À la poursuite d'Octobre Rouge

Just before Gorbachev's rise to power in the USSR, a notable naval commander (Connery) takes a technologically advanced submarine on its maiden voyage to conduct missile drills off of America's east coast. Something happens to draw the ire of the Soviet brass while a CIA analyst (Baldwin) believes the captain might be defecting. James Earl Jones, Sam Neill and Courtney B Vance are on hand.

Based on the 1984 Tom Clancy novel, "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) is a well-done Cold War thriller and the first of currently five movies involving the character of Jack Ryan. The next two are "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) featuring Harrison Ford in the role. Then Ben Affleck would take over for one installment, "The Sum of All Fears" (2002), before Chris Pine's "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014).

To appreciate this movie, you have to be in the mood for military-oriented drama/suspense rooted in global politics and an all-male cast (except for a cameo by Gates McFadden). Like "Ice Station Zebra" (1968), the scenes mostly consist of men dialoguing & strategizing in the cramped quarters of submarines or vessels; as well as political rooms/offices. A saboteur is no doubt lurking nearby.

The movie runs 2 hours, 15 minutes, and was shot in America, e.g. Port Valdez, Alaska (opening sequence); Lake James, North Carolina (closing scene); the state of Washington (Port Angeles & Keyport); naval bases in Los Angeles and Connecticut; USS Blueback; San Diego; as well as Liverpool, England (standing-in for Moscow).

GRADE: B.

Fortuneately, this movie is not entirely true to Tom Clancy's vision and book. Tom Clancy is an American superpatriot and nationalist. He loves to gush about the superiority of the American military establishment and its high technology. This movie puts a more sympathetic face on the Russians and the commoner's point of view. Sean Connery plays a very likable Russian Submarine Commander. Of course, Sean Connery is always going to steal the show in any movie. He's kind of like the John Wayne of the last twenty five years. But the supporting actors are also engaging as well. Scott Glenn, Fred Thompson, and James Earl Jones all do very well at commanding our attention. These actors always give strong, interesting, and dynamic performances. With all the high technology and military hardware in this movie it is interesting to note how a simple seaman(an enlisted man at that!) solves the great technical puzzle in this movie. All the officers, admirals, computers, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and what have you are clearly stumped. But, Jonesy, with simple reasoning and a keen intuition, solves the riddle that is the Red October. Yes, he uses a computer to help him, but most importantly, he uses his mind! The strength of this movie is that with all the gadgetry and high technology, the human element is not lost but is always on top. Plus, it does not degrade into pro-American propaganda. Because of this, I think that people who know nothing about the military or who don't even like war movies will find this movie enjoyable.

This film is written as great as a great book. Many of the dialogues have deeper meanings. There's a lot of political stuff in this film, which is very well presented. The music score is fantastic. The editing is top notch. The cast is perfect - Sean Connery, Sam Neill, Alec Baldwin, Tim Curry and many more fantastic actors. The thriller aspect of this film is superb, it's a very gripping and supense movie.

I loved this experience of a film.

Because of the intrigue this film offers, the circumstances involved tie up neatly in a very convincing way. Needing all of the variables to fall into place if his defection hopes to be successful, Soviet (although Lithuanian by birth) submarine Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) is a very worthy submarine captain. Never cracking under pressure and carrying out his duty professionally, Ramius is the perfect ally to the west in keeping the balance between the super powers in their military endeavours.

Alec Baldwin is good as Jack Ryan. I wish he had stayed on as this character in 'Patriot Games' and 'Clear and Present Danger', because although I like Harrison Ford better as a movie star/actor, Baldwin just seemed better for this role. Too bad he left.

Director John McTiernan uses a smooth pace and lets the screenplay speak louder than his role as the man in charge of it all and the film's photography is tense along with the editing and sound. An Oscar winner for sound effects editing, 'The Hunt for Red October' will put a submarine in your living room if you have the DVD 5.1. surround sound. It's positively realistic!

I know I talk about them like they're dead, but seriously - each actor gave a tour de force performance in this film and then lost his respective ability to pick scripts. Alec was by far the best Jack Ryan with his affable persona - Harrison was dull dull dull, and Ben Affleck was just a little too frat-boy. The screenwriter took an excellent 500-page book and almost miraculously condensed it into a coherent two-hour story that was just as taut. This one makes my own personal top-fifty list.