An Officer and a Gentleman
Life gave him nothing, except the courage to win...and a woman to love.
Country
Production
Budget
$7 500 000
Revenue
$129 795 554
Director
Actors
Scenario
Douglas Day Stewart
Producer
Martin Elfand, Merv Adelson
Operator
Donald E. Thorin
Composer
Artist
Philip M. Jefferies
Audition
Nancy Klopper
Editing
Peter Zinner
All team (46)
All team (46)
Short description
Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer's course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren't so self-involved. Zack's affair with a working girl is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself.
What's left behind the scenes
- John Travolta, on the advice of his agent, declined the leading role offered to him in the film.
- R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine Corps drill instructor who later became an actor, trained Louis Gossett Jr. for his role as Sergeant Foley.
- The motel scenes were filmed at the Tides motel in Port Townsend, Washington. The room where the filming took place is marked with a special wooden plaque on the door, detailing this momentous event.
- Actor John Denver turned down the offered role, stating that the script he read seemed like a film from the 1950s.
- Actress Lisa Eilbacher said after filming that the most challenging part for her was appearing clumsy and pretending to be out of shape while completing the obstacle course.
- In the original script, the role of Zack's father, played by Robert Loggia, was much larger due to the fact that he visited his son during training.
- The song playing when Paula and Zack are talking near the jukebox is "Tunnel of Love" by the famous band Dire Straits.
- Filming took place from April 20 to July 1981.
- Director Taylor Hackford deliberately housed Louis Gossett Jr. separately from the rest of the cast to emphasize his alienation, an element of the drill sergeant character.
- Lisa Eilbacher (who played Casey Seeger) later admitted that the hardest part during the filming of the obstacle course scenes was portraying being out of shape. In reality, the film crew emphasized that she was in the best physical condition of all the actors.
- Finding an actor for the role of the drill sergeant was not easy. The filmmakers approached several stars, but none of them expressed a desire to play the role. Mandy Patinkin (an American singer and actor) was liked by the producers during auditions, but his candidacy was rejected by director Taylor Hackford. Eventually, the producers moved their search to Florida, where they discovered that all drill sergeants were African American. This led them to Louis Gossett Jr., who was then cast in the role.
- Richard Gere and Louis Gossett Jr. trained specifically for the karate scenes shown in the film. Gere mastered certain karate techniques, while they did not come easily to Gossett Jr. During filming, Gere accidentally struck Gossett Jr. in the groin with a kick, after which he left the set and did not appear for two days. To avoid interrupting filming, the filmmakers turned to a karate master who acted as Gossett Jr.'s stunt double. Nevertheless, this incident did not affect the friendly relationship between Gere and Gossett Jr.
- The screenplay circulated through Hollywood for almost 8 years, but no one would take it on. Eventually, producer Don Simpson managed to convince Michael Eisner of Paramount Pictures, who was initially opposed to the project. The film's budget was $8 million, and the studio didn't expect much from the venture.
- The obstacle course was built specifically for the filming.
- In the scene where David Keith's character swallows a wedding ring, the actor actually swallowed it, and then the ring was pulled out with a thread tied to it. In one interview, the actor said that the scene was filmed after approximately ten takes, and swallowing and then retrieving the ring from his stomach was not particularly pleasant.
- Debra Winger's character shows the character played by Richard Gere a photograph of her father, who also dreamed of becoming an officer. In reality, it was a picture of screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart.
- Richard Gere refused to film the final scene, where his character arrives at the factory where Debra Winger's character works in full dress uniform and takes her away with him. Gere believed that this ending was too sentimental. Director Taylor Hackford initially agreed with him, but was forced to film the finale, and after seeing the result, Gere was glad that he had insisted on it.
- Producer Don Simpson persistently, but unsuccessfully, demanded that the ballad “Up Where We Belong” be removed from the film, claiming that the song was unsuccessful and would never become a hit. Despite this, it rose to the top of the Billboard charts and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Don Simpson wanted to see another song instead, titled “On The Wings Of Love” by Jeffrey Osborne, which was released a few months later and only reached the 29th position on the music chart.
