Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986)

"I feel the need...the need for speed!"

Introduction

Watching a film feels far more comfortable with a cold beer and hot pizza in hand. The Prince Charles Cinema, off Leicester Square, is home to evenings that celebrate "old school" classics including Tank Girl and Road House amongst many more. Top Gun was recently screened in this manner, and I can only recommend the evening.

What separates Top Gun from the multiple "cult-classics" of the 1980's, is rather than electro-pop and big-hair  (though this is included), Top Gun includes dog-fight aeronautical action-scenes that adhere to the "MTV aesthetics" that led to the dominant style of filmmaking in mainstream action. Ridley and Tony Scott emerged from the (British) world of advertising - as did Fatal Attraction's Adrian Lyne - and moved into filmmaking through producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer at Paramount Studios. To be trained in filmmaking by creating short, less-than-a-minute adverts that grab your attention and stay in your mind, is a style of shooting and editing that hadn't crossed over into feature-filmmaking - until the mid-eighties. During this period, "the average shot length dropped an astonishing 40 per cent, from 10 seconds to 6"*, so despite the cult-following that Top Gun garnered, it truly is a staple of US cinema by establishing a style of filmmaking that continues to this day as pace and "non-stop action" remains at the heart of blockbuster films. 

Predictable, but Fast

Opening on fact-like text, gives a sense of importance: This is the military - we don't joke. This immediatly changes as synthesizers and iconic 80's pop thump on the soundtrack. The moment is similar to the use of "Push it to the Limit" in Scarface - with both films tackling masculinity and power. Combine the male camraderie with the quick-cutting and flawless MiG manouvres and within seconds Tony Scott has grabbed our shirt and firmly taken our attention. We're in the "Danger Zone" as pilots swoop and twist around in - and beneath - various multi-million dollar aircrafts. There is a sense of awe, coupled with an immedicency as pilots communicate using pilot-jargon - "you got a 'bogey' on your tail!" or "this 'mig' can't handle that type of speed" (or words to that effect). Roger Ebert says "It knows exactly what to do with special effects" - and, as the director of Enemy of the State, Man on Fire and True Romance, we know from Tony Scott, action is his strongest asset.

Characterisation and heartfelt story-telling on the other hand is not his strong-suit and the many clanger-lines, but apparently "romantic" moments are unforgiving - to the point that I would argue that the cult-following largely stems from the laughable moments of romance and friendship that often feel forced and predictable. Haunted by his missing Father, Maverick (Tom Cruise) and his partner Goose (Anthony Edwards) are promoted to an elite flying-school, in the hope of becoming "Top Gun" - amongst many pilots, Iceman (Val Kilmer) aspires for the same badge of honour. Inevitably, Maverick falls for Astro-physician and 'Top Gun' instructor Charlie (Kelly McGillis) and he slowly begins to realise that becoming 'Top Gun' is not as easy as it seems.

Homosexuality Subtext

Any half-interested film viewer will be hard pressed to ignore the homosexual subtext to the film - and that rather than a film about pilots challenging and pushing themselves to the limit, it is apparently a film about a man coming to terms with his sexuality. The tension is clearly between Iceman and Maverick, as Iceman attempts to "win" Maverick to his side of the team and there is a crucial, awkward set-up as Maverick doesn't consumate his relationship with Charlie in the first instance - taking a shower and then leaving. The uniformed appearance of all the pilots even adheres to the gay stereotype, something well-known by pop bands such as The Village people in the late 1970's. The motorbike representing Maverick's masculine identity and even the love-interest has a genderless name in 'Charlie', further confusing these themes. Ultimately, each pilot has a partner - in their wingman - and Maverick's partner, Goose, has a name that has a sexual undertone as it is akin to the slang term to "goose" somebody.~

But the eroticised men playing volleyball takes a different interpretation as Mark Cousins compares the depiction of masculinity, and power, to Leni Riefensthal's Olympia, whereby she was tasked to depict German Olympian's in 1936 - championing the superior beings and transmitting it across Germany (and indeed, the world) as World War II began. Cousins writes how Top Gun "celebrated ... masculinity and patriotism as Leni Riefensthal had done with her characters". Furthermore, he simplifies the story as a "study in power rather than character".

This argument is against the aforementioned subtext, and may be more about attracting a female audience rather than purposefully building-in a controversial theme amongst a clearly butch film. Joanna Berry believes Tom Cruise is portraying a  "macho but deep-down-I'm-sensitive performance [that] appealed to the female audience", and even in the sex it is shot sensitively with romantic, moody music as characters are in silhouette (tongues licking in the dark...). 

