Product Details

• Actors: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: December 7, 1992
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (423 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300214540
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,410 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jingoism, beefcake, military hardware, and a Giorgio Moroder rock score reign supreme over taste and logic in this Tony Scott film about a maverick trainee pilot (Tom Cruise) who can't follow the rules at a Navy aviation training facility. The dogfight sequences between American and Soviet jets at the end are absolutely mechanical, though audiences loved it at the time. The love story between Cruise's character and that of Kelly McGillis is like flipping through pages of advertising in a glossy magazine. This designer action movie from 1986 would be all the more appalling were it not for the canny casting of good actors in dumb parts. Standouts include Anthony Edwards--who makes a nice impression as Cruise's average-Joe pal--and the relatively unknown Meg Ryan in a small but memorable appearance. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OK3, February 18, 2005

By 

Brandon Toy (Northridge, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Gun (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition) (DVD)

Top Gun never claims to have epic scope, emotional gravitas, or a deep plot. I imagine that those who criticize this movie for its supposed shortcomings also look upon the Three Stooges with disgust for not exploring the depth of Moe's antagonistic relationship with Curly. The fact is that only about 10% of films released in general circulation attempt to have the depth of a Citizen Kane or Godfather. Among the other 90%, Top Gun is the best of the best.

Top Gun's obvious strength is the aerial visuals. Not since perhaps Howard Hughes' Jet Pilot has there been such an ambitious attempt to capture the look and feel of high performance flight. The F-14's photogenic qualities combine with Tony Scott's signature backlighting to create a terrific sense of energy and screen presence for the Grumman bird. The tactical realism may suffer, but the tight spacing and resulting packed frames of the ACM sequqnces are uniquely energetic and fast-paced. It is a shame that this may be the last time that anyone goes to the expense and hassle of using real film to capture such manuevers. The footage still compares favorably to state of the art CGI 20 years after its release.

The non-flying scenes are remarkable only for the collection of young talent that would eventually drive box office returns for a good part of the '90s. But the greatest compliment I could give the plot and acting is that they don't detract from the pacing and cohesiveness of a visually-driven movie.

*RE: Review Title- OK3 is the best grade possible for US Navy pilots performing carrier landings.

79 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I demand re-release of this dvd., January 28, 2000

By 

Freddy (los angeles, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Top Gun (DVD)

4:3 ratio screen is very good transfer. However, wide-screen isn't really wide screen. it's a 4:3 screen chopped off from top and bottom. in other word, instead of having a whole theatrical picture, what you get is picture that's been chopped up both vertical and horizontally. what we are seeing is only 1/3 of what's filmed, which is even smaller than 4:3. somebody cheated big time from paramount. setup menu is false leading. I want to see entire wing span on F-14! It does make huge difference on impact in fighting scene. movie this good must be done right. and while at it, make it a anamorphic enhanced.

42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, poor video, December 26, 2008

By 

L. Baker "wicked drummer" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Gun [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Well, this was really a mixed bag for me. Top Gun was always one of my favorite movies growing up, and I've owned it on VHS, DVD, and now Blu-Ray. The lack of aspect ratio information on the box is quite telling, as there is no TRUE widescreen - all video is letterboxed, even on a 16:9 HD LCD TV. The "widescreen" is simply a cropped version of the full screen edition, with black bars. This was very disappointing to me, as I was hoping for some full 1080 F-14 action.

That said, the EXCELLENT DTS 6.1 sound track nearly makes up for the visuals. The encoding seems theater-pure, and is one of the best BD audio tracks I've heard. It's really astonishing how defined the audio is, especially the spatial effects and rumble during the flying sequences. Simply superb audio.

Hopefully, Paramount can dig up a better quality version of the master and give us a TRUE widescreen, full HD experience for Top Gun. Until then, this is the best that we've got.