Top Gun

1986

Tony Scott's Navy flight-school drama made Tom Cruise a superstar as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a hotshot F-14 pilot competing for top honors at the Fighter Weapons School while falling for a civilian instructor. Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer as Iceman, Anthony Edwards as Goose, and Tom Skerritt co-star. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, it was the highest-grossing film of 1986, won the Oscar for "Take My Breath Away," and reportedly boosted Navy recruiting for years.