Top Gun is getting the royal treatment. And by royal, we mean it’s gotten an upgrade to a stellar, enigmatic 4K Blu-Ray that will literally just fly off the screen with sights and sounds that rival living next to a Navy airfield.
For those who have been living in a cave for the last several decades, Top Gun stars Tom Cruise as Maverick. He’s a little self-involved, self-centered, but all assured of his ability in the cockpit of an air fighter. That’s good. America needs folks like him and there are a lot of others just like him at Top Gun school in San Diego. Upon his arrival, he and his partner in flying, Goose (Anthony Edwards) make an awesome tandem. They’re clearly innately gifted, even if Maverick is just that … maverick.
Then, there’s the whole issue with his adversary. Every story has to have an antagonist beyond whoever these cats are going to fight in the air in the third act. That comes in the firm in the iconic turn by Val Kilmer as Iceman. The pilots learn what it takes to become America’s best and on the way, Maverick might just sing a song to Kelly McGillis’ Charlie in an iconic scene. He would learn, literally the next day, that she is one of their instructors. Awkward? Not in Top Gun, as everything that happens here services the story…a rarity these days, honestly.
Top Gun has all the classic troupes, the commanding officer who is always yelling at Maverick, the guy who wants to be on top, but innately knows that Maverick is the better pilot (Iceman), and of course, a forbidden romance between teacher and student that has all involved questioning where their true attention lies. But somehow, director extraordinary Tony Scott, has woven a web that has stood the test of time and as beloved by its host, Generation X, as Millennials and beyond.
The film stands the test of time and there is something about this 4K transfer that makes it even more immediate. Don’t get me started on the sound upgrade. It is sensational, and if your home is equipped with the 4K potential, that’s one thing … but you got to have that sonic succulence to genuinely appreciate the true specialness of this release.
This release includes some brand-new featurettes, most notably, The Legacy of Top Gun. This features all-new interviews with the cast. This one is supremely awesome. Jerry Bruckheimer, producer extraordinaire, is joined by Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and many more members of the cast. They wax poetic about the making of the film and more importantly, the wide swath of legacy it has carved out in Hollywood history. It is the rare film that transcends time and that is why one could argue that it is as popular as ever, and even more important—worthy of a sequel, Maverick, that is coming soon, decades after the first flick. Speaking of the new flick, this featurette also includes at the end, some new footage from the upcoming sequel!
Another delightful new featurette is On Your Six – Thirty Years of Top Gun. The five-part feature is broken down into perfectly doled out segments.
There’s Looking Back, a nice seven-and-a-half minute featurette that commences with Cruise talking about his two loves … acting and aviation. Bruckheimer and Cruise join forces to share their insight on the production and its true path to glory. They also have a great period where the laud the late director of Top Gun, Tony Scott. The director committed suicide on August 19, 2012 as he was facing a long battle with terminal cancer.
The key to the success of the film has to be in its authenticity. Therefore, the help that America’s mighty military provided to filmmakers is invaluable. America’s Best pays tribute to their involvement and it also features Edwards, Meg Ryan, McGillis, Kilmer, and additional players talking about their role in the production as well.
The soundtrack was almost as much of a hit as the film itself, so it’s nice that there is a bonus feature spotlighting the sonic boom of the tunes that accompany these flyboys. Into the Danger Zone chronicles how the film’s soundtrack came together, along with other aspects of the flick, such as Cruise’s motorcycle skills, how they affixed cameras to jet fighters and how they shot aerial scenes to ensure the most realistic portrayal of what it is like to be a Navy fighter pilot. You know … it’s no wonder this thing was such a hit.
Going Ballistic finds Cruise and Bruckheimer reminiscing about what it was like to shoot their film on the deck of a real Navy aircraft carrier. Practical sets score again! Lastly, the featurette Narrow Targets and the Future is a five-plus minute look at the effect that the film had on pop culture, music, and the styles of the day. It also gets a quick spot on Cruise and why he had been reluctant to don his fighter suit again and what it was that made it ripe for his return.
There are some making-of docs that had been previously released, that are worthy of a look. Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun, Multi-Angle Storyboards, and Best of the Best: Inside the Real Top Gun—which is exactly as it sounds, and it is beyond awesome to see these real-life heroes at work.
Fan of the tunes? Check out the music videos for Danger Zone, Take My Breath Away, Heaven In Your Eyes, and Top Gun Anthem.
Lastly, don’t miss the audio commentary track to hear the late great Scott, along with Bruckheimer and co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. and a few Naval experts tossed in for good measure.
Film Grade: A-
Bonus Features: A