- According to naval tradition, a newly commissioned officer gives a silver dollar to the first person to salute him. In the scene where the drill sergeant, played by Louis Gossett Jr., is saluted for the first time by the graduating class, they themselves give him a dollar each. Also, in accordance with tradition, the drill sergeant puts the silver dollars received from the best students in his right pocket. The dollar that Gossett Jr.'s character received from the character played by Richard Gere went into his right pocket, while the dollar from Tony Plana’s character went into the left.
- On the advice of his agent, John Travolta turned down the lead role offered to him in the film.
- R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine Corps drill instructor turned actor, helped prepare Louis Gossett Jr. for his role as Sergeant Foley.
- The motel scenes were filmed at the Tides Motel in Port Townsend, Washington. The room used for filming is marked by a special wooden plaque on the door detailing this landmark event.
- Producer Don Simpson insistently but unsuccessfully demanded that the ballad "Up Where We Belong" be removed from the film, claiming the song was poor and would never become a hit. Despite this, it rose to the top of the Billboard chart and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Instead, Don Simpson wanted to feature a song called "On The Wings Of Love" by Jeffrey Osborne, which was released several months later and only reached number 29 on the music charts.
- Director Taylor Hackford intentionally housed Louis Gossett Jr. separately from the rest of the cast to emphasize his sense of detachment, an element of the drill sergeant's persona.
- Lisa Eilbacher (who played Casey Seger) later admitted that the hardest part during the filming of the obstacle course scenes was pretending to be out of shape. In reality, those involved in the production emphasized that she was in the best physical condition of all the actors.
- Finding an actor for the role of the drill sergeant was not easy. The filmmakers approached several screen stars, but none of them expressed a desire to play the part. During auditions, the producers liked Mandy Patinkin (an American singer and actor), but he was rejected by director Taylor Hackford. Eventually, the producers moved their search to Florida, where they discovered that all the drill sergeants were African American. This led them to Louis Gossett Jr., who was then cast in the role.
- Richard Gere and Louis Gossett Jr. underwent special training for the karate scenes shown in the film. Gere mastered certain karate techniques, whereas Gossett Jr. struggled with them. During filming, Gere accidentally kicked Gossett Jr. in the groin, after which the latter left the set and did not return for two days. To avoid interrupting production, the filmmakers brought in a karate master to serve as Gossett Jr.'s stunt double. Regardless, this incident had no effect on the friendly relationship between Gere and Gossett Jr.
- The script circulated through Hollywood for nearly eight years, but no one would take it on. Eventually, producer Don Simpson managed to persuade Michael Eisner of Paramount Pictures, who was initially opposed to the project. The film's budget was $8 million, and the studio did not have high expectations for the venture.
- According to naval tradition, a newly commissioned officer gives a silver dollar to the first person who salutes them. In the scene where the graduates are first saluted by the drill instructor played by Louis Gossett Jr., they each give him a dollar. Also, in accordance with tradition, the drill instructor places the silver dollars received from the top students in his right pocket. The dollar that Gossett Jr.'s character received from the character played by Richard Gere went into the right pocket, while the dollar from Tony Plan's character went into the left.
- In the scene where David Keith's character swallows a wedding ring, the actor actually swallowed it, and the ring was then pulled out by a string attached to it. In one interview, the actor mentioned that the scene was filmed around the tenth take, and that swallowing and repeatedly extracting the ring from his stomach was not very pleasant.
- Debra Winger's character shows Richard Gere's character a photograph of her father, who also dreamed of becoming an officer. In reality, this is a photograph of the screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart.
- Richard Gere refused to film the movie's finale, where his character arrives in dress uniform at the factory where Debra Winger's character works to take her away with him. In Gere's opinion, this ending was becoming too sentimental. Director Taylor Hackford initially agreed with him but insisted he play the scene; after seeing the final result, Gere was glad that the director had stood his ground.
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