Most are familiar with Top Gun’s plot and Tom Cruise’s high profile career. Cruise may have achieved true celebrity status after his 1983 hit film, Risky Business, but Top Gun was unequivocally the film that catapulted him to superstar status; it seems to remain his signature film. Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) is a hotshot fighter pilot selected to be trained with the best of the best at the elite Top Gun school at Miramar Naval Air Station in California. Mitchell struggles to move beyond a tragic accident and a past complicated by the death under questionable circumstances of his celebrated pilot father; he longs to carve a niche for himself. Cocky competition and the spark of a romance with a beautiful instructor keeps him on the edge, but when he receives a call to duty, a potential dogfight over the Indian Ocean, is Mitchell up to the challenge? Is he really the best of the best?

Rock stars in the sky. Star Wars on Earth. That’s what the filmmakers were thinking when they made this film. For those who may not know, at the time the film was made the Top Gun school did indeed exist at Miramar in California (it has since been moved to another Naval Air Station by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission). And while the film embellishes the drama, much of the film’s technical prowess is based on authentic Top Gun instructors’ expert advice. This enhancement helps give the film’s brazen plot a believable foundation. Much of the location shooting and the flying scenes are authentic (with the exception of poor continuity of the orientation of Tomcats’ adjustable swept wings); the actors were even filmed in aircraft during the action sequences.

But Hollywood didn’t want to make a documentary about the Top Gun school. After reviewing a Bruce Weber photography book, composed mostly black and white shots of half-dressed athletic men, director Tony Scott decided to incorporate that sexy style with his actors. And film producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckenheimer wanted a sexy woman lead. But flesh alone won’t support a plot. We need to feel that Mitchell is appealing, has outstanding talent, truly struggles to want to be the best, and earns his achievements. This is accomplished. Cruise delivers a fine performance, portraying Mitchell’s journey of loss, anger, and triumph. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role.

Breezy pacing, solid acting, a pulsing memorable score, and high-octane aerial photography help Top Gun achieve its “rock and roll jets in the sky” status with aplomb, but one disappointment remains. Tom Cruise and Rebecca DeMornay had a palpable chemistry in Risky Business. Kelly McGillis and Harrison Ford had terrific chemistry in Witness. Cruise and McGillis both look great and were cast well by type, but their onscreen chemistry never worked for me. Other than that, the film is a blast and any other faults it may have are trivial.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in a slightly flawed high definition transfer. Likely a byproduct of the telecine bay, the film has modest, thinly dimensioned halos on edges of high contrast. This becomes apparent in the opening sequence. As the deck crew launch high performance aircraft off the flight deck, their dark silhouettes appear against a dawn sky. Each is surrounded by subtle halos. The transfer print seems to have been cleaned up since the film’s last release in high definition on HD DVD, even the visible grain is mostly gone. I have the impression that DNR has been applied, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Finely grained textures and skin textures seem diminished. Chroma is vivid without being excessive. Scott does like to play with the chroma, and you’ll find some exaggerated colors during dawn and sunset. Flesh tones sometimes lean toward an impression of sunburn. Small object detail is quite good; I was impressed with the hilly desert landscape during the combat training flight sequences. The aircraft demonstrate a high level of detail as well. I also have the impression that the source elements may have been the same, but the bit rate had been kicked up for BD; I saw aggregate audio/visual rates as high as nearly 49 Mbps. Black levels are fine, but not consistent. When Cruise and McGillis are on a motorcycle at night, shadow detail and black levels aren’t great, likely due to the film elements rather than the transfer.

