--- title: "An Officer and a Gentleman" year: 1982 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/an-officer-and-a-gentleman" fi1m_id: "an-officer-and-a-gentleman" imdb_id: "tt0084434" tmdb_id: 2623 wikidata_id: "Q1132575" fi1m_score: 70 critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-10-04T17:43:15.952653+00:00" updated: "2026-10-04T17:43:16.454316+00:00" region: "SI" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Directed by Taylor Hackford · 2h 04m · Drama, Romance ## Identity An Officer and a Gentleman - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/an-officer-and-a-gentleman - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** an-officer-and-a-gentleman - **IMDb ID:** tt0084434 - **TMDB ID:** 2623 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1132575 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084434/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2623, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1132575 **Fi1m score: 70** · Critics 71 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* A love story in which the most convincing couple is a cadet and his drill sergeant > Taylor Hackford’s drill-school romance is as manipulative as its reputation says and better acted than it needs to be. Louis Gossett Jr. and Debra Winger make it worth the evening; the script around them keeps taking the shortest road to a tear. ## Synopsis Zack Mayo (Richard Gere), raised in the bars of the Philippines by a drunken Navy father, Byron (Robert Loggia), arrives at a naval flight school on Puget Sound in Washington state for thirteen weeks of officer candidate training. He wants to fly jets and he wants nobody to get close to him. In his way stands Sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.), who shaves the candidates’ heads, promises to make them quit and quickly spots Zack’s sideline selling polished boots and belt buckles to the other recruits. At a dance the candidates meet Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount), local women who work in the paper mill across the water and know what an officer’s wife gets. Zack pairs off with Paula; his friend Sid Worley (David Keith) pairs off with Lynette. ## Review Taylor Hackford’s film takes a man with nothing and shouts at him for thirteen weeks until he becomes somebody. Zack Mayo (Richard Gere) has grown up in the bars of the Philippines with a drunken Navy father (Robert Loggia), and he arrives at officer candidate school wanting to fly and wanting nothing from anyone. Douglas Day Stewart’s script knows which buttons it is pressing and presses them in order. It is a manipulative film and a well acted one, and the second quality carries the first most of the way. Louis Gossett Jr. plays Sergeant Emil Foley, a part played a hundred times and seldom better. He is not a sadist. He tells the recruits he will do whatever it takes to make them quit, and Gossett lets us see that he regards this as a kindness: a pilot who quits on the ground costs less than one who quits in the air. He spots Zack’s trade in polished boots and buckles and says nothing until it is useful. The scenes between the two men, Foley an inch from Gere’s face and Gere staring at a point past his ear, are the best in the film. Debra Winger is the other reason to watch. Paula Pokrifki works in the paper mill across the water and goes to the candidates’ dances with her friend Lynette (Lisa Blount) because the town offers a woman two futures and an officer’s wife is the better one. The film could have sneered at that; Winger will not let it. She plays Paula as someone who has thought it all through and still means every word she says to Zack; when she tells him she wants nothing from him we believe her and know she is lying a little. Gere is harder to warm to, and some of that is the point. Zack has been told since childhood that nobody will help him, and Gere plays him sealed and polite, with a small smile that gives nothing away. In the barracks that works; drill is something a man can get through alone. In the motel rooms with Winger it works less well, because she is handing him everything and he is handing back the smile. There is a scene on wet tarmac, late in the training, where Foley gets the smile off him, and it moved us more than we had planned. A minute later we were cross with ourselves, because the trap had been set so plainly and we had walked into it anyway. Donald E. Thorin shoots the Pacific Northwest in flat grey light, so the base looks like a place where it is always about to rain and usually is; the only warm colour is in the bars and the motel. Philip M. Jefferies keeps the barracks bare and the mill loud, and the contrast does most of the film’s thinking about class. Peter Zinner cuts the training as montage, weeks in minutes, and lets the quiet scenes run long enough for Winger to think. Jack Nitzsche’s score is synthesiser wash and does not help; the film builds to a song, *Up Where We Belong*, and the song does the work the score should have done. The script is where the trouble is. Stewart gives every character one trait and one secret, and the second half unlocks them in order. David Keith’s Sid Worley, the decent friend from a Navy family, is well played and badly used; the film needs something from him and takes it. Lynette is judged more harshly than Paula for wanting the same thing, and nobody behind the camera noticed. Lisa Eilbacher’s Casey Seeger, the woman candidate who cannot get over the wall on the obstacle course, is set up with care and kept for one scene. It runs 124 minutes and carries a 15 certificate. Beside *The Last Detail* (1973) or [*Full Metal Jacket*](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket) (1987) it is a soft film, and it is not pretending otherwise. It wants two people on a sofa to feel something by the end, and they will. Watch it for Gossett and Winger, and go in knowing what it intends to do to you. *Fi1m score 70, published 4 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is An Officer and a Gentleman worth watching?** *An Officer and a Gentleman* is worth watching for anyone who wants a romance that knows it is manipulating them and does it well, and we scored it 70. Louis Gossett Jr. and Debra Winger are the reasons to stay; Douglas Day Stewart's script keeps taking the shortest road to a tear, and the second half unlocks its secrets in order. **How long is An Officer and a Gentleman, and what is it rated?