Podcast 67: Top Gun (1986)

June 29, 2022 Jon S Movies, Podcasting 01:42:44145MB 0 Comments
Top Gun 1986 Tom Cruise Val Kilmer

The 3 Guys Podcast

Recorded on 6/23/2022

I feel the need, the need for speed. In this podcast, we review Tony Scott’s action movie, the original Top Gun (released 1986) starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Tom Skerritt. WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!

The 3 Guys Rating

3.6/5

Notes From The Show

  • Quick Synopsis

  • Released: May 16, 1986

    Directed By:   Tony Scott

    Screenplay By:   Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.

    Based On the Article: “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay

    Stars:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and a bunch of other actors

    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.

    Tagline:  I feel the need, the need for speed

    How did this movie do?
    Budget: $15 Million
    Box Office: $357 Million

  • Casting

    • Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of Pete Mitchell because he felt the film’s pro-military stance went against his politics. Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio and Tom Hanks all turned down the role. Janet Graham, Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Eric Stoltz, and Robert Downey Jr. were considered for the role. Sheen (who was deemed too young for the role) would later go on to spoof the role in the comedy Hot Shots! (1991).

    • Julianne Phillips was in consideration for the role of Charlie, and had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise. Tatum O’Neal, Jodie Foster, Daryl Hannah, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker and Linda Hamilton all turned down the role of Charlie. Carrie Fisher was also considered for the role.

    • Ally Sheedy turned down the role of Charlie because she didn’t think that anyone would want to see a movie about fighter pilots. She later regretted this decision.

    • Val Kilmer did not want to be in this film, but was forced to by contractual obligations. However, it became one of his most iconic roles in his career.

    • Jerry Bruckheimer on convincing Tom Cruise to sign on to the film after his initial reluctance: “So they (the Navy) take Tom up there, and they do five Gs. They do barrel rolls, they do everything. He’s heaving in the plane. He gets on the tarmac, runs to a pay phone … and he said, ‘I’m in. I’m doing the movie. I love it. This is great.'”

    • Louis Gossett Jr. was considered for the role of Viper. Gossett, however, did play the older, mentor-type role in another 80s fighter jet film, Iron Eagle (1986).

  • Awards

  • Academy Awards

    • Nominated: Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing
    • Won: Best Original Song – “Take My Breath Away” (Also won Golden Globe)

  • Call Signs

  • Counting mentioned and not otherwise mentioned in the movie but only by their call signs, real names of the pilots/RIOs are:

    Maverick (Tom Cruise): Lieutenant Pete Mitchell.

    Goose (Anthony Edwards): Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Nick Bradshaw.

    Iceman (Val Kilmer): Lieutenant Tom Kazansky.

    Hollywood (Whip Hubley): Lieutenant Rick Neven.

    Wolfman (Barry Tubb): Lieutenant (JG) Leonard Wolfe.

    Slider (Rick Rossovich): Lieutenant (JG) Ron Kerner.

    Sundown (Clarence Gilyard Jr.): Lieutenant (JG) Marcus Williams.

    Chipper (Adrian Pasdar): Lieutenant Charles Piper.

    Cougar (John Stockwell): Lieutenant Bill Cortell.

    Merlin (Tim Robbins): Lieutenant (JG) Sam Wills.

    Stinger (James Tolkan): Commander Tom Jardian.

    Charlie (Kelly McGillis): Charlotte Blackwood.

    Jester (Michael Ironside): Lieutenant Commander Rick Heatherly.

    Viper (Tom Skerritt): Commander Mike Metcalf.

    Red Neck (Duke Stroud): Air Boss Emmett Johnson.

  • Whose Fault?

  • In the film, Maverick is cleared of the incident causing Goose’s death and told that he is not at fault for the plane entering the spin.

    Argument 1: Maverick was directly responsible for Goose’s death and that it was his fault because in the chase of Jester, Maverick continued the leftward turn to follow Jester and swept through Iceman’s jet wash as Iceman moved up and to the right and Maverick followed too closely behind Iceman and refused to back off and Maverick didn’t take a less dangerous position because he wanted to get a better shot of Jester.

    Argument 2: It was Iceman’s fault because Maverick told Iceman to break high right and he went left, causing Maverick to get caught in his jet stream, and he took too long and just had to keep trying to get a lock on the enemy fighter.

  • Trivia

    • 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. Navy set up recruiting booths in the major cinemas.

    • The real Top Gun School imposes a $5 fine to any staff member that quotes the film.

    • Tony Scott also directed the music video for “Danger Zone” with Kenny Loggins (1986)

    • Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed during the production of the movie, aged 54. He died when his Pitts S-2 camera plane failed to recover from a flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. Scholl’s last words over the radio were “I have a problem – I have a real problem.” The exact cause of the crash was never determined, and neither the aircraft nor Scholl’s body were ever recovered. The film is dedicated to him.

