Fails the Bechdel test
Top Gun
1986. Directed by Tony Scott, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. and Ehud Yonay.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
US Navy Lieutenant Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick--an impetuous, daredevil pilot ace--is accepted into Top Gun, Miramar's elite Fighter School. But there, the impulsive young pilot will have to compete with the best of the best, including Iceman, a brilliant and highly competitive fellow student. Now, Mitchell must give his all; however, his father's mysterious and untimely demise still haunts him. Can Maverick prove his worth to Charlie, the flying school's no-nonsense astrophysics instructor? Will he be able to suppress his wild nature to win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy?
- Released
- 16 May 1986
- Genres
- Action, Drama
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 11 wins & 10 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Maverick 319 lines, man
- Charlie 151 lines, woman
- Goose 113 lines, man
- Viper 84 lines, man
- Fungus 57 lines, man
- Ice 40 lines, man
- Hollywood 30 lines, man
- Cougar 26 lines, man
- Stinger 22 lines, man
- Wolfman 22 lines, man
Full cast, 24 people
- Tom Cruise as Maverick
- Kelly McGillis as Charlie
- Val Kilmer as Ice
- Anthony Edwards as Goose
- Tom Skerritt as Viper
- Michael Ironside as Jester
- John Stockwell as Cougar
- Barry Tubb as Wolfman
- Rick Rossovich as Slider
- Tim Robbins as Merlin
- Clarence Gilyard Jr. as Sundown
- Whip Hubley as Hollywood
- James Tolkan as Stinger
- Meg Ryan as Carole
- Adrian Pasdar as Chipper
- Randall Brady as Lt. Davis
- Duke Stroud as Air Boss Johnson
- Brian Sheehan as Sprawl
- Ron Clark as Inquiry Commander
- Frank Pesce as Bartender
- Pete Pettigrew as Perry Siedenthal
- Troy Hunter as Radio Operator
- Linda Rae Jurgens as Mrs. Metcalf
- T.J. Cassidy as Admiral T.J. Cassidy
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 98
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 6 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 15 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 39 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 35 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 39 |
| 28 to 30 | 26 | 80 |
| 31 to 33 | 7 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 21 | 57 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 10 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 13 |
| 43 to 45 | 26 | 54 |
| 46 to 48 | 17 | 22 |
| 49 to 51 | 5 | 14 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 55 |
| 55 to 57 | 7 | 29 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 36 |
| 61 to 63 | 37 | 32 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 16 |
| 70 to 72 | 9 | 42 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 10 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 12 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 35 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 58 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 11 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 1 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 17 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 3 |
| 97 to 98 | 5 | 11 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 17 are women's.
160 lines from women, 785 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
3 women and 20 men in the cast. 1 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 215 of 991.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 214 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 16% of the words (1,391), men 84% (7,298). Women have 17% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
62
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 13% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tony Scott (man)
- Written by
- Jim Cash (man), Jack Epps Jr. (man)
- Produced by
- Don Simpson (man), Jerry Bruckheimer (man)
- Shot by
- Jeffrey L. Kimball (man), Rick Fichter (man)
- Edited by
- Billy Weber (man), Chris Lebenzon (man)
- Music by
- Harold Faltermeyer (man)
- Production design by
- John DeCuir Jr. (man)
- Cast by
- Margery Simkin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 43 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
5 women, 23 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 21 men, 8 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 11 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 29 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Kelly McGillis 28
Men
Tom Cruise 23, Anthony Edwards 23, Barry Tubb 23, John Stockwell 25, Val Kilmer 26, Tim Robbins 27, Rick Rossovich 28, Michael Ironside 36, Tom Skerritt 52
Exhibit G: the money
It made 23.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $357 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 98 scenes and 991 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
