Here are a few amusing continuity errors that can be spotted in An Officer and a Gentleman.
Shortly before the officer cadets take their oath and complete their training, one of the cadets shouts: ‘All officers present.’ At that moment, their swords are resting on their shoulders, but in the next shot they are suddenly back in their scabbards.
During the graduation ceremony, the cadets are dressed in white Service Dress White, whilst the inspecting officers wear blue Service Dress Blue. In reality, everyone at such ceremonies must wear the same uniform, as the Navy’s dress code is strictly standardised and dictated by senior command.
In the tense fight scene between Zach Mayo and Sergeant Foley, red marks can be seen on Mayo’s back—likely left over from previous takes—but as the scuffle continues, they mysteriously disappear.
And in the factory canteen, when Paula tries to ring Zach, one of her colleagues says it is now 3.40 on a Friday. But just a few moments later, when Paula runs out to look for him, the wall clock suddenly shows 12.50.
The producer wanted to cut the film’s biggest hit
According to reports, producer Don Simpson insisted on removing the now-iconic ballad ‘Up Where We Belong’ from the film, stating: ‘The song is rubbish. It won’t be a hit.’
He was dead wrong.
The song topped the Billboard charts and even won an Oscar for Best Original Song, becoming one of the film’s most memorable moments.
Instead, Simpson wanted a completely different mood and promoted the song ‘On the Wings of Love’, performed by Jeffrey Osborne. This track was eventually released, but only managed to reach number twenty-nine in the charts.
It was almost a fatal mistake that could have completely changed the film’s history.
The legendary finale that might never have been
That very unforgettable finale of An Officer and a Gentleman, where Richard Gere’s character lifts Debra Winger into his arms in the factory workshop, nearly disappeared from the film altogether. Although this moment later became one of the most legendary romantic scenes in cinema history, Gere himself was strongly opposed to it at the time. He considered the scene too implausible and inconsistent with the harsh, realistic tone he was striving for.
“I argued against it from the very start. I said, ‘It’s rubbish’… I was trying to make a truly realistic, gritty film… And this just didn’t fit in at all; it was far too cinematic a moment,” he recalled.
He even thought it was pointless to shoot the scene:
“ We’ll just waste half a day filming this thing… It’ll never make it into the film.”
Screenwriter Douglas Day-Stuart also recalled how uncertain everyone was about the ending:
“During post-production, everyone argued that my ending didn’t work, and when it was edited together in its entirety, everyone laughed.”
But everything changed when the scene was set to the song ‘Up Where We Belong’ and shown to a live audience.
‘The theatre literally erupted. That’s when we realised it worked,’ said Stewart.
Later, Geir admitted something few would have expected from him:
“I was absolutely wrong.”
“An Officer and a Gentleman” is truly an outstanding film, and, to be honest, it’s a good thing they kept that ending after all. It’s one of the best endings in cinema. It still makes a powerful impression, and although most of the cast have now grown old or passed away, I sincerely believe that this film will continue to attract new fans for a long time to come.