    • CAMEO: Charlie’s “older man” date at the officer’s club is the real-life “Viper”, Pete Pettigrew. He is a retired Navy pilot and TOP GUN instructor, and shot down a MiG during the Vietnam War. He served as the technical consultant on the film.

    • CAMEO: When Maverick receives his orders to the carrier following the graduation ceremony, there is a pilot standing behind him, with a mustache and wearing sunglasses. The pilot is “Heater” C.J. Heatley, a real-life former F-14 air show demonstration pilot and Top Gun instructor.

    • Anthony Edwards is the only actor who didn’t vomit while in the fighter jets.

    • Ad-Lib: When the students are being briefed by Charlie in the hangar, Maverick explains that he gave “the bird” to a MiG. She asks how he saw the MiG up close, and he says he was flying inverted. Right then, Ice coughs “bullshit” and the guys laughed. The “bullshit” line was ad-libbed by Val Kilmer, and everyone’s reactions are genuine.

    • Ad-Lib: After the “car chase” when Charlie tells Maverick that she didn’t want anyone to find out she was falling for him, Maverick originally had a line to say. Tom Cruise forgot the line and “ad libbed” by kissing Kelly McGillis instead. Tony Scott liked it so much, he left the scene like that.

    • The Pentagon charged Paramount Pictures $1.8 million to use all of their planes and aircraft carriers for the film.

    • All of Maverick’s stunt flying in the film was done by Scott Altman, who later went on to become an astronaut.

    • The character portrayed by Kelly McGillis is based on Christine Fox, a civilian flight instructor the producers met on a visit to Miramar while doing research to prepare for the film. Fox eventually rose through the ranks at the Pentagon, retiring in May 2014 as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, the highest post ever held by a woman at the Department of Defense.

    • For the opening of the film, director Tony Scott wanted to shoot aircraft taking off and landing on the aircraft carrier, back-lit by the sun. The carrier captain had changed course of the ship, and when Scott asked if the ship could continue on the previous course and speed, he was told that turning the ship cost $25,000. Scott then wrote the captain a quick $25,000 check so the ship could be turned and he could keep shooting for another five minutes. According to Scott, the check bounced.

    • Tom Cruise had to wear lifts in his scenes with Kelly McGillis. Cruise is 5’7″ (1.70 m) while McGillis is 5’10” (1.78 m).

    • Meg Ryan and Anthony Edwards became an item after filming concluded.

    • This film is credited with starting the home video industry. Originally, VHS tapes were priced at $100 upon their first release, and were sold mainly to video stores. This film was priced to own immediately upon release, made possible by Pepsi Cola buying ad space at the beginning of the tape. Since then, pricing VHS tapes to own right away became a common practice.

    • The elevator scene (in which Maverick and Charlie meet after his workout) was filmed post-production. Kelly McGillis’s hair had already been colored for another movie role, which is why she is wearing a hat. Tom Cruise’s hair is longer in the shot as well.

    • Tom Cruise had never ridden a motorcycle until this film. He went to House of Motorcycles in El Cajon, California, to learn. They taught him in the parking lot of their shop.

    • Cougar was supposed to have crashed while trying to land back on the carrier, and his death was supposed to be why Maverick “slid into Cougar’s spot”, but this was summarily cut by the Navy. As this was intended to be a recruitment tool for the Navy, they didn’t want negative attention drawn on a particularly hazardous aspect of serving on a carrier, or flying fighters.

    • Bryan Adams was asked to allow his song “Only the Strong Survive” on the soundtrack, but he refused because he felt that the film glorified war.

    • Aircraft carriers used in the film were USS Ranger (CV-61) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

    • The final combat scenes were inspired by 2 real life incidents, the capture of the US Navy spyship USS Pueblo by North Korea in 1968 and the 1980s Gulf of Sidra engagements where F14 Tomcats downed 4 Libyan MIGs in air to air combat.

    • In 1986, jet fuel was pretty cheap – about 1 dollar per gallon. However, Paramount still paid 10,000 dollars an hour every time they went up to film an F-14

    • The producers knew the film was big when leather jackets and white t-shirts became “in” again.

    • Goose was originally to have died in a flaming crash aboard an aircraft carrier, but the Navy objected, and the scene was changed to the training accident that has been featured since the film’s release.

    • CONNECTION TO NEXT MOVIE: Over the course of the movie a prior incident that Maverick had with an Admiral’s daughter named Penny Benjamin is mentioned several times. Although Benjamin is never on-screen in Top Gun, she makes her appearance as Maverick’s new love interest in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), played by Jennifer Connelly.

    • FORESHADOWING: Goose saying “You kill me” when he laughs about Iceman’s joke about the plaques for the alternates is on display in the ladies room is a foreshadowing of Goose’s death. When Goose is killed in the jet wash, Maverick flew into Iceman’s jet wash when Iceman rolled out for the chase of Jester’s aircraft causing both engines to go out and Maverick going into a flat spin.

Released: May 16, 1986

Directed By:   Tony Scott

Screenplay By:   Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.