Influence

The use of The Righteous Brothers 'You've lost that loving feeling' immediately recalls Ghost and Dirty Dancing's 1960's soundtrack, released in 1990 and 1987 respectively. It seems that is part and parcel of the films at the time and, though the clear influence became Hot Shots!, any film with vehicles and men facing off against each other since Top Gun owe something to Tony Scott's flight-film. How perfect that this weekend see's the release of Fast & Furious 6 - a series that owes much more to Top Gun than it lets on. Indeed, I believe there is a theory about a gay-subtext in 2 Fast 2 Furious ... 

* The Story of Film, Mark Cousins

~Homosexuality subtext: http://www.criticalfumble.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-13477.html

Originally published/written for Man, I Love Films on 16th May 2013

Enemy of the State (Tony Scott, 1998)

"It's more than a theory with me. I'm a former conspirer"

 

Introduction

Due to my recent viewing of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, I considered a follow-up analysis of Enemy of the State. The more I thought about it, the more I was keen to watch it at the very least. The recent coverage regarding Julian Assange equally struck a chord - and I viewed in the evening at 7:30pm, only hours before director Tony Scott took his own life by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles. With this in mind, I would like to think that this discussion about Enemy of the State, one of Tony Scott's finest films, can serve as a tribute to a director who was so much more than, as the media seem to highlight, Ridley's filmmaker brother.

Three Decades after Nixon

Following my appreciation of The Conversation, it is important to bear in mind the context that I will discuss this film within. Indeed, it is widely regarded as a sequel-in-spirit to The Conversation. There is a wide range of correlations ('Brills' costume and hideout, a sequence between Robert and Rachel clearly imitates the conversation which Hackman was obsessed with in The Conversation, photo-image of Hackman, etc) and yet one glaring discrepency - Hackman is Harry Caul in The Conversation, whilst in Enemy of the State, he is revealed as Edward Lyle - with a codename of 'Brill'. I personally believe this is only because it determines the films as separate. They are both very different stories in narrative-form and, though I don't know the cost of studios giving permission to create 'sequels', I'm sure it is a cost which ultimately was not worth the money. We can see it is 'supposed' to be connected, but the clarification of the characters name is just a way the filmmakers can't get caught-out on copywright issues.

The truth is without question - my issues with The Conversation were specific to the time period. How can a film about surveillance, in the 70's, be relevant today. The angle screenwriter David Marconi goes for is showing how, if anything, suveillance is more scary, more intrusive - and always used by the government to their own ends. Ironically, The Conversation was successful because the public were suddenly aware - through the actions of Nixon - how surveillance was being used. Enemy of the State shows Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voight), a senior member of NSA, completely abuse the power he has been granted, by  incorrectly hunting down Lawyer Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith). The Conversation always showed the 'bugger' professional in his small, crampt, office - somebody hidden away and, in Harry Caul's case, skilled in surveillance so much, mistakes would be rare. Enemy of the State has huge control rooms and high-paid executives running things ... and this power is dangerous and mistakes are inevitably made.

Controlled Chaos in the Control Room

I watched The Bourne Legacy, shortly before and it is fascinating to analyse the direction and editing when showing a control room. In Tony Gilroy's recent effort, it was merely cutting between one room and what was happening on the streets with Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner). Tony Scott manages to cut between, not only the sequence on the streets, but in addition to this, multiple control stations. One station is based at NSA, another in the back of a van and - to top it off - to add pace, Scott cuts away to satellites above the earth, birds-eye-view shots, CCTV footage and additional monitors that are recording the events. It is always exceptionally clear what is going on and the characters within the control room hold personality ("Wanna blend?") and our attention. Thematically, these sequences are so important too as it relays the reality of surveillance - and how it covers and tracks our every move. Enemy of the State is a masterpiece when it portrays these sequences - and Tony Gilroy clearly didn't do his homework because The Bourne Legacy seems to fail at simply cutting between the two places, often repeating the same directions (just in a slightly different manner).

Credability

I have kept a passing interest in the recent developments in the Julian Assange news story. It seems that Assange is concerned that, upon his arrest for a "rape and sexual assault" allegation from Sweden, he will then be extradited, from Sweden, to the US to face charges against him regarding his release of information via WikiLeaks.

 

In Enemy of the State, my favourite monologue from Reynolds is his reaction - and decision - to pursue Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith). It reads as follows:

 

"I've seen killers walk free because the eyewitness was an alcoholic. I've seen sex offenders that couldn't be touched because the victim was a call girl. Credibility. It's the only currency that means anything on this kind of playing field."

 

Harry Caul, in The Conversation, continually questioned the morality of his actions. He was paranoid about the reaction of his clients. Will his surveillance be the leverage someone needs to justify murder? Enemy of the State openly questions morality - but rather than asking whether people should be moral, Enemy of the State assumes it is a given that people are immoral - or at least, everyone has demons in their closet. Thomas Reynold's uses Robert Clayton Dean's moments of weakness to wreck his credability. An affair, which Dean and his wife managed to overcome after "four years" of counselling is brought up again.