As for the DVD, this appears to be the same transfer as was released on the 2004 edition. The film’s anamorphic transfer still suffers from high chroma level. Sunsets and dawns have exaggerated yellows and oranges. People look slightly sunburned. Primary colors are on the edge of phosphorescence. Kelly McGillis’ lipstick often looks... wrong. And yet, blues are a little dusty. Green plants aren’t quite fresh and crisp. Given the great photography by acclaimed cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball, this film deserved a better transfer. But re-watching a few scenes a day or two later, I felt that my initial impressions were a little harsh; compared to most other films of the mid-’80s, this film transfer looks quite good. Most impressive is the clean transfer print. Grain is more tightly controlled than in the prior release. The whites at the top end of the gray scale look clean and don’t bloom; this helps with the definition of backlit hair and objects. Blacks are usually deep and rich but there are some occasional lapses during night scenes, perhaps indicating an effort to improve shadow detail. Or, perhaps this was made necessary by the age of the film elements. The worst looking scenes are of Cruise and McGillis on his motorcycle at night; the blacks look flat and, well, terrible. Since I noticed this effect on previous releases, the flaws are probably on the film elements and not due to the transfer. Daylight and studio shots are much more controlled; they have crisp details. Edge halos have been minimized, which gives us very good detail.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and a DTS-HD Master 6.1 track. The limitations of 1986’s recording technology make a preference moot since the audio is a tad harsh. The mix is immersive with a reasonable dynamic range. Dialog sounds fine, but lacks the in-the-room presence more modern tracks provide. The jet fighters are impressively loud but can’t quite overcome subtle inherent distortions. The surrounds are quite active with entertaining pans as the jets fly to and from the screen. EX decoding is a must for pans across the surround channels. The modest distortion also gets in the way of a warm midrange. The score contributes the strongest bass line, but once again, the limitations of the recording technology prevent reaching into the lowest octave. Which did I prefer? The DTS track seems fuller and better balanced. Since the lossless tracks are supposed to reproduce the studio master bit for bit, I can only assume that the DTS track has a different mix.

Alternative tracks are in French and Spanish, both in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. Captions are available in English SDH, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The DVD’s audio is also the same as the 2004 release. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and 6.1 DTS. These remixes are highly immersive with fine dynamics. Enabling the center surround is a welcome improvement. Dialog is sharp and realistic. The front sound stage has pleasing depth, especially with the jets airborne and moving guttural roar of Cruise’s motorcycle. The surrounds are active with noticeable discrete effects, especially when the jets fly all around the theater, and weapons fire has better sidewall imaging. However, the dynamics aren’t as full-bodied as in today’s mixes. My only quibble is that the mid-range isn’t detailed or warm; it’s just kind of pushed forward and a little flat. However, the score has heft and authority, sounding quite good. The bottom end reaches some nice lows, but not to the depths of recent releases. And the upper range is clear and well defined. Despite some of the inherently dated components of the film’s audio, you’ll be pleased. I liked the Dolby Digital tightness, but DTS (after the volume is adjusted to match) sounded slightly more buoyant between and its bass is a bit more natural sounding.

On the DVD, English and French Dolby Surround 2.0 mixes are on the alternate tracks. English Closed Captions, English, and Spanish are the optional subtitles.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Paramount has ported over many of the supplements found on previous DVD releases to the BD, but has added one new featurette. Allow me to tap Jim’s critique of the vintage supplements first.

We begin with a screen-specific audio commentary by: producer Jerry Bruckheimer; director Tony Scott; one of the screenwriters, Jack Epps, Jr.; Captain Mike Galpin; Technical Advisor Pete Pettigrew; and Vice Admiral Mike McCabe. This is great stuff. Many sound like they were recorded separately, then edited together while craftily matching the comments to the action onscreen. There is substantial and varied information in this commentary from production, casting, and conflicts over each of the party’s main contributions. Bruckheimer was very involved in the making of this film ("It’s like Star Wars on earth!"). Scott ("Rock stars in the sky!") had quite a bit of pressure on him after his prior film flopped, 1983’s elegant The Hunger. Many were betting their careers on this film. It was also pointed out that the stylish photographic compositions and groomed looks of the film’s actors were inspired by the Bruce Weber photography that Tony Scott had set his mind to recreate.

Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun documentary (2:27:42, 1.85:1, anamorphic video) is probably the best supplement (with the audio commentary a close second). The featurette is organized as six sections that can be played individually or sequentially with the Play All option. The six self-explanatory sections include: From The Ground Up Pre-Production; Playing With The Boys Production: Land And Sea; The Need For Speed Production: Air; Back To Basics Visual Effects; Combat Rock: The Music Of Top Gun; and, Afterburn Release And Impact. Produced by Charles de Laurzirika, this is a strong documentary that includes most of the principal cast (missing are Kelly McGillis & Anthony Edwards), producers, filmmakers, and military personnel who served as experts. Lots of behind the scene footage, interviews, and reminiscing.