Based On the Article: “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay

Stars:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and a bunch of other actors

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.

Tagline:  I feel the need, the need for speed

How did this movie do?
Budget: $15 Million
Box Office: $357 Million

  • Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of Pete Mitchell because he felt the film’s pro-military stance went against his politics. Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio and Tom Hanks all turned down the role. Janet Graham, Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Eric Stoltz, and Robert Downey Jr. were considered for the role. Sheen (who was deemed too young for the role) would later go on to spoof the role in the comedy Hot Shots! (1991).

  • Julianne Phillips was in consideration for the role of Charlie, and had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise. Tatum O’Neal, Jodie Foster, Daryl Hannah, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker and Linda Hamilton all turned down the role of Charlie. Carrie Fisher was also considered for the role.

  • Ally Sheedy turned down the role of Charlie because she didn’t think that anyone would want to see a movie about fighter pilots. She later regretted this decision.

  • Val Kilmer did not want to be in this film, but was forced to by contractual obligations. However, it became one of his most iconic roles in his career.

  • Jerry Bruckheimer on convincing Tom Cruise to sign on to the film after his initial reluctance: “So they (the Navy) take Tom up there, and they do five Gs. They do barrel rolls, they do everything. He’s heaving in the plane. He gets on the tarmac, runs to a pay phone … and he said, ‘I’m in. I’m doing the movie. I love it. This is great.'”

  • Louis Gossett Jr. was considered for the role of Viper. Gossett, however, did play the older, mentor-type role in another 80s fighter jet film, Iron Eagle (1986).

Academy Awards

  • Nominated: Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing
  • Won: Best Original Song – “Take My Breath Away” (Also won Golden Globe)

Counting mentioned and not otherwise mentioned in the movie but only by their call signs, real names of the pilots/RIOs are:

Maverick (Tom Cruise): Lieutenant Pete Mitchell.

Goose (Anthony Edwards): Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Nick Bradshaw.

Iceman (Val Kilmer): Lieutenant Tom Kazansky.

Hollywood (Whip Hubley): Lieutenant Rick Neven.

Wolfman (Barry Tubb): Lieutenant (JG) Leonard Wolfe.

Slider (Rick Rossovich): Lieutenant (JG) Ron Kerner.

Sundown (Clarence Gilyard Jr.): Lieutenant (JG) Marcus Williams.

Chipper (Adrian Pasdar): Lieutenant Charles Piper.

Cougar (John Stockwell): Lieutenant Bill Cortell.

Merlin (Tim Robbins): Lieutenant (JG) Sam Wills.

Stinger (James Tolkan): Commander Tom Jardian.

Charlie (Kelly McGillis): Charlotte Blackwood.

Jester (Michael Ironside): Lieutenant Commander Rick Heatherly.

Viper (Tom Skerritt): Commander Mike Metcalf.

Red Neck (Duke Stroud): Air Boss Emmett Johnson.

In the film, Maverick is cleared of the incident causing Goose’s death and told that he is not at fault for the plane entering the spin.

Argument 1: Maverick was directly responsible for Goose’s death and that it was his fault because in the chase of Jester, Maverick continued the leftward turn to follow Jester and swept through Iceman’s jet wash as Iceman moved up and to the right and Maverick followed too closely behind Iceman and refused to back off and Maverick didn’t take a less dangerous position because he wanted to get a better shot of Jester.

Argument 2: It was Iceman’s fault because Maverick told Iceman to break high right and he went left, causing Maverick to get caught in his jet stream, and he took too long and just had to keep trying to get a lock on the enemy fighter.

  • 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. Navy set up recruiting booths in the major cinemas.

  • The real Top Gun School imposes a $5 fine to any staff member that quotes the film.

  • Tony Scott also directed the music video for “Danger Zone” with Kenny Loggins (1986)

  • Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed during the production of the movie, aged 54. He died when his Pitts S-2 camera plane failed to recover from a flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. Scholl’s last words over the radio were “I have a problem – I have a real problem.” The exact cause of the crash was never determined, and neither the aircraft nor Scholl’s body were ever recovered. The film is dedicated to him.

  • CAMEO: Charlie’s “older man” date at the officer’s club is the real-life “Viper”, Pete Pettigrew. He is a retired Navy pilot and TOP GUN instructor, and shot down a MiG during the Vietnam War. He served as the technical consultant on the film.

  • CAMEO: When Maverick receives his orders to the carrier following the graduation ceremony, there is a pilot standing behind him, with a mustache and wearing sunglasses. The pilot is “Heater” C.J. Heatley, a real-life former F-14 air show demonstration pilot and Top Gun instructor.

  • Anthony Edwards is the only actor who didn’t vomit while in the fighter jets.

  • Ad-Lib: When the students are being briefed by Charlie in the hangar, Maverick explains that he gave “the bird” to a MiG. She asks how he saw the MiG up close, and he says he was flying inverted. Right then, Ice coughs “bullshit” and the guys laughed. The “bullshit” line was ad-libbed by Val Kilmer, and everyone’s reactions are genuine.

