F. Sweet 2008-05-09

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Director John McTiernan gives us yet another techno thriller: THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. Sean Connery (whose Russian is too Scottish) plays Captain Marko Ramius, a much decorated Russian commander who navigates his submarine towards America in an attempt to defect. Soviet intelligence tells the Americans that Ramius went mad and plans to launch nuclear missiles at the United States. Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin in his major film acting debut), a brainy CIA analyst, believes otherwise: American spies have determined that the submarine is powered by a secret, silent engine called a "caterpillar drive."

To save the Soviet submarine for prying western eyes, meanwhile avoiding a nuclear war, Ryan must board the Red October to assist Captain Ramius in navigating past the Soviet (and American) fleet to U.S. waters. The gripping tension is reminiscent of the German film DAS BOOT. Director McTiernan produces an amazing film with a twisitng plot, a well acted script with a fabulous cast and lots of high tech explosions.

Nearly as exciting as "Red October" are the special production commentaries in the DVD. Everyone from the director to script writer, actors, cinematographers, and model makers discuss what it took to make this very special film so special -- that in 1990 ushered out the Cold War and Soviet Union.

Big John 2008-02-14

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I never tire of watching this DVD. I hate that expression favourite movie of all time. But if it is a film you watch again and again and enjoy everytime, does that not make it a special favourite? The actors are brilliant, the story is brilliant and the whole thing is very true to the original book, which in itself is a marvellous read. (I would recommend reading it) So I would say to you, buy this DVD, you will really get your money's worth from it!

Jackie Jack-Jack 2007-11-15

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

this is easily the best Tom Clancy adapt by far, Patriot Games is good. But no way near to this. Don't be fooled by the seventeen year age, the effects... there were EFFECTS?! This is definatley one for the boys. A true modern classic!

stuart 2007-08-16

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This is easily one of my top ten favorite movies of all time, just because it's so flawless. I mean, yes, there are plenty of entries on the 'goofs' page for it, but I mean as far as character, plot, and overall structure of the story. Maybe Tom Clancy is solely responsible for that and maybe he isn't (I've still never read the book), but I must've watched this movie over a dozen times since I bought it a few years back, and it keeps getting better every time I see it.

It's the subtle touches, really. The way Greer gently moves his hands over to Ryan's when Ryan is laying into a U.S. General with a little too much gusto. Or the way Ryan has an entire conversation about a stuffed bear-- it's not relevant to the plot, but it fleshes out the characters and the real lives they all have beyond just the events shown in the movie. Or the Russian/English transition that was particularly ingenious, so much so that it was badly copied years later in "The Mummy Returns." Isn't imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all? ...

For a time I really admired director John McTiernan, because this film, along with "Die Hard" and "Predator" did such an excellent job of creating a real literary world, with tension and compelling action/character, and if there were any holes, he did such a great job of covering them that you never noticed. After I watched any of these three films, I felt like I had just read a really great adventure novel. Of course, I don't think McTiernan has made a great movie since these three, so I have no idea WHAT happened. From Medicine Man to Rollerball, he clearly has lost his edge somewhere along the way.

But this film is just so utterly enjoyable, and was cast perfectly. I watched whichever was the next Jack Ryan movie (with Harrison Ford) when it came out, but wasn't overly impressed... this is the one that will always do it for me, with such a great mixture of bewilderment and determination on Alec Baldwin's face at any given time. This may have been the peak for Clancy, McTiernan and the submarine genre all at once, and hey, I can't complain. One flawless movie is better than ten mediocre ones.

Tim Bentley 2006-11-06

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Widely recognised as having the worst Russian accent ever, Sean Connery stars in this cold war movie as Captain Marko Ramius, commander of a Soviet missile submarine the "Red October". The central premise of the movie is as it says on the label, the hunt for the ballistic missile submarine, a submarine whose commander has gone renegade and threatens to launch his nuclear missiles at America. The US Navy are searching for them as is the Russian Red Banner Fleet, all with orders to sink the submarine.

One man believes that Ramius and his hand picked officers are trying to defect to escape to the west. That man is Jack Ryan, an analyst for the CIA. It is up to Jack to contact Ramius and warn him, but can he make himself understood in time? Will the Red October see the West intact?

One of the all time great Cold War movies with some of the worst accents imaginable - yes worse than Tom Cruise in Far and Away. The story is based on Tom Clancy's masterpiece of the same name. A believable tale executed well and replete with excitement and pragmatic poignancy regarding the cold war.

A definite must for the collection.