An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writer:

Douglas Day Stewart (written by)

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It will lift you up where you belong.

Plot:

A young man must complete his work at a Navy Flight school to become an aviator, with the help of a tough gunnery sergeant and his new girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Navy | Suicide | Sailor | Friendship | Nudity

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13	10:30 AM	OXYGEN
Fri. Nov. 13	5:30 PM	OXYGEN
Fri. Nov. 20	5:30 PM	OXYGEN

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Zack Mayo
Debra Winger	...	Paula Pokrifki
David Keith	...	Sid Worley
Robert Loggia	...	Byron Mayo
Lisa Blount	...	Lynette Pomeroy
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Casey Seeger
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Sgt. Emil Foley
Tony Plana	...	Emiliano Della Serra
Harold Sylvester	...	Perryman
David Caruso	...	Topper Daniels
Victor French	...	Joe Pokrifiki
Grace Zabriskie	...	Esther Pokrifiki
Tommy Petersen	...	Young Zack
Mara Scott-Wood	...	Bunny (as Mara Scott Wood)
David Greenfield	...	Schneider
Dennis Rucker	...	Donny
Jane Wilbur	...	Nellie Rufferwell
Buck Welcher	...	Thraxton
Vern Taylor	...	Tom Worley
Elizabeth Rogers	...	Betty Worley
David R. Marshall	...	Drill Instructor #1
Gary C. Stillwell	...	Drill Instructor #2
Tee Dennard	...	Dilbert Dunker Instructor
Norbert M. Murray	...	Altitude Chamber Instructor
Daniel Tyler	...	New Recruit
William S. Graves	...	Captain Graves (as William Graves)
Brian D. Ford	...	Aerodynamics Instructor
Michael C. Pavey	...	Officer of the Day
Keith J. Haar	...	Air Officer Candidate
Pia Boyer	...	Paula's Sister
Danna Kiesel	...	Paula's Sister
Marvin Goatcher	...	Himself
John Laughlin	...	Troy
Jeffrey P. Rondeau	...	Troy's Friend
Michael Lee Bolger	...	Man in Crowd
Mark L. Graves	...	Bartender
Meleesa Wyatt	...	Prostitute #1
Jo Anna Keane	...	Prostitute #2
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Voice of Altitude Chamber Instructor (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bernard Madrid	...	Platoon member (uncredited)

Directed by
Taylor Hackford

Writing credits
Douglas Day Stewart		(written by)

Produced by
Martin Elfand	....	producer
Douglas Day Stewart	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche		(music by)

Cinematography by
Donald E. Thorin		(director of photography) (as Donald Thorin)

Film Editing by
Peter Zinner

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Philip M. Jefferies

Art Direction by
John V. Cartwright		(as John Cartwright)

Set Decoration by
James L. Berkey		(as James I. Berkey)

Makeup Department
Jerry O'Dell	....	make-up artist (as Gerald O'Dell)
Marina Pedraza	....	hairstylist
Jim Gillespie	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Bob Schneider	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pamela M. Eilerson	....	second assistant director
Daniel J. Heffner	....	second assistant director
David McGiffert	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Eugene S. Kelley	....	construction coordinator
Erik L. Nelson	....	property master

Sound Department
Don Coufal	....	boom operator
Don Digirolamo	....	re-recording mixer
Robert Glass	....	re-recording mixer
Robert Knudson	....	re-recording mixer (as Buzz Knudson)
Clive Smith	....	supervising sound editor
Jeff Wexler	....	sound mixer
Crew Chamberlain	....	cable person (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Joseph P. Mercurio	....	special effects

Stunts
Samuel M. Pace	....	stuntman
Jason Randal	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Stewart	....	stuntman

Camera and Electrical Department
James F. Boyle	....	gaffer (as James T. Boyle)
Earl L. Clark	....	camera assistant
Dick Colean	....	camera operator
Jack Cooperman	....	underwater photographer
Daniel R. Jordan	....	key grip
Carol McCullough	....	still photographer
John Burnett	....	second assistant camera: additional photography (uncredited)