  • Ad-Lib: After the “car chase” when Charlie tells Maverick that she didn’t want anyone to find out she was falling for him, Maverick originally had a line to say. Tom Cruise forgot the line and “ad libbed” by kissing Kelly McGillis instead. Tony Scott liked it so much, he left the scene like that.

  • The Pentagon charged Paramount Pictures $1.8 million to use all of their planes and aircraft carriers for the film.

  • All of Maverick’s stunt flying in the film was done by Scott Altman, who later went on to become an astronaut.

  • The character portrayed by Kelly McGillis is based on Christine Fox, a civilian flight instructor the producers met on a visit to Miramar while doing research to prepare for the film. Fox eventually rose through the ranks at the Pentagon, retiring in May 2014 as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, the highest post ever held by a woman at the Department of Defense.

  • For the opening of the film, director Tony Scott wanted to shoot aircraft taking off and landing on the aircraft carrier, back-lit by the sun. The carrier captain had changed course of the ship, and when Scott asked if the ship could continue on the previous course and speed, he was told that turning the ship cost $25,000. Scott then wrote the captain a quick $25,000 check so the ship could be turned and he could keep shooting for another five minutes. According to Scott, the check bounced.

  • Tom Cruise had to wear lifts in his scenes with Kelly McGillis. Cruise is 5’7″ (1.70 m) while McGillis is 5’10” (1.78 m).

  • Meg Ryan and Anthony Edwards became an item after filming concluded.

  • This film is credited with starting the home video industry. Originally, VHS tapes were priced at $100 upon their first release, and were sold mainly to video stores. This film was priced to own immediately upon release, made possible by Pepsi Cola buying ad space at the beginning of the tape. Since then, pricing VHS tapes to own right away became a common practice.

  • The elevator scene (in which Maverick and Charlie meet after his workout) was filmed post-production. Kelly McGillis’s hair had already been colored for another movie role, which is why she is wearing a hat. Tom Cruise’s hair is longer in the shot as well.

  • Tom Cruise had never ridden a motorcycle until this film. He went to House of Motorcycles in El Cajon, California, to learn. They taught him in the parking lot of their shop.

  • Cougar was supposed to have crashed while trying to land back on the carrier, and his death was supposed to be why Maverick “slid into Cougar’s spot”, but this was summarily cut by the Navy. As this was intended to be a recruitment tool for the Navy, they didn’t want negative attention drawn on a particularly hazardous aspect of serving on a carrier, or flying fighters.

  • Bryan Adams was asked to allow his song “Only the Strong Survive” on the soundtrack, but he refused because he felt that the film glorified war.

  • Aircraft carriers used in the film were USS Ranger (CV-61) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

  • The final combat scenes were inspired by 2 real life incidents, the capture of the US Navy spyship USS Pueblo by North Korea in 1968 and the 1980s Gulf of Sidra engagements where F14 Tomcats downed 4 Libyan MIGs in air to air combat.

  • In 1986, jet fuel was pretty cheap – about 1 dollar per gallon. However, Paramount still paid 10,000 dollars an hour every time they went up to film an F-14

  • The producers knew the film was big when leather jackets and white t-shirts became “in” again.

  • Goose was originally to have died in a flaming crash aboard an aircraft carrier, but the Navy objected, and the scene was changed to the training accident that has been featured since the film’s release.

  • CONNECTION TO NEXT MOVIE: Over the course of the movie a prior incident that Maverick had with an Admiral’s daughter named Penny Benjamin is mentioned several times. Although Benjamin is never on-screen in Top Gun, she makes her appearance as Maverick’s new love interest in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), played by Jennifer Connelly.

  • FORESHADOWING: Goose saying “You kill me” when he laughs about Iceman’s joke about the plaques for the alternates is on display in the ladies room is a foreshadowing of Goose’s death. When Goose is killed in the jet wash, Maverick flew into Iceman’s jet wash when Iceman rolled out for the chase of Jester’s aircraft causing both engines to go out and Maverick going into a flat spin.

About The Movie From IMDB

Top Gun | May 16, 1986 (United States) 6.9
Director: Tony ScottWriter: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Ehud YonayStars: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillisSummary:

Photos


See all photos >>

Videos


See all videos >>

Cast

Tom Cruise
...
Maverick
Tim Robbins
...
Merlin
Kelly McGillis
...
Charlie
Val Kilmer
...
Ice
Anthony Edwards
...
Goose
Tom Skerritt
...
Viper
Michael Ironside
...
Jester
John Stockwell
...
Cougar
Barry Tubb
...
Wolfman
Rick Rossovich
...
Slider
Clarence Gilyard Jr.
...
Sundown
Whip Hubley
...
Hollywood
James Tolkan
...
Stinger
Meg Ryan
...
Carole
Adrian Pasdar
...
Chipper
Randall Brady
...
Lt. Davis
Duke Stroud
...
Air Boss Johnson
Brian Sheehan
...
Sprawl

See full cast >>
Countries: United StatesLanguages: EnglishBudget: $15,000,000 (estimated)
Source: imdb.com
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6.9
Top Gun | May 16, 1986 (United States)
Director: Tony ScottWriter: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Ehud YonayStars: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis
Summary:
Countries: United StatesLanguages: English
Source: imdb.comDisclaimer: This plugin has been coded to automatically quote data from imdb.com. Not available for any other purpose. All showing data have a link to imdb.com. The user is responsible for any other use or change codes.

