An Officer and a Gentleman hit the big screen in July of 1982, a time when some of you weren’t
even born. Just to let you know how long ago that was, the price of a gallon
of gas was $1.31, and the average cost of a movie ticket was $3.00.
This movie grossed almost $130 million and came in third at the box
office. E.T.-The Extra-Terrestrial was number one and Tootsie was number two. If you are too young to remember those 2 movies, go
and get them they were both excellent movies. An Officer and a Gentleman is the movie that made me a Richard Gere fan.
An Officer and a Gentlemen Movie Plot:
The movie stars, naturally, Richard Gere as Zack Mayo who joins the Navy’s
Aviation Officer Candidate School to turn his life around after a troubled
childhood. Zack’s sole purpose is to become a Navy Pilot.
Louis Gossett Jr. plays drill instructor, Emil Foley. As the movie goes on
you will see that Foley is your typical tough drill instructor. Foley rides
all of the candidates hard, especially Zack throughout the movie.
Debra Winger, as Paula, a girl who works in a local factory, meets Zack at
a Navy dance, where they strike up a relationship. One of my favorite
parts of the movie is where Foley tries to break Zack. After he finds out
that Zack has a little side business on the base and doesn’t approve, and
believes Zack is not worthy of becoming an officer. Zack prevails with his
sheer determination not to fail, and will not give up.
Notice that I said one of my favorite parts of the movie. The best part of
the movie is the end, this is where the music starts to play, and as you
watch your heart starts to pound, your breathing becomes a little heavier as
you get all choked up inside.
I’m going to stop here because if you haven’t seen this movie I don’t want
to spoil it. If you have seen it then you know what I’m talking about. I
call it that Richard Gere Moment. This moment has been repeated in many of
his movies after Officer and a Gentlemen.
You buy the DVD or find this entertaining movie streaming here:
Absolutely LOVED this movie. And I remember "The Richard Gere Moment". It is definitely time to watch this movie again. Thanks for the fun movie review and reminder of a great film, Sam.
ReplyDeletePS: I am most definitely NOT too young to remember Tootsie or E.T either... LOL.
You know I am honestly not sure if I have seen An Officer and a Gentleman though I ah, definitely predate the film. Thanks for the suggestion and I enjoyed the statistics, too.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites. An okie but a goodie!
ReplyDeleteI remember this movie well! It is one of my all-time favorites (alongside Pretty Woman) and also made me a Richard Gere fan. I also remember this movie had some very colorful & shocking language that was not the norm at that time. However,there are several quotes from this movie that my husband and I both tend to jokingly repeat. Might be time to watch it again!
ReplyDeleteOh yes I loved this film!! Yes I recall the "Richard Gere Moment" too. I have not seen it in ages though so I think time to watch it again soon.
ReplyDeleteThis film - and Pretty Woman - made me a Richard Gere fan, too. I’ve watched it more than once, but not in a very long time. I think it might be time for another viewing!
ReplyDeleteThis is a movie from my day. I remember seeing it at the movie theatre and loving every second of it. Since that time I've seen 50 or more times. I'm a Richard Gere fan as well, and as Margaret said above, from this movie and Pretty Woman. When I think back to my youth, this movie and several other classics are a part of my memories. So glad to have been in my 20s in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteI knew you had great taste Sam! One of my favorite movies too. Yes, if you have not seen it, you really missed a good movie, rent or buy it and I'm sure you will watch it more than once. thanks Sam for bringing back some great memories for me. Now I have to see if it's showing up somewhere again!
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