Top Gun Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Top Gun Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released Tony Scott's seminal 1986 picture 'Top Gun' to Blu-ray, newly remastered in 4K. The disc also includes a Dolby Atmos soundtrack and new extras in addition to legacy Blu-ray content. Video and audio were prepared for the companion UHD release.

Top Gun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p presentation, which is an SDR 1080p downscale of the companion UHD 4K/Dolby Vision release, fares quite well on its own. It's obviously lacking the intricacies, grain management, color boosts, and overall clarity the higher resolution and high dynamic range colors provide to that superior presentation, but the image is quite handsome overall. Grain holds steady within the film's inherent patterns, spiking at times but often enjoying a stable, accurate presentation that is flattering and faithful. Textures are excellent, particularly in close-up, where sweat, pores, and hair showcase very fine clarity, though clearly lagging behind the more revealing native 4K presentation. It's still a treat that Blu-ray only buyers will find more than satisfying. A few shots here and there do look low-res, compressed, and subpar, almost as if zoomed in or in some way digitally processed. Look at a few close-ups at the 16:28-ish mark when Jester is briefing the pilots on Naval kill ratios during Korea and Vietnam. The Blu-ray yields a healthy color palette within the many warm shots and finds plenty of punch and vitality to the colorful pilot helmets seen throughout. A couple of late film explosions offer excellent punch. Skin tones appear accurate, black levels are nice and deep, and whites are pleasantly crisp but the latter in particular lacks the dramatic accuracy and punch found on the UHD. This is a fairly sizable step up from the original issue Blu-ray for both textural filmic accuracy and color rendition. It's a solid step below the UHD, though.

Top Gun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

If sound was ever vital to any film it's Top Gun; the picture's soundtrack is legendary and the dogfight sequences demand high power audio. Both are served extraordinarily well by the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the absolute best the film has ever sounded. Simply put, the soundtrack is awesome. As the film starts, score swells with previously unmatched clarity and immersion, and the gear shift into Danger Zone suddenly transforms the cinematic experience but not the technical achievement. The song's fine instrumental and vocal details have never sounded so rich, and even as the music is spacious it never loses a feel of focus and positional excellence. Inside the carrier command center in the opening minutes, listeners will enjoy a location that is awash with authentic military sounds, such as radio chatter and assorted radar and computer bleeps and bloops that draws the listener into the tight space. There are plenty of other moments of light background elements, even in quiet dialogue scenes (the 39-minute mark, for example) where very fine jet fighter screeches are heard in the distant background. Music throughout the film soars, whether "Lead Me On" blended into the background during the club scene in chapter four when Maverick first meets Charlie or when it's more center-stage when "Playing with the Boys" powers through during the volleyball scene. For anyone who grew up listening to the soundtrack on CD or cassette, this is a game changer.

Fighter jets rumble in the sky as they move into position on the carrier's deck but the sensation only improves as they power through the air at high speed while making various maneuvers. Here the top end engages with frequency, with both plainly discrete effects and easily identifiable adds to the entire sensation. The feel of spacial realization is intoxicating, and while the track is greatly expanded it feels completely natural. Gunfire rips through the stage in the action scene to end the film while missiles zoom and planes explode with impressive movement and depth, respectively. Dialogue is clear and lifelike throughout.

There are a couple of very minor drawbacks. There appears to be a lip sync issue, fairly severe, at the 1:27:20 mark as the pilots are being briefed on the disabled ship in the Indian Ocean. It's the scene intro shot that lasts several seconds. There are also a few occasions of uneven pitch (1:21:40, for example). Overall, however, this track is a beast. Fans are going to love it.

Top Gun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Top Gun's new Blu-ray includes fresh extras in addition to the previously released content. New extras are marked as such below and reviewed. For coverage of carryover content, please click here. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a slipcover.

• NEW! The Legacy of Top Gun (1080p, 5:39): Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick Director Joseph Kosinski, and that film's cast discuss the original's impact and legacy, its style, favorite scenes and cultural quotables, and more. The piece ends with scenes from Top Gun: Maverick
• NEW! On Your Six - Thirty Years of Top Gun (1080p): A five-part feature.
  
  
  • Looking Back (7:23): The piece begins with Tom Cruise discussing his lifelong love of acting and aviation. It also includes Jerry Bruckheimer and Cruise discussing the production's history, Tony Scott's work and style, and Cruise's involvement in the production and desire to learn the filmmaking art.
  • America's Best (5:27): The US Military's involvement in the production and casting Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, and additional players.
  • Into the Danger Zone (7:30): Exploring the film's unforgettable soundtrack and score, Cruise's motorcycle work in the film, actor training, affixing cameras to the fighter jets, and filming key aerial scenes.
  • Going Ballistic (3:52): Cruise and Bruckheimer remember some anecdotes from the making of the movie while onboard an aircraft carrier.
  • Narrow Targets and the Future (5:39): The film's success upon release, its influence on music and the style of the time, Cruise's reluctance to make a Top Gun sequel, and recapturing the spirit of the original.
• Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun
• Multi-Angle Storyboards
• Best of the Best: Inside the Real Top Gun
• Music Videos: Includes Danger Zone, Take My Breath Away, Heaven In Your Eyes, and Top Gun Anthem
• Original Theatrical Promotional Material: Includes Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, Survival Training Featurette, Tom Cruise Interviews, and TV Spots.
• Audio Commentary: With Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Director Tony Scott, Co-Screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr., and Naval Experts.

Top Gun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Top Gun's Blu-ray clearly lags behind the UHD but at the same time it's a good bit better than the very old 2008 release. The Atmos track is killer and the extras are excellent. Highly recommended to anyone who can't enjoy the UHD; this one's very good in its own right.