Customer Reviews

The Hunt for Red October (Widescreen)

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

this is a very well done and engaging political thriller.it's base on an event which may or may not have occurred in 1984.it's about a rogue Russian Submarine that has disappeared and may be headed toward American territory.the question is,why?both the Russians and the U.S are hunting the sub and have their own reasons for doing so.but time is of the essence.the movie is basically a psychological suspense thriller.this isn't what i would call a nail biting movie,though it does has its moments.it's more of a character study,of one man in particular,the commander of the Russian sub.the last 30 minutes or so are quite tense and down to the wire.the whole movie is highly dramatic but not at all boring,thanks to good writing and directing.Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart co wrote the screenplay from a novel by Tom Clancy.John McTiernan of Die Hard fame directed.this is an intelligent,thought provoking thriller and i would highly recommend it.you might also want to check out U571 and Crimson Tide

The date 1984 still in the time of the Soviet Union. The latest class of submarine was just completed. Rumor has it that it has a type of propulsion that would make it invisible to the U.S. detectors. A perfect first strike vehicle. It is about to take its maiden voyage with Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) from Georgia at the helm. Along with him is his second in command and confidant Captain 2nd Rank Vasily Borodin (Sam Neill). Keeping a close eye on them is Political Officer Ivan Yurevich Putin (Peter Firth) and probably others.

The submarine, named Red October seems to have disappeared. Both the Soviet government and the U.S. government are sweating. Does this mean that somehow Captain Marko Ramius has broken his bonds and initiating first strike to become a hero?

CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) reads the same sings and comes up with a different conclusion. For his insight he will have to travel by helicopter to the U.S. sub in pursuit.

Based on a Tom Clancy Novel the film has all the pacing and intrigue of the novel. More than just another run of the mill sub movie this is a battle of wills and understanding. Very few Cowboys under water scenes.

Even thought Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin are the main focus of the film the scene where Captain Ramius and Captain Borodin are discussing their future is quite moving and unforgettable especially when the future is played out.

Based on Tom Clancy's 1984 novel of the same title, "The Hunt for Red October" is the first Jack Ryan adventure on film. Although I like Harrison Ford better in the role of Jack Ryan than either Alec Baldwin or Ben Affleck, "Red October" is the best of the Ryan films partly because of the script, but largely because of the ensemble cast including Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Tim Curry, James Earl Jones and, of course, Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius, the Lithuanian-born commanding officer on the Soviet nuclear submarine Red October who seeks to defect to the United States. Tension builds as Ramius and the Red October move closer to U.S. waters with the Soviet Navy in pursuit and U.S. forces unsure of Ramius' true intentions. "The Hunt for Red October" is a taut thriller, an excellent movie based on a modern masterpiece of a novel, and I fully recommend it.

Tom Clancy is a master writer. His books are amazing thrillers and the moives haven't been that bad either. This is the best of all the Tom Clancy books that have been made into moives and is one of the best book adaptations ever.

Captian Ramius(Connery) is the best the Soviet fleet has to offer. He's trained most of it and he's now in charge of a new Soviet sub. This sub has a new drive system that runs silent meaning it can't be detected by other subs sonars. After Ramius writes a letter to the Soviet Naval command the search is on. They alert the Americans saying Ramius and his crew has gone mad.

The Hunt for The Red October is on. The U.S. can't play around on this idea because the October could park in any U.S. bay and launch hundreds of Nuclear missiles. Jack Ryan(Baldwin) is a CIA Operative that gets selected to help with this mission. He's met Ramius before and doesn't believe that the man wants to harm the U.S. He believes that Ramius wants to defect along with his officers to the U.S., but he's not sure how Ramius is planning to do it. He now has only a couple of hours to prove the intentions of Ramius and save the ship before the U.S. or Soviet fleets find it and sink her.

All the actors are fantastic in the movie. Alec Baldwin is Jack Ryan is flawless. He played the role to perfection and it's the best movie he's ever made. Sean Connery is the man. Instead of killing Soviets he plays one to perfection in this moive. I love his accent and I though he did a great job of faking it. I loved Sam Neil in the moive. His character Vasily has always been one of my favorites because of his loyalty to Ramius. One of Neils best performances. Tim Curry is good as the weasal Soviet doctor. He plays a weasal better than anybody else. James Earl Jones is himself in this movie and like Connery is just the man. I also like Courtney Vance as 2nd Petty Officer Jones. He gives one of the most memorable performances of the movie. This is an all star cast and everybody is fantastic.

