Top Gun (1986)
Figures
Locations
- The integrated pop-rock soundtrack (e.g., "Danger Zone," "Take My Breath Away")
Form & technique
- The film's visual aesthetic (backlighting, slow motion, fast-cutting)
Tropes
- The physical bodies and competitive interactions of the male pilots
- The intense, gaze-heavy rivalry and camaraderie between Maverick and Iceman
- The film's production process and its depiction of the U.S. Navy
- Maverick's character arc, framed by the legacy of his father's mysterious death in Vietnam → National Allegory
- The detailed, visually spectacular depiction of aerial combat and military hardware (F-14s, aircraft carriers)
Films most connected to Top Gun