Cactus Classic Cinema:  “Top Gun” (1986) PG starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Doors: 7:00 pm • Showtime: 7:20 pm

Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled “Top Guns”, written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), are given the chance to train at the United States Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, and the very recently deceased Tom Skerritt also appear in supporting roles.

Top Gun was released in the United States on May 16, 1986. It overcame initial critical resistance to become a huge commercial hit, grossing over $360 million worldwide against a production budget of $15 million. Top Gun was the highest-grossing film of 1986.

The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013, while the retrospective critical reception became more positive, with the film also emerging as a cult classic. Additionally, the soundtrack to the film has since become one of the most popular film soundtracks to date, reaching 9× Platinum certification. The film won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for “Take My Breath Away” performed by Berlin.

In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.  A sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, in which Cruise and Kilmer reprised their roles, was released 36 years later on May 27, 2022, to widespread critical acclaim and commercial success.

Running Time: 109 minutes (1 hour and 49 minutes).

Tickets: $7 all ages

Seating on floor level