John Mctiernan is one of the best directors in Hollywood. He was one of the biggest when this moive was done with hit titles under his belt like Die Hard and Predator. He can make a good action thriller and this is one of the best ones ever made.

The cinematography is great in the film. You feel like your on real naval ships. The uniforms are authenic on both fleets. The sound is fantastic. This is such a well made movie and the is the movie that all submarine movies should stive to look like.

This is such a good movie. It's made to perfection with a great cast, well made, awesome score, and is just flawless. If you want to sit down and watch a good action thriller than this is it. You will struggle to find a better made movie than this.

Though I have to admit that I prefered Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, I'll have to give THFRO the nod for the best in the series. The show's brilliant. Brilliant script that is well executed by wonderful acting. Sean Connery's the man. Can't imagine anyone else playing Ramius. Baldwin did a wonderful job playing Ryan. His best role till date. Would have been greeat to have seen him develop the character in the sequels. And furthermore, James Earl Jones aka the voice of Darth Vader makes his presence in all 3 movies felt though his air time's brief. His presence was greatly missed in The Sum of All Fears.

If the studios are planning another Jack Ryan movie..... please get rid of Affleckand bring back Baldwin.

An excellent movie. A veritable who's who of a cast and excellent production value. No expense spared. Connery, Baldwin, Neill and several others are excellent. Edge of your seat thriller based on the equally excellent novel by Clancy. Hardly any action but riveting. Smart, thought provoking thiller. Allegedly true but more of a what if. Top notch.

I do not know what it is about sub movies. Howard Hughes evidently spent the last years of his life watching "Ice Station Zebra" over and over; I certainly have watched Das Boot a hundred times and the Hunt for Red October as many. There is something about bonding, about risk, about the knowledge that you are in a cigar tube way under water and that if anything goes wrong you are dead.

Having seen almost every sub movie made, HFRO is, I think, the second best after Das Boot and that is a very high rating indeed. Its dialog has become part of my life: when snowboarding down a hill I am thinking "too fast, Vasili"- when I want to explain away anything I say "he schlipped on his tea" and ultimately the classic "I would like to have seen Montana".

Forget clancy and forget Harrison ford (but watch K19- it is better than you think)- this is a classic sub movie and one of the best of the genre.

Sean Connery brings to life the personality of a Russian Sub Capitan. The premise of the movie is based around the Russians launching a Nuclear Submarine and the U.S. thinking that the Russians are trying to make a preemptive strike when in actuality the Russian Capitan (connery) is actually going to defect. Unknown to the US the russians have something which they call a "catipillar drive" which makes the engine sound like tiny seismic eruptions. The russians head out to hunt down the sub, while the Americans are just trying to catch it. Finally the U.S. sub the USS Dallas makes contact and finds out the purpose and helps The Red October defect. Great Film

Hunt for Red October is an amazing movie, full of lots of plot twists and turns. I would recommend this movie for an fan of action/war movies. The best parts of the movie take place on the two main submarines: the USS Dallas and the Red October. These scenes detail the cat and mouse hunt between the Dallas and the Red October. This "hunt" is gripping and very suspenseful. The end of the movie is also great and very satisfying, though I won't give it away.

If you are considering watching this movie, I have one caveat for you: read the book by Tom Clancy first. The book has better dialogue than the movie, along with much more action and battles(as if the movie didn't have enough!). If you are interested by naval battles or aerial dogfights, read the book! Both the book and the movie were so exciting that they could be used for Navy/Coast Guard recruitment videos!

The only bad part about the movie is that it doesn't quite live up to the book. However, the book is as close to perfect as one can get, so the movie had no chance of equaling it.

One of my favorite movies of all time, and with for reason. Aside from the role of Sean Connery, who is possibly my favorite actor, the movie is a well scripted and acted adaptation of yet another Tom Clancy thriller. Those who are put off my military thrillers, or action movies, probably will not like this movie. Yet if either of those two genres peek your interests, then I highly suggest that you pick up this movie ASAP.