Quotes

Maverick: I feel the need...

Maverick, Goose: ...the need for speed!

Iceman: You! You are still dangerous. But you can be my wingman any time.

Maverick: Bullshit! You can be mine.

Carole: Hey, Goose, you big stud!

Goose: That's me, honey.

Carole: Take me to bed or lose me forever.

Goose: Show me the way home, honey.

Charlie: Excuse me, Lieutenant. Is there something wrong?

Maverick: Yes ma'am, the data on the MiG is inaccurate.

Charlie: How's that, Lieutenant?

Maverick: Well, I just happened to see a MiG-28...

Goose: We!

Maverick: ...do a... Sorry, Goose. *We* happened to see a MiG-28 do a 4G negative dive.

Charlie: Where did you see this?

Maverick: Uh, that's classified.

Charlie: It's what?

Maverick: It's classified. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Charlie: Lieutenant, I have Top Secret clearance. The Pentagon sees to it that I know more than you.

Maverick: Well, ma'am, it doesn't seem so in this case, now, does it?

Charlie: So, Lieutenant, where exactly were you?

Maverick: Well, we...

Goose: Thank you.

Maverick: Started up on a 6, when he pulled from the clouds, and then I moved in above him.

Charlie: Well, if you were directly above him, how could you see him?

Maverick: Because I was inverted.

Iceman: [coughs] Bullshit.

Goose: No, he was, man. It was a really great move. He was inverted.

Charlie: You were in a 4G inverted dive with a MiG-28?

Maverick: Yes, ma'am.

Charlie: At what range?

Maverick: About two meters?

Goose: Well, it's actually about one and a half, I think. It was one and a half. I've got a great Polaroid of it, and he's right there, must be one and a half.

Maverick: Was a nice picture.

Goose: Thanks.

Charlie: Eh, Lieutenant, what were you doing there?

Goose: Communicating.

Maverick: Communicating. Keeping up foreign relations. I was, you know, giving him the bird.

Goose: You know, the finger.

[holds up his middle finger to demonstrate]

Charlie: Yes, I know the finger, Goose.

Goose: I'm sorry. I hate it when it does that. I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Charlie: So you're the one?

Maverick: Yes, ma'am.

Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby.

Air Boss Johnson: Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

Goose: The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid.

Stinger: They gave you your choice of duty, son. Anything, anywhere. Do you believe that shit? Where do you think you wanna go?

Maverick: I thought of being an instructor, sir.

Stinger: Top Gun?

Maverick: Yes, sir.

Stinger: God help us.

[first title card]

Title Card: On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN.

Charlie: [Maverick and Goose have just successfully serenaded Charlie with their rendition of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."] Sit down! I love that song! How long have you two been doing this act?

Maverick: Oh, since uh...

Charlie: Puberty?

Maverick: Right, puberty.

Stinger: And if you screw up just this much, you'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!

Maverick: Yes, sir!

Charlie: Listen, can I ask you a personal question?

Maverick: That depends.

Charlie: Are you a good pilot?

Maverick: I can hold my own.

Charlie: Great, then I won't have to worry about you making your living as a singer.

Maverick: I'm going to need a beer to put these flames out. Yo! Great Mav, real slick.

Goose: Hey, hey, Slider. Thought you wanted to be a pilot, man what happened?

Slider: Goose, you're such a dickhead. Whose butt did you kiss to get in here anyway?

Goose: The list is long, but distinguished.

Slider: Yeah, well so is my Johnson.

Goose: So you're flying with Iceman, huh?

Slider: It's Mr. Iceman to you.

Iceman: Hey, Mother Goose, how's it going?

Goose: Good, Tom. This is Pete Mitchell. Tom Kazansky.

Iceman: Congratulations on Top Gun.

Maverick: Thank you.

Iceman: Sorry to hear about Cougar. He and I were like brothers in flight school. He was a good man.

Maverick: Still is a good man.

Iceman: Yeah, that's what I meant.

Iceman: You need any help?

Maverick: With what?

Iceman: You figured it out yet?

Maverick: What's that?

Iceman: Who's the best pilot.

Maverick: You know, I think I can figure that one out on my own.

Iceman: I heard that about you. You like to work alone.

Slider: Mav, you must've sold under a lucky star, huh? I mean, first the MiG, and then you guys slide into Cougar's spot.

Goose: We didn't slide into Cougar's spot. It was ours, okay?

