Taglines: It will lift you up where you belong.
An Officer and a Gentleman movie storyline. Zack Mayo is a loner who has never had to rely on anyone but himself. As a child, he was sent to live with his father, a career Navy man based in the Philippines, after his mother commits suicide. There he soon realized that he had to be tough and rely on no one. After graduating from college, he shocks his father by telling that he has enlisted in the Navy and will enter training as a naval aviator.
There he brings the same loner attitude he has had all of his life. He does however meet Paula, an attractive young woman who often attends base functions in the hope of nabbing a young officer and Sid Worley, a classmate with whom he forms a close bond. The training is difficult but not as tough as having to deal with their training officer, Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley who teaches Zack a lesson in the importance of relying on your friends and colleagues.
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, making him the first African American male to do so. The film was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford.
Its title is an old expression from the 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 $130 million against a $6 million budget.
About the Story
The film begins with Zachary Mayo preparing to report to Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) following college graduation. He moved to the Philippines as a child to live with his father Byron, a Navy Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate, after his mother’s suicide. Initially his father didn’t want him because he was at sea most of the time and wasn’t much good at being a father while in port. After begging him not to be sent back, Byron lets Zach stay. He would grow up as a Navy brat at Subic Bay. Zack is now determined – despite his father’s disapproval – to become a Navy pilot so one day Byron will have to salute him.
Upon arrival at AOCS, Zack and his fellow AOCs are shocked by the draconian treatment they receive from their head drill instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, who makes it clear that the next 13 weeks are designed to eliminate officer candidates (OCs) who are found to be mentally or physically unfit for commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy’s $1 million flight training program. Foley warns the male candidates about the “Puget Sound Debs” (local girls) who dream of marrying a Naval Aviator to escape their dull lives. Foley warns the OCs they will feign pregnancy or even stop using birth control to become pregnant to trap a man. Zack and fellow candidate Sid Worley meet two local factory workers Paula Pokrifki and Lynette Pomeroy at a Navy Ball. Zack begins a relationship with Paula while Sid dates Lynette.
Foley runs the program mercilessly. Recruit Topper Daniels drops out after he nearly drowns in a crash-escape exercise. Foley believes Zack lacks motivation and is not a team player. When Zack’s side business selling pre-shined shoes and belt buckles is discovered, Foley starts an entire weekend of hazing in an attempt to make him DOR (Drop on Request).
After refusing to quit, Foley tells Zack he will personally eject him. Zach breaks down telling Foley that this is his only option and he has “nowhere else to go.” Satisfied that Zack has come to crucial self-realization, Foley gives him the chance to prove he can be a team player. The next weekend he has an awkward meal with Paula and her family. Although he has the chance to break the obstacle course record, Zack instead stops to encourage Casey Seeger to succeed and climb over a 12-foot-high wall (3.7 m).
Zack attends a dinner with Sid and his parents and learns that Sid has a long-time girlfriend back home who he is planning to marry once he receives his commission. Meanwhile, Lynette has been dropping hints to Sid that she may be pregnant with his child. After having a severe anxiety attack during a high-altitude simulation in a pressure chamber, Sid DORs without saying goodbye. He goes to Lynette’s house to propose marriage but she rejects him because she wanted to marry a naval aviator.
After telling him the pregnancy was a lie as well, Sid checks into a motel and hangs himself. Zack heads back to base with the intent to DOR himself after finding Sid’s body but Foley won’t let him quit. They fight an unofficial martial arts bout in which Foley barely wins because of Zack’s talented fighting style. An injured Foley tells Zack he can quit if he wants.
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, Tony Plana, Harold Sylvester, Grace Zabriskie, Mara Scott-Wood
Screenplay by: Douglas Day Stewart
Production Design by: Philip M. Jefferies
Cinematography by: Donald E. Thorin
Film Editing by: Peter Zinner
Set Decoration by: James L. Berkey
Art Direction by: John V. Cartwright
Music by: Jack Nitzsche
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: August 13, 1982
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