Where Was An Officer And A Gentleman Filmed? An Extraordinary Romantic Drama!

Richard Gere and Debra Winger starrer 1982 romantic film, An Officer And A Gentleman is a pure classic. If you’re one of those folks who loves watching good romantic movies packed with intense drama, then this is the film you have to watch. Those who already watched the movie know it was filmed at uncommon locations. So, in this article, we’ll talk about the movie and tell you Where Was An Officer And A Gentleman Filmed?

An Officer And A Gentleman was nominated for the Academy Awards and won in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Louis Gossett Jr. was the first African-American male to win an Oscar. The film was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics as well.

Now, getting back to the filming location of the movie, it was shot in the United States of America, specifically in Fort Worden, Port Townsend in the state of Washington. The entire movie was filmed here. Let’s more in detail!

Plot Of An Officer And A Gentleman (1982) | One Of Hackford’s Finest Movies!

The story of An Officer And A Gentleman revolves around the character of Zack Mayo played by Richard Gere, a new member of the US Navy with a not-so-friendly attitude. After signing up for the Aviation Academy, he comes across Emil Foley, an extremely strict and uncompromising Sergeant. Foley gives Zack the taste of his own medicine and makes him realize that he needs to work on his attitude if he wants to stay here.

Later, he meets Paula, played by Debra Winger, a stranger who usually hangs outside the naval base. Soon, both of them develop a romantic relationship and Mayo discovers what he exactly wants from his life.

Where Was An Officer And A Gentleman Filmed? 

Without any further ado, let’s jump into the details of the filming locations of the 1982 classic romantic drama film, An Officer And A Gentleman.

Fort Worden, Port Townsend | Washington, United States of America 

Let’s start with one of the most popular scenes in the movie, the famous fight sequence between Richard Gere and Lou Gosset Jr, was filmed at Fort Worden State Park’s balloon hangar. It has been converted into a 1,200-seat performing arts pavilion. The Blimp hangar pretty much looks the same, but with added seats.

The aircrafts seen in the movie that are on pedestals are props brought in for shooting and were removed later on. The dorm room used by Mayo was in building 204. In the scene where Lou Gossett salutes them on the porch of the dormitory, they have now been turned into meeting rooms. 

Remember the barbershop scene in the movie? Generally, people think that it was filmed in building 202, if you notice a bit carefully, you can see that the candidates are lined up on a ramp leading up to the barbershop. Now, on the contrary, building 202 does not have a ramp but building 203 just next to it, has a ramp. So, the scene was in reality shot in building 203.

Many people think that the opening scene of the film where we see Navy Ships was filmed in Seattle. But officials at Fort Worden claimed that it can’t be possible because there is no Navy base in Seattle. 

They pointed out that the scene was shot in Bremerton, which actually has a Navy Base. It is the third busiest Naval base after Norfolk and San Diego. It is the homeport of supercarriers USS Stennis and USS Nimitz, both are nuclear-powered battleships.

Also, the scene where you witness Richard Gere riding his motorbike in front of two super-carriers was filmed in Bremerton as well. Which is just outside the Puget Sound Naval shipyard. The two super-carriers are the USS Missouri BB 63 which is presently docked at Pearl Harbour and the USS New Jersey BB 62.

The obstacle course scene in the movie was filmed at a beach near Kinzie Battery. However, it does not exist anymore. The airplanes that we see in the beginning portion of the movie were specially brought in for the film. However, the corner where the park office was situated appears the same, where Gere was riding his motorbike.

The scene in which the trainees suffer due to lack of oxygen and also tries to play cards as part of their rough training was filmed in the basement of a dormitory in building 225. The dance sequences were filmed in the USO building.

Well, the romantic and steamy love scenes in the movie were filmed at a small street side guest house called the Tides Inn in Port Townsend. It still exists and is operational. Also interestingly they have a special room named after the movie, where the scenes were shot which is available for rent as well. So, if you ever plan to visit the guest house, then you have to book the room way before as it is quite well known and people use it very often.

The bar scene in the movie was filmed in The Town Tavern, which was a popular joint on Water Street in downtown Port Townsend. Unfortunately, it has been shut down and remodelled as a new bar but later was transformed into an expensive coastal furnishing shop. 

For certain interior scenes the production unit wanted to shoot in the Papermill, but due to some reason, it was unavailable. So, they had to shoot what was then the Champion International Corporation situated at 801 Portland Avenue, Tacoma, Washington.

Final Word

So, if you’re a sucker for a good romantic movie, then An Officer And A Gentleman is the ideal film for you. And about the filming locations, if you stay in Washington state or nearby, try and visit the spots outside the Naval Base and hangars, because these areas are mostly restricted, we are not sure if it is open to the public. 

However, if you’ve watched the film, then great, if not you can stream it on Hulu and a number of free independent websites. And also, if you’re interested in finding out about more such amazing filming locations then do check out where was City Slickers and Gone Girl filmed.