Product Description

Complete Season One Set -- contains 7 hours of programming, plus bonus materials including "the making of" documentary, interviews with Tony Scott, Jesse Negron and Leon Malas, additional footage, effects and animation and much more!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33079 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-15
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 435 minutes

Amazon.com
Top Gun gets the reality-TV treatment in American Fighter Pilot, a riveting seven-hour TV series that grants an all-access pass to the Air Force's most elite pilot training program. Produced immediately following the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center on 9/11/01, this is a serious examination of Air Force culture and the profound responsibility of warriors-in-training. The glory and glamour of being an F-15 "Eagle Driver" is presented as a noble privilege, in addition to the sheer adrenaline rush of piloting the Air Force's most versatile jet-fighter killing machine. Coproduced by Top Gun director Tony Scott and his director brother Ridley, and created with intelligent focus by Jesse Negron, AFP follows every stage of a pilot's rigorous 110-day training course at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where "Top Gun" hopefuls endure an intense regimen of academics, flight simulation, two-man flights with intensely critical trainers, solo flight tests, basic fighter maneuvers, weapons deployment, dogfight combat scenarios and, ultimately, the selection of a "Top Gun" pilot in each graduating class.

There's plenty of high drama and male bonding to accompany AFP's wall-to-wall soundtrack. Most of the series' appeal comes from its focus on three well-chosen pilots-in-training: A promising Top-Gun candidate with prior experience as a B1 Bomber pilot; a devout Christian and expectant first-time father; and a hot-shot maverick who learns there's more to being a fighter-ace than living the Tom Cruise lifestyle. Their different personalities give the series a perfect blend of style and substance, and the constant threat of failure gives each of them added depth and conviction that anyone can relate to. These are proud, respectable young men who are living their dream, but AFP never forgets the higher purpose to which they've been called. A basic "making-of" featurette shows how the series' amazing in-flight footage was achieved. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

The editing is what caused this series to get canceled not the content
This is by far the worst editing I have seen. You will enjoy if you suffer from schizophrenia or suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, since no single video clip lasts for more than 1 second. Had this series been produced as a traditional documentary it would have been fascinating, but so much for that idea. I sat through three episodes before I could no longer stand it and turned it off. Thank God it was a rental. DO NOT BUY THIS DVD 1) you will regret it and 2) you will always here me saying "I told you so!"

Could have been great if better edited ...
This is one of the worst edited documentary I have ever seen.
You can not have a single shot spoiled with flashes, slow motion, and unnecessary digital FX.
I have nothing against crazy editing when it is for a 3 min MTV music clip or a TV add. But on a 7 hours documentary you get airsick.
If fine edited, all this interresting story could have been told in less than two hours.
Each episode has a more than 2 min introduction...
During the episodes you see some shots more than ten times.

By the way, I am a very long time aviation enthousiast.

An interesting, if somewhat hokey ride
After the series "American Fighter Pilot" died a quick death on network TV due to abysmal ratings, we finally get to see the three USAF pilots complete their journey through Eagle driver school. This 3 CD set includes all seven original episodes, five of which were not aired. Also included is the "how they made it" view from the producers.

Three USAF officers are profiled and we follow their trials and tribulations under the intense pressure of fighter pilot training. We are treated to some excellent ground-to-air and air-to-air footage of the world's premier fighter aircraft, the F-15 Eagle. We see some behind the scenes action in the classroom, briefing rooms and squadron bar room. Commentary on the student's performance and progress is given by the intense type-A flight instructors who seeks to train but are not shy in pointing even the smallest mistakes. We also go into the students personal lives with profiles on their families and the challenges that they face.

If you are a die-hard aviation fan, this title is worth seeing. Unfortunately, it is long and drawn out with all the time spent on the pilot's personal lives. How many times do we have to see one student sitting in church? Too many to count. Does the prospect of seeing home videos in another student's kitchen sound appealing? More filler. Then there is the production - put simply, it is overproduced and overblown with gee-whiz quick scene edits that attempt to create excitement. At many points, the viewer will feel like they are being talked down to with over simplified text and voice overs. Example "Mission Objective: Kill" is supposed to describe a 1 v 1 air-to-air guns-only engagement where a student performs basic fighter maneuvers against his instructor.

They could have made this whole series in three episodes if the producers just concentrated on the pilot training and flying. If Top Gun had the AFP production treatment, it would have been 12 hours long with no additional flying sequences. Bottom line, buy it for the flying sequences and keep the remote handy with your finger on the fast forward button.