I'm probably more in the Goodwin camp.
As for the rest? Plot is a mission (633 does a bit better here, although the George Lucas remake is definitely better), and soapy unrealistic romantic stuff (Top Gun being more modern, even though HR would fire everyone in sight).
Upvote
1
(1
/
0)
Honestly, I think Les Chevaliers du Ciel might have even better flying scenes than Top Gun. Mostly because this is French military proaganda, and they modified a drop tank into a camera pod, so the chase plane is another Mirage, which meant they could keep up with the other aircraft even at top speed.
Now, as an actual movie, it's, erm, pretty crap, but the aerial photography is well worth it. Fortunately you can see most of it in this fan trailer:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEe3xfWfkG8
Upvote
10
(10
/
0)
The first Top Gun movie also helped sell a fair number of home theater sound systems. A friend at the time was having trouble convincing his wife that they needed to get a good sound system. I had one centered around a Sony home theater receiver(back when Sony still made good hardware) and a bunch of Realistic speakers(bought when Radio Shack made decent speakers). He brought her over and we sat her in the 'good spot' sound wise and started Top Gun. By the time the F-14 was departing the carrier, she was grinning. My friend got his sound system within a week.
It was also fairly common to hear Top Gun being played in the speaker emporium section of Best Buy and Circuit City for several years after its release to tape.
It was also fairly common to hear Top Gun being played in the speaker emporium section of Best Buy and Circuit City for several years after its release to tape.
Upvote
8
(8
/
0)
thelongdarkteatimeof
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Cruise is a talentless douchebag loser; a figurehead of one of the most violent misogynistic right-wing cults in the world (no, not the Christians, the other one, "Scien"tology).
Does this yankee military industrial complex propaganda film being 40 years old mean that we can finally stop that wanker from being in any more films?
Does this yankee military industrial complex propaganda film being 40 years old mean that we can finally stop that wanker from being in any more films?
Upvote
-15
(4
/
-19)
Here is the article from 1983 that inspired the movie
https://www.topgunbio.com/top-guns-by-ehud-yonay/
https://www.topgunbio.com/top-guns-by-ehud-yonay/
Upvote
6
(6
/
0)
thelongdarkteatimeof
Ars Scholae Palatinae
LOL, he's a terrible actor, as wooden as Ed Wood, always has been, always will be.
Upvote
-9
(4
/
-13)
"I still find his performance in the original abrasive and insincere. It takes skill as an actor to make a character like Maverick genuinely likable"
Talk about missing the point. Maverick is a young man, with hangups over the death of his father. He's supposed to abrasive, and what you characterise as insincerity is clearly actually insecurity, again intended for the character.
Talk about missing the point. Maverick is a young man, with hangups over the death of his father. He's supposed to abrasive, and what you characterise as insincerity is clearly actually insecurity, again intended for the character.
Upvote
12
(13
/
-1)
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)
MilanKraft
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
My God.... it's Goose and Mav at age 16 or 17! I mean everything lines up. Light hair, dark hair, taller, shorter, the noses... only the glasses remained before the LASIK procedures (HS graduation gifts) saved their naval aviation dreams.
Upvote
3
(3
/
0)
When reading up on the Red Eagle Squadron at Tonapah Test Range, i learned that the Navy actually took their Top Gun pilots out there to see the real MiGs for a day as part of the program.
The idea was to expose the pilots to the real thing, so they didn’t get “buck fever” and hesitate for a critical fraction of a second when going up against real hostiles because they had never seen an actual MiG or Sukohi before.
Upvote
3
(3
/
0)
My 13yr old daughter asked to watch Top Gun this weekend. Thankfully it was both just as awesome and just as ridiculous as when it came out (when I was 13).
There’s also a great book called Top Gun Days. It was written by a Top Gun instructor who was there during the filming of the movie.
There’s also a great book called Top Gun Days. It was written by a Top Gun instructor who was there during the filming of the movie.
Upvote
4
(4
/
0)
jm_leviathan
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Where did that request come from, do you think? Top Gun has a bigger cultural footprint than most films from the 1980s, not least of all on account of the recent sequel, but I still wouldn't have expected it to be front of mind for today's young ones.
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
I've always thought the F-14 looks like a peregrine, with the way it tucks its wings for speed (stooping) and spreads them for efficiency (soaring).
Even when parked, the F-14 looks like it could just rear up, flap its wings and take off:
Last edited:
Upvote
10
(10
/
0)
Upvote
0
(0
/
0)
jonbob_newcastle
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Reminds me of that bit from Robin Hood: Men in Tights when Cary Elwes observes that unlike the film they’re spoofing theirs has a Robin who can speak with a real English accent.
Upvote
8
(8
/
0)
As I was trying to find a hilarious GIF of that memorable scene from the hit film Back to the Future (1985), I did learn from a site called "Ew" that Fox and Stoltz finally met again for the first time.
https://ew.com/michael-j-fox-met-eric-stoltz-40-years-after-back-to-the-future-recast-11829799
This is semi-excerpted from the (partial auto)biography, Future Boy. Not to spoil it but the phrase "piss off and leave me alone" appears more times than I imagined.
I also learnt James Tolkan acted in the recently released motion picture Masters of the Universe. O_O No one's mentioned that!
Upvote
0
(0
/
0)