Slider: Yeah, well, some pilots wait their whole career just to see a MiG up close. Guess you guys are lucky and famous, huh?

Iceman: No, you mean notorious. See you later.

Maverick: You can count on it.

Maverick: Talk to me, Goose.

Viper: Good morning, gentlemen, the temperature is 110 degrees.

Wolfman: Holy shit, it's Viper!

Goose: Viper's up here, great... oh shit...

Maverick: Great, he's probably saying, "Holy shit, it's Maverick and Goose."

Goose: Yeah, I'm sure he's saying that.

Goose: No, no, no, no. There's two "Os" in Goose, boys.

Charlie: I'll have what he's having. Hemlock, is it?

Maverick: Ice water.

Maverick: Jesus Christ, and you think I'm reckless? When I fly, I'll have you know that my crew and my plane come first.

Charlie: Well, I am going to finish my sentence, Lieutenant. My review of your flight performance was right on.

Maverick: Is that right?

Charlie: That is right, but I held something back. I see some real genius in your flying, Maverick, but I can't say that in there. I was afraid that everyone in the TACTS trailer would see right through me, and I just don't want anyone to know that I've fallen for you.

[last lines]

Charlie: Hello, Pete Mitchell. I heard the best of the best were going to be back here, so uh...

Maverick: This could be complicated. You know on the first one I crashed and burned.

Charlie: And the second?

Maverick: I don't know, but uh, it's looking good so far.

Stinger: Maverick, you just did an incredibly brave thing. What you should have done was land your plane! You don't own that plane, the tax payers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash. You've been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!

Goose: Penny Benjamin?

[Maverick shrugs]

Stinger: And you asshole, you're lucky to be here!

Goose: Thank you, sir.

Stinger: And let's not bullshit Maverick. Your family name ain't the best in the Navy. You need to be doing it better, and cleaner than the other guy. Now what is it with you?

Maverick: Just want to serve my country, be the best pilot in the Navy, sir.

Stinger: Don't screw around with me Maverick. You're a hell of an instinctive pilot. Maybe too good. I'd like to bust your butt but I can't. I got another problem here. I gotta send somebody from this squadron to Miramar. I gotta do something here, I still can't believe it. I gotta give you your dream shot! I'm gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun.

Viper: I flew with your old man. VF-51, the Oriskany. You're a lot like he was. Only better... and worse. He was a natural heroic son of a bitch that one.

Maverick: So he did do it right.

Viper: Yeah, he did it right... Is that why you fly the way you do? Trying to prove something? Yeah, your old man did it right. What I'm about to tell you is classified. It could end my career. We were in the worst dogfight I ever dreamed of. There were bogeys like fireflies all over the sky. His F-4 was hit, and he was wounded, but he could've made it back. He stayed in it, saved three planes before he bought it.

Maverick: How come I never heard that before?

Viper: Well, that's not something the State Department tells dependents when the battle occurred over the wrong line on some map.

Maverick: So you were there?

Viper: I was there. What's on your mind?

Maverick: My options, sir.

Viper: Simple. First you've acquired enough points to show up tomorrow and graduate with your Top Gun class, or you can quit. There'd be no disgrace. That spin was hell, it would've shook me up.

Maverick: So you think I should quit?

Viper: I didn't say that. The simple fact is you feel responsible for Goose and you have a confidence problem. Now I'm not gonna sit here and blow sunshine up your ass, Lieutenant. A good pilot is compelled to evaluate what's happened, so he can apply what he's learned. Up there, we gotta push it. That's our job. It's your option, Lieutenant. All yours.

Maverick: Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, sir, but thank you very much for your time.

Viper: No problem. Good luck.

Jester: That was some of the best flying I've seen yet. Right up to the part where you got killed. You never, never leave your wing man.

Air Boss Johnson: Two of your snot-nose jockeys did a fly-by on my tower at over 400 KNOTS! I want somebody's butt, I want it now, I've HAD IT!

[storm out, then bumps into a Yeoman and spills coffee all over his pants]

Air Boss Johnson: DAMN! That's TWICE! I WANT SOME BUTTS!

Viper: [to Maverick] You'll pick up your RIO when you get to the ship, and if you don't, give me a call. I'll fly with you.

Goose: [flying above MiG upside down] Is this your idea of fun, Mav?

Maverick: [spots Charlie for the first time] She's lost that loving feeling.

Goose: She's lo... No she hasn't.

Maverick: Yes, she has.

Goose: She's not lost that lo...

Maverick: Goose, she's lost it, man.

Goose: Come on!

Goose: [to himself] Aw sh... I hate it when she does that.

Goose: No. No, Mav, this is not a good idea.

Maverick: Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower.

Maverick: I think I'll go embarrass myself with Goose.

Viper: How ya doin'?

Maverick: I'm all right.

Viper: Goose is dead.

Maverick: I know.

Viper: You fly jets long enough, something like this happens.

Maverick: He was my R.I.O., my responsibility.

