An Officer and a Gentleman
| An Officer and a Gentleman | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Taylor Hackford |
| Produced by | Martin Elfand Douglas Day Stewart |
| Written by | Douglas Day Stewart |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jack Nitzsche |
| Cinematography | Donald E. Thorin |
| Edited by | Peter Zinner |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $129.8 million |
An Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American romantic drama film starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett, Jr., who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film, and was produced by Lorimar Productions for Paramount Pictures. It tells the story of Zack (Gere), a U.S. Navy Aviation Officer Candidate who is beginning his training at Aviation Officer Candidate School. While Zack meets his first true girlfriend during his training, a local young woman named Paula (Winger), he also comes into conflict with the hard-driving Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant (Gossett, Jr.), the drill instructor training his class.
The film was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford. Its title is an old expression from the British Royal Navy and later from the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice's charge of "conduct unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman" (from 1860). The film was commercially released in the U.S. on August 13, 1982. It was well received by critics, with a number calling it the best film of 1982. It also was a financial success, grossing $129.8 million against a $6 million budget.
Zachary "Zack" Mayo (Richard Gere) is preparing to report to Aviation Officer Candidate School. As he is doing so, he has brief flashbacks of his childhood. After the death of his unnamed mother (who committed suicide), an adolescent Zack was sent to live with his only living relative, his father Byron Mayo (Robert Loggia), who is stationed in the Philippines. The elder Mayo, a Navy Chief Petty Officer/Chief Boatswain's Mate, made no attempt to hide his heavy drinking and hiring of prostitutes from a young Zack. When Zack said he needed help, Byron said he did not ask to get married nor be a father, because he is always out on sea all the time. But seeing the look on his face, he decide to let him stay with him. Mostly Zack became a Navy brat and travelled with his father. The flashbacks advance to the present, where Zack has just graduated from college and informs his father he will be going to Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS). Byron, who hates officers, tells Zack that his dream of becoming an officer is as unrealistic as hoping to become President. Despite his father's discouragement, Zack is determined to go through with his childhood dreams of becoming a Navy pilot as well as prove to him that he can make it and in the end Byron would have to "salute" Zack.
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