 

"I want to know about his parents. I want to know about his gambling problems, his urine samples, his porno rentals. I want to use every means possible to get what we need."

 

Everyone has their vices and, with surveillance tracking everyone and everything, it is easy enough to use that vice as leverage over another. With regard to Julian Assange, I question if the allegations held against him are to destroy his credability prior to holding him accountable for his actions under WikiLeaks. Considering we are talking about the nature - and power - of classified information, I don't think it is too far-a-stretch.

 

Relevance

 

This truly is Tony Scott's strongest film. On the one hand, it is easy to dub Top Gun as the most critically acclaimed and, with regard to the time-period, you may be right. There is a clear connection between the fast-editing, pace and attitude of Top Gun in comparison to the MTV music videos and sports-adverts that influenced cinema largely in the 1980's. In this respect, Top Gun was ground-breaking. But I believe Enemy of the State, in the canon of Tony Scott's films, stands taller. It remains relevant today and, as technology becomes more advanced, you can only worry yourself thinking about how far technology has come since the films release in 1998. (14 years ago now!)

 

So many elements make this film a perfect storm of flawless filmmaking. The supporting actors in Enemy of the State are possibly the strongest force to be reckoned with - and in a few cases, the most credible roles they have played. Jack Black, Barry Pepper, Jamie Kennedy, Seth Green, Lisa Bonet, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, Philip Baker Hall, Tom Sizemore... the list goes on. Will Smith manages to show that he can hold a serious-drama whilst Gene Hackman and Jon Voight reach their usual heights. The orchestral - but electonic - Trevor Rabin and Harry Gergson-Williams score capturing a sense of classical, 'old' elements in a modern age. The electornic clicks, buzzes and effects almost interrupt the sweeping strings - in the same manner that this technology interrupts Dean's life. Chris Lebenzon's editing between such a broad range of sources whilst the moody Baltimore is captured so well by cinematographer Daniel Mindel. All of this under the watchful eye of a master: Tony Scott. The fact that it has a subtle connection to The Conversation, is the icing on the cake.

 

A-Z #75: Enemy of the State

You can pick up hundreds of DVDs for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. It's never about quantity, it's about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and understanding why I own the films ... or you can tell me why I should sell 'em

#75 - Enemy of the State 

Why did I buy it?

Early in the days, before I even owned a DVD-player, we had a DVD player on the PC. My first DVD I owned - the first ever? Goldeneye. The one-disc, trailer-and-commentary-only package. But my sister had a friend who had two DVD's. More importantly, she let us borrow them and, alongside The Craft was Enemy of the State. Suffice to say, I liked Enemy of the State enough to buy it myself in due course.

Why do I still own it?

The film has Will Smith in a thriller role. Almost akin to North by Northwest, as Smith plays the man-who-has-done-nothing-wrong-but-gets-caught-up-in-some-big-scandal situation. Combine that with 1998 technology and Gene Hackman reprising his role from The Conversation and, voila, Enemy of the State. There are some oof-beat actors littered throughout - Jason Lee, Jamie Kennedy, Seth Green, Jack Black - all playing very serious roles. No jokes. No Mallrats-comedy or Nacho-Libre-puns and Austin-Powers-jokes. [semi-] Serious acting. This alongside Jon Voight, Gabriel Byrne, Barry Pepper and Tom Sizemore. Did I mention Gene Hackman and Will Smith?

I love the pace of Tony Scott and the use of the satellite cameras as we scan rooftops and busy roads, really giving a sense of constant-surveillance. It drags a little bit towards the end but, all in all, its a great film. Though, having watched it multiple times, I still don't get the bit at the end when Will Smith is looking at Gene Hackmans old-man legs and grinning ...  almost aroused by those legs on a beach ... and waving like a loon at the camera a-top his TV ... still a very strange ending ...

Favourite Film Faces #9: Jason Lee in 'Enemy of the State'

Having just listened to the Reel Insight podcast with Rachel and Jess and they briefly mentioned Jason Lee - having played a small part in a Sigourney Weaver/Gene Hackman film HeartBreakers - and I thought ... oh yeah. Jason Lee ...

Now I'm not a big Kevin Smith fan and I haven't seen a single episode of My Name is Earl so unlike some people, I am in no-way a big fan of Jason Lee, but I always remember him in Enemy of the State. And that ties in with the [ridiculous] possibility of Tony Scott directing the new Superman movie.

Jason Lee's brief role in Enemy of the State is unforgettable (and he reminds me of Ryan Reynolds...). As is the fire truck. And then there is the incredible cast! Jack Black, Seth Green, Barry Pepper, Jamie Kennedy - "I though it was a training op'-, Tom Sizemore and obviously the leads: Will Smith and Gene Hackman. And theres more... Jon Voight! who else ... What a great film! I may watch it soon following this post...

And before anyone says it - I haven't seen The Conversation yet...