Viper: My squadron, we lost 8 of 18 aircraft. 10 men. First one dies, you die too. But there will be others. You can count it. You gotta let him go. You gotta let him go.

Iceman: Maverick, it's not your flying, it's your attitude. The enemy's dangerous, but right now you're worse. Dangerous and foolish. You may not like who's flying with you, but whose side are you on?

Iceman: You two really are cowboys.

Maverick: What's your problem, Kazansky?

Iceman: You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous.

Maverick: That's right! Ice... man. I am dangerous.

Maverick: That son of a bitch cut me off!

Hollywood: Gutsiest move I ever saw, Mav.

[Charlie has just given Maverick her address while pretending to turn down his date offer]

Slider: Crashed and burned! Huh, Mav?

Maverick: Slider...

[sniffs]

Maverick: You stink!

Maverick: [to Cougar and Merlin while up in the air] Any of you boys seen an aircraft-carrier around here?

Officer: [in the midst of the MIG battle] Both Catapults are broken, sir.

Stinger: How long will it take?

Officer: It'll take ten minutes.

Stinger: Bullshit ten minutes! This thing will be over in two minutes! Get on it!

[after the final dogfight]

Maverick: Mustang, this is Maverick, requesting fly-by.

Air Boss Johnson: Negative, Ghost Rider. The Pattern is full.

Merlin: Uh, excuse me, something I should know about?

Air Boss Johnson: [gets his coffee] Thank you.

[Maverick does a fly-by past the Enterprise, causing the Air Boss to spill his coffee]

Air Boss Johnson: Goddamn that guy.

Maverick: This is what I call a target-rich environment.

Goose: You live your life between your legs, Mav.

Maverick: Goose, even you could get laid in a place like this.

Goose: Hell, I'd be happy to just find a girl that would talk dirty to me.

Goose: Come on, Mav, do some of that pilot shit!

Merlin: What are you doing? You're slowing down, you're slowing down!

Maverick: I'm bringing him in closer, Merlin.

Merlin: You're gonna do what?

Viper: Top Gun rules of engagement are written for your safety and for that of your team. They are not flexible, nor am I. Either obey them or you are history. Is that clear?

Goose: Yeeha, Jester's dead!

Wolfman: Won this bullshit?

Goose: Didn't everybody?

Hollywood: Hell no, man. We got our butts kicked.

Wolfman: Thirty seconds. We went like this, he went like that. I said to Hollywood, "Where'd he go?" Hollywood says, "Where'd who go?"

Hollywood: Yeah, and he's laughing at us, right on the radio, he's laughing at us.

Slider: That was me laughing, dickhead. We won.

Charlie: You're not going to be happy unless you're going Mach 2 with your hair on fire.

Maverick: You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead.

Wolfman: [watching a video of planes being shot down] This gives me a hard on.

Hollywood: Don't tease me.

Carole: God, he loved flying with you Maverick. But he would've done it anyway... without you. He'd have hated it, but he would've done it.

[Maverick is in a dogfight with a MiG and is down to one missile left]

Merlin: This is it, Maverick!

Maverick: I'm gonna hit the brakes, he'll fly right by.

Merlin: Shit! He's gonna get a lock on us!

Maverick: [the MiG eventually gets a lock onto Maverick] NOW!

[Maverick slams the breaks and the MiG passes by, then Maverick locks onto the MiG]

Maverick: Got a good lock, firing.

[the MiG is then destroyed by the missile]

Maverick: Whoo! Scratch four!

Iceman: The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room.

Goose: It's the bottom of the 9th, the score is tied. It's time for the big one.

Iceman: You up for this one, Maverick?

Maverick: Just a walk in the park, Kazansky.

Radio Operator: Maverick, you're at 3/4 of a mile. Call the ball.

Maverick: Roger. Maverick has the ball.

[after Maverick decides not to shoot down Jester during a training exercise]

Sundown: Hey, man, we could have had him. Hey, we could have had him, man!

Maverick: [grabs Sundown] I will fire when I am goddamn good and ready! You got that?

[continues walking away]

Charlie: What do you wanna do? Just drop down on the tile and go for it?

Maverick: No, actually I had this counter in mind.

Charlie: Great, that would be very, very comfortable, yeah.

Maverick: It could be.

[Merlin sees the last two MiGs flying away at the end of the dogfight]

Merlin: Mustang, this is Voodoo 3. Remaining MiGs are bugging out.

Viper: In case some of you are wondering who the best is, they are up here on this plaque.

[turns to Maverick]

Viper: Do you think your name will be on that plaque?

Maverick: Yes, sir.

Viper: That's pretty arrogant, considering the company you're in.

Maverick: Yes, sir.

Viper: I like that in a pilot.

Viper: [discussing Maverick] Let me ask you something. If you had to go into battle, would you want him with you?

Jester: I don't know, I just don't know

Iceman: Mitchell, I'm sorry about Goose. Everybody liked him. I'm sorry.