The participants sound like the film was made yesterday, and all are very engaging and fond of the experience, hard work, and success. Jerry Bruckheimer is very well spoken and seems to be the primary guy that got this film going after a lot of false starts. Top Gun likely exceeded their box office expectations; this is one of those special films where all the right talent came together at the right time. I really enjoyed the smiling, wistful Tony Scott the most. He seems unable to figure out how he got hired after his elegantly artistic, though sloooow-paced vampire film, The Hunger, bombed at the box office but earned a cult following. He really thought he had been blacklisted from Hollywood after that film. Fortunately for us, Bruckenheimer and Don Simpson recognized the talent Scott demonstrated on The Hunger, apparently enjoyed Scott’s direction of a snazzy commercial of a car racing against a glamorous jet, and decided that was enough to hand him the reigns on Top Gun. Still, Scott mentions that he broke some rules and was fired from the film three times; we should be grateful that he was hired back each time. Much more is covered and Top Gun fans will be delighted to own this disc for this documentary alone.

Next are the Multi-Angle Storyboards for two sequences. The first is Flat Spin. For the storyboards in this montage, you have the option of including an audio commentary by Tony Scott. This sequence runs less than four minutes. Another storyboard is Jester’s Dead; it runs just under three minutes. Aspiring filmmakers will likely enjoy these demonstrations.

Next up is the Vintage Gallery, which includes a variety of older supplements. First are the full screen ‘80s music videos of: Kenny Loggins’ "Danger Zone”; Berlin’s biggest hit, "Take My Breath Away"; Loverboy’s "Heaven In Your Eyes"; and, Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens "Top Gun Anthem." None offers heft in the lower range or clarity in the upper range.

You’ll find thirty-second full screen TV Spots: Patriotism; Story; Male Action; Romance; Cruise/Action; Cruise/Moody; and, Music. A Play All option allows sequential play with a minimum of fuss.

Next is a Behind-The-Scenes featurette (5:30, full screen) from 1985 with interviews of the filmmakers and some unique footage. The film hadn’t become a hit yet and it’s interesting to watch men on the edge of hope.

The next featurette is Survival Training (7:30, full screen). The actors flew in the fighters during filming, so they had to train to prepare for the physical challenges. Great stuff.

There is a 1985 interview (6:42, full screen) of Tom Cruise. The filmmakers had Cruise in mind for this film, but he had to be persuaded. After he flew with the Blue Angles, he was sold. Cruise discusses some of his experiences, especially his trying to act while airborne with the film crew; he describes some fascinating complications. Good stuff.

The sole extra on this disc that Jim hadn’t described I’ll assume is new. The Best of the Best: Inside The Real Top Gun (28:46, 1.78:1, anamorphic video) featurette gives us a great overview of the real flight school. We’re taken through the types of aircraft currently in use both for our fighters and the surrogates for threat aircraft. Instructors describe the nature of the courses and the academic and flight training required. Students also talk about their experiences. These descriptions are supported by visuals of both ground school and flights. It’s an intense and progressive course. We follow some students as they execute a mission. As they suit up, the various pieces of apparel are explained. The pilots climb into their cockpits and we’re off. Ground support provides a radar overview of the hostiles in the area. Those ground controllers are considered a third wingman. After the exercise, the pilots and ground controllers get together for a debriefing session. The featurette takes through to graduation and exits with the impressions of the students about the value of the course. This is fascinating stuff, particularly for flight enthusiasts.

As for the DVD, the extras are exactly same as found on disc one of the 2004 2-Disc Special Collector’s Edition (see the BD’s supplements above for the details): the screen-specific audio commentary; the Vintage Gallery; and, the TV Spots. New to this DVD edition is a bonus CD with four tracks not used in the film: “Lips Like Sugar” by Echo & the Bunnymen; “Chain of Love” by Erasure; “Need You Tonight” by INXS; and, “Take On Me” by a-ha.

The 109-minute film is organized as sixteen chapters on both discs.

Final Thoughts

Top Gun remains a fun, testosterone-filled, popcorn chomping, dog-fighting flick. On BD, the presentation is better than ever offered before and the audio pumps up the excitement factor, even if there is a bit of harshness. Unlike the bit-starved HD DVD, the Blu-ray Disc overflows with generous supplements; it's the best edition of the film to date. The DVD recycles an older release, so even though it a good value, it's not an upgrade.


Here’s a note about the apparent duplicate Buy Guide. Our I.T. people are still hard at work on a large project and have not yet had the time to modify the underlying site database formatting code to accommodate the new 0-to-10 rating scales. So until they do, for HD on disc, I’ll insert this note and a Buy Guide at the end of the review text and leave the conventional 0-to-5 Buy Guide blank.