Movie vs. Soundtrack Punch-out!: "Top Gun"
Top Gun had tremendous success at the box office in 1986, becoming the highest grossing film of the year with a total of over $176 million in the US alone. Sales of bomber jackets and Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses vaulted through the roof because the film, along with a major boost in US Navy recruitment. The film was nominated for several awards mainly for sound, editing, and music. It did receive the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture. The big award winner was the soundtrack, taking home an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Grammy for the "Top Gun Anthem." The soundtrack was a mainstay on the charts, topping for 5 weeks and producing two high-charting singles. Berlin's Take My Breath Away" reached the #1 position in 6 different countries including the US and UK. Other songs released in the US as singles were Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" which reached the #2 position, Loverboy's "Heaven In Your Eyes" which reached the #12 position, and Kenny Loggins' other track "Playing With the Boys" which only made it to #60. The album is also the 8th best-selling soundtrack of all time with over 9 million units sold in the US.
Top Gun's legacy has been a lasting one over the past 26 years, although it was never critically acclaimed. It maintains a 50% critic rating on RottenTomatoes.Com with an 82% audience rating. Using the success of the film, the popular 1991 parody film Hot Shots spoofed many facets of the original and actually out-grossed it at the box office. A special edition of the soundtrack was released in 1999 featuring five more tracks, such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by the Righteous Brothers, that were not on the original soundtrack but feature in the film. A deluxe edition was also released in 2006 featuring five more 80s hits from artists like Mr. Mister, Starship, and Europe. The movie has also been harolded in recent years on "best of" lists including #19 on Yahoo! Movies Greatest Action Films of All Time and AFI ranked the line "I feel the need...the need for speed!" as #94 on their 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes list.

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Movie vs. Soundtrack Punch-out! Archive
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