An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

You won't be disappointed!

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Fantastic

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Once upon a time in the early 80's, a film directed by Taylor Hackford was released called An Officer and A Gentleman. Many enjoyed it, and since it's release it has remained a classic and has gained fans over the years. I was looking forward to this film, however despite how much I wanted to see it, my expectations were still blown away.First off, the editing in this film is brilliant. I won't spoil another scenes, but The opening scene when Zach Mayo flashbacks to his past was absolutely brilliant. That one scene is criminally underrated, and as I watched the opening scene, I knew I was in for a really good movie. The way the takes fold together feels all like one take, it's superb. I had to go look up who the editor for this movie was, and, no surprises, it's the same pal who edited The Godfather! No wonder the editing was good...The cinematography was also very good, but in order to keep this review short so to not occupy your time, I think the film remains realistic as it develops an emotional story that remains handled well under the careful hands of the director. This film is not another simple romantic movie, it's an emotional look at the life of being an aviator, the hardships and humour and grief of it all without being overly sentimental or melodramatic. The pacing, editing, cinematography and story all combine into an absolute masterpiece and it's safe to say that you won't be wasting any of your time watching this. Respect goes to Taylor Hackford for making this masterpiece. Go watch it.

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. An Officer and a Gentleman mostly succeeds thanks to great performances by Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith and Louis Gossett Jr who really still the show now the only problem i had with the movie was Gere's character named Zack Mayo not that he was a bad character it's just that he was a very rough person he has been threw a lot to his life and it made sense that's for sure but still he acted like a machine sometimes instead of an actual person but the ending did proved me wrong. If you like good romantic movies or at least drama in general this will not disappoint you 9/10.

In the eight years I've been posting reviews on IMDb, I usually like to review the classics over the more recent fare of films, primarily to see if the older movies still ignite flames even to this day forward and partially in my young life I missed a lot of the more adult movies because at one time I had a zero interest in them. Even though "An Officer and a Gentleman" came out in 1982, six years after I was born, I only just recently stumbled across it recently (sorry for my tardiness), just because my elders talked so much about it so I just wanted to know what the hype was about and to see if it will leave me with a lasting impression.For those who never seen the film it stars Richard Gere as a young man named Zack Mayo who has recently checked himself into the Navy OCS located in Washington. From the early scenes we discover that Mayo's life was not a very pleasant one. At a very young age, his mother killed herself and was forced to stay with his father (Robert Loggia) while stationed in the Philippines. His father's nurturing was absent since all he had on his mind was drinking and chasing prostitutes. Zach wasn't really prepared for the tough regiments that the OCS had to offer as he struggling in terms of handling commitment let alone following authoritative figures.Mayo is under the tutelage of gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.) and it comes to no surprise that their encountering is just on the horizon. Mayo seems to excel quite well on the physical initiatives that the Navy has to offer, but academically is quite the other story. This leads to Mayo forming a friendship with a fellow classmate named Sid Worley (David Keith) as he will do everything he can to get Mayo into the Aerodynamics class in exchange for immaculate belt- buckles and boots whenever there's a barracks inspection. The main setting for this movie is set in the OCS, there's also a vital subplot that involves Zach, Sid and a couple of girls "Puget Debs" who they meet when they're off campus during their weekend. The two ladies are Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount) who a scrounging for military meat in hopes for a quick marriage proposal. These Puget Debs play riskier attempts to get their catch like faking their pregnancies or other things like that. Paula hooks up with Zach while Lynette is onto Sid.The rest of the way it's Zach trying to get through 13 weeks of OCS training and while getting adjusted to Paula. Since Zach is the titular character, fans seem to pretty much know the outcome of the story, but that doesn't deprive itself from being entertaining. After 33 years, I can safely say that "An Officer and a Gentleman" has aged quite gracefully. There are a lot of wonderful scenes with many authentic scenes that just can't be beat. Who could forget when Zach confesses to Sgt. Foley "I got nowhere else to go", plus the final scene where Mayo is now an ensign finds Paula and walks out with her to the applause of his colleagues. The pacing was also very well structured. Even though the film was almost at the two hour mark, there was never a boring moment and that was because the romantic scenes never interfered with the OCS scenes and it flowed in a more natural way. We also deeply care about the characters and we hope that Zach and Paula stay a couple and hope they live a happy life after the credits roll. Overall this movie gets a 9/10 that's highly recommended, even if you're a late bloomer like me, it's better late than never if you haven't seen this movie. It still holds up today since its release back in 1982.

One of the stronger movies of the 80s decade, Taylor Hackford's "An Officer and a Gentleman" covers a wide gamut of themes and emotions. It takes place in the Navy, and features stories of friendship, romance, and love. Richard Gere does a great job with his emotional acting, but less so with his physical acting as he seems hardly coordinated or athletic enough to convey leading his class. Anyway probably most who have seen this movie will tell you they particularly enjoyed Louis Gossett Jr. Oscar worthy and winning supporting performance as a tough and entertaining Drill Sargent. I would particularly agree, Gossett Jr. is witty and at times sardonic. The friction between characters Gere's Mayo and Gossett Jr Foley seems a little out of place, but still manages to be watchable. The Romanticism and love interest are a little better, with Winger looking stunning and acting more naturally than Gere. The photography and outdoor scenes especially are gorgeously shot. Fairly good soundtrack as well. Give this effort a solid 7.5/10 and recommended.