Top Gun and Cool Movies (Inspired by AnnaBanana's Avatar)

[Klutch]

I just saw AnnaBanana's avatar and laughed out loud. Thanks for the chuckle, I really needed it.

Why does it make me chuckle? Bear with me please...

First of all, I'm an aircraft carrier veteran and thus know the atmosphere quite well. Of course, there are just so many things in Top Gun that are beyond ludicrous. Whoever wrote the screenplay went to the Gilligan's Island school of reality.

But you know what? Top Gun *is* a cool movie. I like to watch it whenever it plays on a movie channel.

I work with a lot of people who are Air Force veterans. I often like to dog them that there are no cool Air Force movies. Iron Eagle, anyone? Oh, let's not forget Broken Arrow. What's that? Oh, I guess everybody already did forget it. Don't even talk about Wargames.

Ridiculous as they may be, there are many cool Navy movies; The Hunt for Red October, Under Siege (I was also on the Iowa!), Crimson Tide, An Officer and a Gentleman (well, kinda cool, anyway).

The only *realistic* Navy movies I've ever seen are Cinderella Liberty and The Last Detail. Not much action or adventure in either title, but both of those films captured perfectly the gritty and somewhat sleazy life of a sailor. They were also cool and had very good stories.

Hollywood has given us many cool Army movies (Firebirds doesn't count!). Of course, there are cool Marine Corps movies. Why can't the Air Force get a cool movie? (Although Twelve O'clock High is a *great* classic, that was when the flyboys were still in the US Army Air Corps.) Well, of course I like to say it's because the Air Force just aint that cool.

However, I'm willing to listen. Does anyone actually know of a cool Air Force Movie?

[Drince88]

I think this falls under "Army Air Corps" but "Tuskgee Airmen" was pretty good.

And another good Navy movie is the one with Cuba Gooding Jr playing the diver, "Men of Honor"!

[Klutch]

I haven't seen Tuskegee Airmen, but you're correct, that falls into the "Air Corps" category.

[AnnaBanana]

I'm glad to be inspiration!

[disney jones]

Why can't the Air Force get a cool movie?

Dr. Strangelove?

WarGames?

[SummerinFL]

I'm glad to be inspiration!

*stares blankly fixated on Anna Banana's avatar, wiping the drool from my half open mouth periodically* I'm sorry...what was the question?

[sdfilmcritic]

Dr. Strangelove?

Gentleman, there's no fighting in here. This is the War Room!

[3894]

Can I suggest an Army movie? "Windtalkers" seemed pretty darn realistic to me.

[sdfilmcritic]

Windtalkers. Frances O'Connor was in that. She was a cute military nurse.

[Klutch]

Dr. Strangelove?

WarGames?

OK, I agree on Dr. Strangelove. Good point.

Wargames? Cute, maybe. But not cool.

I live near Cheyenne Mountain/NORAD (I can see it from my daughter's room). I also used to work up there. While I've established that I think it's possible for a movie to be ridiculous and still be cool, Wargames is in its own category of ridiculous.

It's interesting to see the actual "war room" at NORAD. Talk about a let-down. Everybody expects it to look like Wargames. It looks more like a video teleconferencing room at a community college. It's been upgraded recently, but it's still pretty small. It is inside a mountain, after all.

[Klutch]

*stares blankly fixated on Anna Banana's avatar, wiping the drool from my half open mouth periodically* I'm sorry...what was the question?

Oh, you ladies...

I knew a guy who was an officer on Enterprise when Top Gun was in filming. Tom Cruise spent some time aboard. This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

[sdfilmcritic]

This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

Are you serious? Ha, ha! I'm taller than Tom Cruise!

[AnnaBanana]

Oh, you ladies...

I knew a guy who was an officer on Enterprise when Top Gun was in filming. Tom Cruise spent some time aboard. This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

Well, I'm quoting Emma here:

He's short but hunky.

[sdfilmcritic]

He's short but hunky.

I'm still taller than him.

[3894]

I knew a guy who was an officer on Enterprise when Top Gun was in filming. Tom Cruise spent some time aboard. This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

Good things come in small packages.

[sdfilmcritic]

Good things come in small packages.

You can say that again.





I'm referring to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream pints, of course!

[Klutch]

Well, I'm quoting Emma here:

He's short but hunky.

As am I. Although, I'm not a Scientologist.

[sediment]

Oh, you ladies...

I knew a guy who was an officer on Enterprise when Top Gun was in filming. Tom Cruise spent some time aboard. This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

Check the scene in which he's next to Tim Robbins, who's at least 6'3". Pretty laughable. Or any picture of him and Nicole where they're on an even plane and their shoes can be observed. He's a shorty, and probably in more ways than one.

[MartyLuvsTigger]

Oh, you ladies...

I knew a guy who was an officer on Enterprise when Top Gun was in filming. Tom Cruise spent some time aboard. This is when I first heard that he is 5' 7" tall; same as me.

