Barring more double-dips, re-masters, boxed sets, and 3D Conversions, the main reason I signed up for 'Top Gun 3D' is because I adore Tony Scott and this represents one of the last times to review, if not something new, something of his we've never seen (sort of). I have no idea whether he was involved with this process, other than he intended to make a sequel, but after watching this movie, it breaks my cinema-heart to know there will never been another new Tony Scott film. And despite my questions about the overall experience here, now more than ever I wonder what Tony Scott in native stereo would have been like? Insane, over the top, seizure-inducing, brilliant? Who knows, but man I loved his work. awesome. As the film starts, score swells with previously unmatched clarity and immersion, and the gear shift into Danger Zone

The dog fighting sequences, and most of the individual shots, are done really well. Jet noses poke out from time to time, the smaller jets, sometimes leave the screen, but for the most part, we experience depth rather than pop-out. Another strength to this conversion is, much like the smoke, the characters themselves rarely feel like cardboard cutouts. I would say "never" because none of our main characters ever appear that way, but whenever an intentionally-out-of-focus extra crosses in the foreground -- think the bar scenes -- they look flat and tend to disrupt the shot / stereo effect. The 1080p presentation, which is an SDR 1080p downscale of the companion UHD 4K/Dolby Vision release, fares quite well on its own. It's obviously

Top Gun 4K Extras

Then something fun happened. The opening titles, including the long paragraph about the history of the Top Gun program, popped right off the screen. I smiled. Those looked good. I liked the effect. And then my mouth dropped. Remember those terrible dark and grainy shots of fighter jets slowly preparing for take off? All the steam and sweat and exhaust? They still look like I remember, the grit and grain are still there, but wow, the flat, chunky images have been replaced with believable depth. Nothing suffered from that cardboard layer effect. behind the more revealing native 4K presentation. It's still a treat that Blu-ray only buyers will find more than satisfying. A few shots here

shots and finds plenty of punch and vitality to the colorful pilot helmets seen throughout. A couple of late film explosions offer excellent punch. Skin Top Gun's new Blu-ray includes fresh extras in addition to the previously released content. New extras are marked as such below and Feel free to argue whether or not he deserves this title, or the relatively quality of his various pictures over the decades, but his film and television business is a billion dollar enterprise. Box office revenues don't equate quality, but the man has earned my respect for sure. As a Blu-ray, it's a much harder call. Most will be happy with the disc they have, given half of this release IS that very same disc. Aside from the new UltraViolet copy, the only reason to consider this Blu is the 3D ( no shit, Palmer), which is very well done, despite a few flaws. But I'm not sure the overall experience is enhanced, except that the movie now looks sometimes better in 3D than the aging 2D transfer (though the aging transfer does best the new version in places). Finally, the audio is terrific and loud and everything this movie needs it to be, and the Special Features remain surprisingly in-depth. the disabled ship in the Indian Ocean. It's the scene intro shot that lasts several seconds. There are also a few occasions of uneven pitch (1:21:40, for

Side guide

Top Gunis almost 35 years old, but 4K has given it a whole new lease of life, with the relatively low budget production thankfully shot with some not insignificant style by Scott, and also thankfully shot on film, which leaves plenty of sequences from the film looking basically almost as good as they would today. It gets off to a slightly grainy start, with the opening shot, and that gives you a taste of what some of the individual frames may look like, particularly given the lighting and limitations of the source footage, but the aerial footage - by and large - is absolutely astounding; a real revelation in 4K, and far far better than ever before. Finally, there are more than a few moments where planes or people, who appear deeper, connect with the frame's edge and spoil the illusion, but there are only a couple outwardly BAD shots (for my eyes). These both included mirror reflections, and the added depth of the distance behind the mirror feels wonky. Ghosting, for those with prone displays, is minor (on some titles and some of the smaller jet shot). The soundstage displays excellent channel separation with even, persuasive movement between the channels and very well-prioritized vocals in the center. When the F-14s scream across the screen, they fly by with ease while dynamic range remains stable without much distortion. Low-frequency effects are accurate and authoritative with powerful, thunderous roars. Rear activity comes alive during the dogfights, extending the soundfield with lots of action and commotion. The real winner, of course, is the score and song selection, filling the entire front soundscape and subtly bleeding into the surrounds for an effective and engaging presentation. is quite handsome overall. Grain holds steady within the film's inherent patterns, spiking at times but often enjoying a stable, accurate presentation that suddenly transforms the cinematic experience but not the technical achievement. The song's fine instrumental and vocal details have never sounded so

For more about Top Gun and the Top Gun Blu-ray release, see Top Gun Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on May 9, 2020 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.5 out of 5.

the stage in the action scene to end the film while missiles zoom and planes explode with impressive movement and depth, respectively. Dialogue is

speed while making various maneuvers. Here the top end engages with frequency, with both plainly discrete effects and easily identifiable adds to theIt's important to note this may not have been a worldwide view of America; it certainly isn't now. But put on some acid wash jeans or neon t-shirts, grab your Walkman, and go with it. America's Best (5:27): The US Military's involvement in the production and casting Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Endlessly quotable and utterly iconic, Tony Scott's Tom Cruise-starring quintessential 80s aviation action thriller still stands up almost 35 years later. rich, and even as the music is spacious it never loses a feel of focus and positional excellence. Inside the carrier command center in the opening Forging the Darkstar (HD, 8 min) takes a closer look at the scramjet prototype seen at the beginning of the film and how it plays a role in the story.