An Officer and a Gentleman

directed by Taylor Hackford
USA 1982

I never bothered to watch An Officer and a Gentleman until the new Special Collector’s Edition DVD landed in my lap. I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The movie has become rather iconic in that footage of Gere carrying Debra Winger out of a factory is played repeatedly in montages of “memorable moments” for events such as the Oscars. However, the movie is much more than a sappy, feel-good romance. Louis Gossett, Jr. (who won an Oscar for his performance in this movie) pushes Gere to the limits, challenging Gere to show genuine pain and fear. (Alas, Gere is usually one-dimensional in other roles.) The story also doesn’t shy away from exploring the rough aspects of life, from growing up in seedy areas of the Philippines to drowning in working-class poverty in Washington state just a few miles away from gleaming Seattle. Gere’s growth trajectory is honest and real, as is Debra Winger’s belief in and love for him.

David McCoy

Poster

Theatrical Release: 28 July 1982

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DVD Review: Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to David McCoy for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Paramount Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	124
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.75 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono French
Subtitles	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • audio commentary by Taylor Hackford • An Officer and a Gentleman: 25 Years Later • Return to Port Townsend • True Stories of Military Romance • The Music of An Officer and a Gentleman • Gere and Gossett: Hand to Hand Combat • Photo Gallery DVD Release Date: 1 May 2007 keepcase Chapters 15

Comments:

Video:
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image is generally free of print defects. Colors are mostly dull, but one can attribute the dullness to the overcast Washington climate as well as the characters’ working-class backgrounds.

At 59 minutes and 20 seconds, there is checkered frame that indicates that Quality Control fell asleep during the production of this DVD. A similar problem happened with the Titanic R1 3-disc set. This sort of thing is unacceptable from a major studio so far into DVD’s life cycle.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English re-mix of the original mono track is a welcome addition since it doesn’t sound muffled and constrained like the mono mix. The rear channels don’t have much activity, but the movie doesn’t really need a hyper-active sound field.

The disc includes the original DD 2.0 mono English track as well as a DD 2.0 mono French dub.

Optional English subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
The disc keeps the audio commentary by Taylor Hackford that was on the first DVD. Since this is a retrospective yak track, Hackford reveals a lot of “negative” details instead of simply lauding everybody. These warts-and-all commentaries are much more informative than commentaries with a lot of gas.

An Officer and a Gentleman: 25 Years Later is a retrospective featurette that includes interviews with several key personnel, though Debra Winger (who has a reputation for being difficult) is nowhere in sight.

“Return to Port Townsend” follows Lou Gossett, Jr. back to the site of production.

“True Stories of Military Romance” features interviews with real-life spouses of members of the military.

“The Music of An Officer and a Gentleman” details some of the efforts involved in creating the Oscar-nominated score and the Oscar-winning song “Up Where We Belong”.

“Gere and Gossett: Hand to Hand Combat” explains the training and choreography used for a fight between the two actors.

Finally, you get a photo gallery, mostly of behind-the-scenes moments.

--Miscellaneous--
This new DVD drops the theatrical trailer, so completists will have to hang on to their copy of the first release.

- David McCoy

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Distribution

Paramount

Region 1 - NTSC

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