Casting Department
Martina Ritt	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rita Riggs	....	costume supervisor
Laurie Riley	....	costume supervisor (as Laurie M. Riley)

Editorial Department
Priscilla Nedd-Friendly	....	associate editor (as Priscilla Nedd)

Music Department
Curt Sobel	....	music editor: La Da Productions
David Spear	....	conductor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James E. Foote	....	transportation coordinator
Richard Belyeu	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
William R. Borden	....	location manager
George Goode	....	conceptual research
William S. Graves	....	technical advisor (as Capt. William Graves U.S.N. {Ret.})
Paul G. Hensler	....	location manager: Philippines (as Paul Hensler)
Janice Lisalda	....	assistant: Mr. Hackford
Sandra Morley	....	assistant: Mr. Elfand
Mary Ann Newfield	....	script supervisor
Nilo Otero	....	assistant: Mr. Schneider (as Nilo A. Otero)
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Steven Pollack	....	assistant: Mr. Schneider
Jette Sorensen	....	production auditor
Bridget Terry	....	unit publicist
Buck Welcher	....	technical advisor
Bob Williams	....	technical advisor

Thanks
Gus Gustafson	....	special thanks: Fort Worden State Park
Art Kulman	....	special thanks: Washington State Dept. of Commerce & Economic Development
Brent Shirley	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Lorimar Film Entertainment

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (presents)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1982) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1986) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (special collector's edition)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Award Winning Collection)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production (uncredited)
• Fort Worden State Park  special thanks
• Howard A. Anderson Company  titles and effects (as Howard A. Anderson Co.)
• La Da Productions  music editor
• Lynn Stalmaster & Associates  casting
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  post-production sound by
• Todd-AO Soundelux  re-recorded by (as Todd-AO)
• Washington State Dept. of Commerce & Economic Development  special thanks

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Filipino

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) | Finland:K-18 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:12 | France:Unrated | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #26387) | West Germany:16 (w)

Filming Locations:

Bremerton, Washington, USA

Company:

Lorimar Film Entertainment

Trivia:

Kristy McNichol and Brooke Shields were each offered the role of Paula, but both turned it down.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before the officer candidates take the oath and graduate a recruit announces, "All officers present." The candidates' swords are up on their shoulders but in the next shot the swords are in their scabbards.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mayo: [whispered to sleeping father] Hey.
[flashback to Manila]
Byron: Hey, kid! Are you Zack?
Young Zack: Yes, sir.
Byron: I'm Byron; nice to meet you. Come on, let's get your bags, OK?
Young Zack: Yes, sir.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Thick of It: The Rise of the Nutters (#2.1)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Theme from 'An Officer and a Gentleman'

More true than you might think.

I went to Navy OCS (for ship drivers, not aviators) a year after this movie came out. A lot of us considered it one of the best movies ever made. Despite the fact that there is some serious license taken with reality, the movie captures the intensity and high stakes of OCS, and how people who barely know each other become bonded so quickly; how the least likely candidates sometimes become the star performers; how some people are changed beyond recognition by the experience. There was never a lack of old hands like Sid's father, telling you you had it easy because of some difference in the rules he didn't enjoy 10 years earlier. DOR is translated by Foley as "drop on request". In 1983, the terminology was DE, which meant dis enroll. I always wondered what happened to the candidates in my class who DE'd. The ones who graduated I kept running into in the fleet, sometimes in places like the Philippines. The most unrealistic thing about the movie was the premise that local girls want to marry officer candidates. Not so in Pensacola or Newport RI, where OCS was in those days. The locals actually called us behind our backs "cockroaches" because we wore all black and had to run away to our barracks by 10 pm. The second most unrealistic thing was the foul language. That comes later, in the fleet, but not in OCS. No we did not have martial arts duels. All in all, however, the essence of the experience, if not the specifics, is found in the movie. One of our marching songs went "left right left right / you HAD a good job and you LEFT / you're RIGHT!" We really did have nowhere else to go. I say 10 stars. The VHS version gets only 8 because of changes to the soundtrack songs.