An Officer and a Gentleman

An Officer and a Gentleman
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTaylor Hackford
Written byDouglas Day Stewart
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDonald E. Thorin
Edited byPeter Zinner
Music byJack Nitzsche
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • July 28, 1982 (1982-07-28) (United States)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.5 million[1][2]
Box office$190 million[3]

An Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American romantic drama film[4] directed by Taylor Hackford from a screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart, and starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr. It tells the story of Zack Mayo (Gere), a United States 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 young "townie" named Paula (Winger), he also comes into conflict with the hard-driving Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Gossett) training his class.

The film was commercially released in the US 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 $190 million against a budget of $7.5 million.[1] Gossett won the Golden Globe Award, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first African-American actor to win in that category. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Actress (for Winger), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score, also winning for Best Original Song (for "Up Where We Belong").

  1. ^ a b Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 198, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
  2. ^ "The Unstoppables". Spy. November 1988. p. 92.
  3. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 15, 2002). "Top 50 worldwide grossers". Variety, Paramount at 90 supplement. p. 52.
  4. ^ "An Officer and a Gentleman". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. May 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.