Charlie: Maverick, you big stud... Take me to bed or lose me forever.

Stinger: [to Maverick, with Goose to his right] Maverick, you just did an incredibly brave thing.

[Long pause]

Stinger: What you should have done was land your plane! You don't own that plane! The taxpayers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash!

Viper: [after the first hop with Jester ends with Maverick shooting down Jester at the hard deck and Maverick doing a fly-by near a tower] Gentlemen... You had a hell of a first day. The hard deck for this hop was 10,000 feet. You knew it, you broke it. You followed Commander Heatherly below after he lost sight of you and called no joy. Why?

Maverick: Sir! I had Commander Heatherly in my sights, he saw me move in for the kill. He then proceeded below the hard deck. We weren't below 10,000 for more than a few seconds. I had the shot, there was no danger, so I took it.

Viper: You took it... AND BROKE A MAJOR RULE OF ENGAGEMENT. Then you broke another one with that, uh, circus stunt fly-by.

[Viper sighs]

Viper: Lieutenant Mitchell... Top Gun rules of engagement exists for your safety and for that of your team. They are not flexible, nor am I. Either obey them, or you're history. Is that clear?

Stinger: [to Maverick after the last dogfight] How's it feel to be on the front page of every newspaper in the English-speaking world, even though the other side denies the incident? Congratulations.

Stinger: They gave you your choice of duty, son. Where do you think you want to go?

Maverick: I thought of being an instructor, sir.

Stinger: Top Gun?

Maverick: Yes, sir.

Stinger: God help us.

Maverick: Standby, Viper's coming down.

Jester: His fitness report says it all. Flies by the seat of his pants. Completely unpredictable.

Viper: He got you, didn't he?

Jester: [pauses] Yeah.

Iceman: [as Maverick's F-14 suffers a flameout caused by Iceman's jet wash] Mayday, mayday, Mav's in trouble. He's in a flat spin, he's heading out to sea.

Goose: [after Goose and Maverick get chewed out by Viper] Thanks, Mav, that was really great. Oh, shit! Maybe I should become a truck driver. Mav, do you remember the number of that truck driving school that was on TV the other night, Truck America or something like that?

Cougar: God dammit, Mustang! This is Ghost Rider 117. This bogey is all over me. He's got missile lock on me. Do I have permission to fire?

Stinger: Do not fire until fired upon...

Cougar: I'm gonna break high and right, see if he's really alone.

Iceman: You can be my wingman anytime.

Maverick: I can see it's dangerous for you, but if the government trusts me, maybe you could.

Charlie: It takes a lot more than just fancy flying.

Goose: Great balls of fire!

Maverick: I'll hit the brakes, he'll fly right by.

Maverick: Too close for missles, I'm switching to guns.

Viper: Maverick, I flew with his old man. Tell me one thing, if you had to go into battle would you want him with you?

Jester: I don't know, I just don't know.

Jester: Maverick, you and Goose get your butts outta that flight gear and up to Viper's office now.

Slider: Remember, boys, no points for second place.

Goose: You're a lot brighter than you look.

Slider: Oh, you shut up.

Wolfman: [watches Maverick leave the locker room and is talking on the phone] Hey, it's Wolfman. Yeah, Maverick just quit.

Maverick: Jesus, this guy's good!

[first lines]

Flight Captain: Good morning, Scott.

Slider: [Iceman shoots down a MiG] Splash that sucker, yeah!

Viper: Damn, this kid is good!

Viper: [after the dogfight with Viper] Okay, knock it off, gentlemen. Let's go home, Viper has the lead.

[Jester and Viper watch a frustrated Maverick walk off after having a falling out with Sundown]

Jester: He can't get back in the saddle, won't engage.

Viper: It's only been a few days.

Jester: You know, he just might not make it back.

Viper: Keep sending him up.

Sundown: [Maverick suddenly flies off after refusing an easy shot on Jester] Hey, where the hell are you going?

Maverick: Uh... It's not good. It doesn't look good.

Sundown: What do you mean, "it doesn't look good"? It doesn't get to look any better than that.

Maverick: There's Viper.

Goose: Hey Mav, stay with Hollywood.

Hollywood: Yeah Mav, stay with me.

Maverick: Hollywood, you look good. I'm going after Viper.

Hollywood: God dammit, Maverick.

Charlie: [Looking over Maverick's shoulder in the classroom] A rolling reversal would work well in that situation.

Maverick: [Motions with his hands] If I reverse on a hard cross I could immediately go to guns on him.

Charlie: Yeah, but at that speed it's too fast... a little bit too aggressive.

Maverick: Too aggressive.

Charlie: [Smiling, says nothing]

Maverick: Well, I guess when I see something I go right after it!

[they are looking at the Topgun trophy for the first time]

Iceman: The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies' room.

Goose: [Howling in mock laughter] Oh Jesus, oh YOU KILL ME! You really do.

Goose: [pointing to the empty slot on the trophy] No no no, there's two o's in "Goose", boys.

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