** *An Officer and a Gentleman* runs 2h 04m. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch An Officer and a Gentleman in Slovenia?** *An Officer and a Gentleman* is not on any streaming or rental service in Slovenia at the moment. It is available in 32 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is An Officer and a Gentleman, and is it suitable for children?** *An Officer and a Gentleman* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it is a drama rather than a frightening film. The hardest content is a drill sergeant shouting an inch from a recruit's face, adult relationships in motel rooms, and a turn in the second half we will not describe. It is not for children; older teenagers will be fine. **How does An Officer and a Gentleman compare to Full Metal Jacket?** *An Officer and a Gentleman* is the softer film beside [*Full Metal Jacket*](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket): a love story set at a drill school, where the sergeant's cruelty is a kindness and the recruit is meant to come out the other side. Kubrick's boot camp has no exit and no romance, and it is the stronger film. Choose Hackford if you want to be moved on a sofa; choose Kubrick if you want to be unsettled. **What should I watch after An Officer and a Gentleman?** After *An Officer and a Gentleman*, try [*Full Metal Jacket*](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket) (1987, Fi1m 81): The drill instructor film with the kindness removed; Kubrick’s boot camp has no exit. Then [*Beau Travail*](https://film.one/film/beau-travail) (1999, Fi1m 86): Claire Denis turns Foreign Legion drill into dance, and the sergeant’s love into something stranger; and [*Urban Cowboy*](https://film.one/film/urban-cowboy) (1980, Fi1m 61): Winger again, in a working-class romance where the woman is the one who grows up. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): The critic gives the film an enthusiastic verdict, praising its finely drawn characters. Louis Gossett Jr.’s drill instructor is singled out for making a familiar role sympathetic without softening it. [Read](https://variety.com/1981/film/reviews/an-officer-and-a-gentleman-2-1200425273/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3/4): The review finds the film effective but familiar. It singles out Richard Gere’s performance as a strength. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-officer-and-a-gentleman-1982) - **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (65/100, inferred): The issue archive lists Kael’s review of the film, but the review text is unavailable here. Its verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be established from the listing. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1982/08/23) - **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The blocked page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no details about what the review praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/28/movies/officer-and-a-gentleman-navy-love-story.html) - **Radio Times**, Sue Heal (3/5): Heal calls the film a highly manipulative but popular romantic drama, not a great movie. She singles out Richard Gere’s wooden performance, while noting that Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr cannot rescue it. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-06spm3/an-officer-and-a-gentleman/) ## Details - **Director:** Taylor Hackford - **Director:** Taylor Hackford - **Writer:** Douglas Day Stewart - **Cinematography:** Donald E. Thorin - **Editor:** Peter Zinner - **Music:** Jack Nitzsche - **Production design:** Philip M. Jefferies - **Producer:** Martin Elfand - **Cast:** Richard Gere as Zack Mayo; Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki; Louis Gossett Jr. as Sergeant Emil Foley; David Keith as Sid Worley; Robert Loggia as Byron Mayo; Lisa Blount as Lynette Pomeroy; Lisa Eilbacher as Casey Seeger; Harold Sylvester as Perryman - **Runtime:** 2h 04m - **First release (Sweden):** 28 July 1982 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance - **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1982) - **Budget:** $8 million - **Box office:** $130 million ## Where to watch in Slovenia Not streaming, renting or buying in Slovenia at the last check. Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, RO, RS, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - BAFTA Film Awards 1984: Best Original Music (nominated) - Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film 1984: Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film (won) - Academy Awards 1983: Best Actress (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (won) - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film 1982: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film (nominated) - Golden Globes 1982: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (nominated); Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (nominated); Best Motion Picture – Drama (nominated); New Star of the Year – Actress (nominated); Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (won) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture 1982: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (won) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture 1982: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture (won) ## If you liked this - *Full Metal Jacket* (1987), Fi1m 81: The drill instructor film with the kindness removed; Kubrick’s boot camp has no exit. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket.md) - *Beau Travail* (1999), Fi1m 86: Claire Denis turns Foreign Legion drill into dance, and the sergeant’s love into something stranger. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beau-travail.md) - *Urban Cowboy* (1980), Fi1m 61: Winger again, in a working-class romance where the woman is the one who grows up. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/urban-cowboy.md) - *From Here to Eternity* (1953), Fi1m 83: The base romance this film is descended from, with better writing and a harder ending. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/from-here-to-eternity.md) - *Norma Rae* (1979), Fi1m 82: A mill town, a woman who wants more, and nobody in uniform to carry her out. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/norma-rae.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/an-officer-and-a-gentleman