Top Gun Style Movie for Other Services/Militaries?

Delta Force

Banned
The movie Top Gun was both a major blockbuster and a recruitment tool for the United States Navy, especially naval aviation. Could something similar have been done for the United States Army and Air Force, and perhaps foreign militaries (being a major hit in their country)?
 
For a brief moment, a massive air war over Berlin circa 1949 flashed into my head. Maybe if Stalin was dumb enough to shoot down a plane during the airlift. that would be pretty baddass in my opinion.

I really don't know about the Army. Are you talking about a blockbuster based on military aviation or just something special that the branch has? Maybe for the Army you can do something about combat aviation in Vietnam or Korea? Sounds lame, but I don't know.
 

ThePest179

Banned
Make Inchon not be a complete shit stain on film, and you'll probably get some higher enlistment rates in the Army.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
How many do you want to list and from when?

Recent include:

American Sniper (SEALS) Nominated best Picture
Lone Survivor (SEALS)
Zero Dark Thirty (CIA/SEALS) Nominated best Picture
Act of Valor (SEALS) * this is more or less a 2 hour recruiting advertisement*
G.I. Jane (SEAL-lite)
Black Hawk Down (Rangers) Nominated Best Director
The Unit (TV, Tier One SPECOPS)
The Hurt Locker (EOD) Won Best Picture

There are so many more that it is almost pointless. Almost any movie (even dreck like Navy Seals Norris' Delta Force about the U.S. military tends to be big for military recruiters. Just about every movie on the SEALS/Rangers/SPECOPS community is more or less a dare for viewers to see if they can measure up.

All that made Top Gun unusual was that it came around just after during a brief period when Hollywood had go away from the Gung Ho military films to do a lot of introspection post Vietnam.
 
This is OTL, really. Army has been covered very well. For the USAF, well ,as much of a turkey as the Iron Eagle trilogy clearly is in hindsight it was quite popular back in the day and got plenty of kids thinking they could fly F-16s just by listening to bad '80s rock.

The main difference with Top Gun is that it was actually a pretty good movie (gross inaccuracies and physics-defiance aside) and has stood the test of time while Iron Eagle is "so bad it's good" at best.

Ironically it was Top Gun that got me into the Air Force. as a fighter avionics tech.

:cool: <-- Now where's that Highway...to the danger zone!! *cue power chords*
 
chuckle...nice one

the same year as "Top Gun" we had "Heartbreak Ridge" with Clint Eastwood, which made the Marine Corps look pretty good.

The script was written about the Army Rangers, but the unit didn't want to be part of it, so they transferred it to the Marines with very minimal rewriting. Heartbreak Ridge was an Army battle, and rather than change the name, they just added some line about how Clint Eastwood and the sergeant major character had been in the same Army unit and then transferred to the Marines together.
 

jahenders

Banned
Top Gun could have been an Air Force movie, but the Navy caught the producers eye first and were willing to cooperate.

Iron Eagle was a pretty pale comparison, but Independence Day was kind of good for both AF and Navy.

Lots of Army flicks, but many are mixed pro/con or even anti. American Sniper, Green Berets, We Were Soldiers, etc are a few good "pro" ones.

There are some foreign films of the same type, but I don't have the details. You have British in Iraq in "10 Days to War."

The movie Top Gun was both a major blockbuster and a recruitment tool for the United States Navy, especially naval aviation. Could something similar have been done for the United States Army and Air Force, and perhaps foreign militaries (being a major hit in their country)?
 
The UK has been poorly served for war movies in the heroic vein for a long time. Most of what has been made has tended to play British service personnel as either victims, villains or figures of fun, with very little old-fashioned heroism on display. There is no shortage of raw material from the Falklands, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, etc. etc. (even avoiding the political hot potato of Iraq) but there seems to be no appetite to make this sort of thing. I am sure there would be a market for it, but the problem is probably not a big enough market - big budget action movies need to sell internationally, and everyone but British audiences would stay away in droves.
We've been promised a remake of The Dam Busters (with Stephen Fry allegedly writing the script :confused: :eek:) but it hasn't materialised yet (apparently The Hobbit got in the way). But really there are quite a few good options:

Distinguished - follows the actions of 899 Squadron operating from HMS Invincible during the Falklands War. Nathan Fillion plays 'Sharkey' Ward with Martin Clunes as his tough-but-fair CO.

Yomp - Paul Bettany and Orlando Bloom play two RM Commandos who discover the meaning of friendship and sacrifice on the march from San Carlos to Port Stanley. Timothy Dalton plays their tough-but-fair CO.

Desert Rats - Christopher Eccleston and Martin Freeman put aside their differences as they find themselves in the tank action of 25-26 February 1991 against Iraqi armour. Hugh Grant plays their tough-but-fair CO.

Medics - Stephen Mangan and Kate Beckinsale bicker their way through medical school but end up performing prodigies of courage in the badlands of Helmand. Lenny Henry plays their tough-but-fair CO.
 
For an international take there is what is basically an Islamic Republic of Iran version of Top Gun- it's called The Pilot and is a biopic of the legendary Iran-Iraq war pilot and mythologized martyr Abbas Dowran. The Kelly Mcgillis equivalent spends most of her time clad in a chador and praying, but the air to air scenes (Phantoms vs. Iranian Chengdu J-7's playing Iraqi Mig-21s) are pretty good and there seems to be a level of focus on mission planning you don't see elsewhere. The whole thing is on youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4u7Cx8pqAU


....Hiiiiiighway to the we gladly martyr ourselves for the Islamic Revolution zone.....
 
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