[derail]
I just had lunch at the Kanas city BBQ, where they filmed the bar scene in TOP GUN...[derail/]

[Alex S.]

Ridiculous as they may be, there are many cool Navy movies; The Hunt for Red October, Under Siege (I was also on the Iowa!), Crimson Tide, An Officer and a Gentleman (well, kinda cool, anyway).

What about Operation Petticoat? That wasn't realistic?

I think the U.S. Navy has an unfair advantage since they have submarines and submarines are an environment that translates to film very well (contained spaces, inherent suspense of the unseen enemy, and yet enough people to allow for character dynamics).

Whereas the popular ideal of the Air Force is the solitary fighter in his machine. In an environment that is hard to film and also depersonalizing. And if you do want to make a pilot movie then the Navy let's you land them on carriers which is much more cinematic. Finally, the Navy has whole fleets of mothballed vessels that can be used and still look pretty good. From the air force you need in service or very expensive private replica equipment. In other words, the Air Force is at a disadvantage.

As for the actual movies, don't forget John Wayne's Jet Pilot as a movie to be ignored by fans of the Air Force.

How about Air Force One as a cool movie? The pilots of the 747 are Air Force pilots, and USAF fighter pilots are well represented. Bomber groups in WWII have inspired quite a few decent movies, the first coming to mind being Twelve O'Clock High and Memphis Belle. Failsafe is a pretty tense, cool movie with a strong air force element.

[figmentspark]

Well, I'm quoting Emma here:

He's short but hunky.

He may be short by all your standards but he's taller than me!!!
Funny thing actually, Friday night I got a bunch of girls over to my place so we could drool over... I mean WATCH Top Gun.

Sigh...

[CrazyTrain]

Mmmm, Tom Cruise.
He's short but hunky, *LOL* Indeed.
I have eaten the same place he did as well, after I missed him by mere minutes! (I may or may not have sat where he had just been sitting ) I also saw him at the Critic's Choice Awards this year (was so so close to him!)
*sigh*
Tom Cruise.

What? Armed Forces movies you say?
Uh. Uh, um... I don't really watch those kind of movies!

[MrsPooh]

*stares blankly fixated on Anna Banana's avatar, wiping the drool from my half open mouth periodically* I'm sorry...what was the question?

I only have two words for you all:

Volleyball Scene.

'Nuff said!

*goes off to drool as well*

[Klutch]

What about Operation Petticoat? That wasn't realistic?

I think the U.S. Navy has an unfair advantage since they have submarines and submarines are an environment that translates to film very well (contained spaces, inherent suspense of the unseen enemy, and yet enough people to allow for character dynamics).

Whereas the popular ideal of the Air Force is the solitary fighter in his machine. In an environment that is hard to film and also depersonalizing. And if you do want to make a pilot movie then the Navy let's you land them on carriers which is much more cinematic. Finally, the Navy has whole fleets of mothballed vessels that can be used and still look pretty good. From the air force you need in service or very expensive private replica equipment. In other words, the Air Force is at a disadvantage.

As for the actual movies, don't forget John Wayne's Jet Pilot as a movie to be ignored by fans of the Air Force.

How about Air Force One as a cool movie? The pilots of the 747 are Air Force pilots, and USAF fighter pilots are well represented. Bomber groups in WWII have inspired quite a few decent movies, the first coming to mind being Twelve O'Clock High and Memphis Belle. Failsafe is a pretty tense, cool movie with a strong air force element.

Operation Petticoat was just as realistic as Top Gun.

OK, I'll give you Air Force One. I've never seen Failsafe. So, I'll give you that one as well.

As I stated previously, Twelve O'Clock High and Memphis Belle don't count because they fall into the "US Army Air Corps" category. Both are very cool.

=====================================

Sidebar: I met one of the actors from Memphis Belle years ago, just before he started filming on that project. Reed Edward (Dex) Diamond (who played Virgil) was a frat brother of a Navy buddy of mine. When we did a port call in NYC, we hung out with Dex. He had just received a packet for the movie which included squadron stickers, background info and, of course, the screenplay which had the working title "Southern Belle".

Dex told some good stories from past projects. He did a number of TV commercials including one for Subaru. It featured him driving up a treacherous road in a storm to see a girl when her parents were supposed to be out. He arrives to find Dad couldn't go out in such weather (because he didn't have a Subaru). The commercial caused a lot of contraversy and helped to boost Dex's career. Dex also did one of the last ABC After School Specials where he played a date rapist. Somebody recognized him in a grocery store after that and said, "I know you. You raped that girl!"

Dex later went on to be a costar in Homicide Life on the Street. He used to pop up in occasional Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations, but I haven't seen him in anything for quite awhile. I'll have to look him up on IMDB.

[figmentspark]

[QUOTE=MrsPooh]
Volleyball Scene.

'Nuff said!
QUOTE]