Blu-ray Review: The Hunt for Red October

DVD Reviews

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 29, 2008, 19:21 GMT

It may have been the first film made in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series, but the appearance of Ryan was slightly overshadowed by having the caliber of Sean Connery in the role of submarine captain. It is a fantastic film that is certainly one of the best action films of the 1990s.

Master submariner Capt. Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) has been tasked with the sea trials of the typhoon class submarine Red October. The submarine is equipped with a revolutionary caterpillar drive that when engaged makes it virtually undetectable. Ramius has other plans and sends his intentions to his late wife’s uncle in a letter. This causes the Russian government to scramble their entire fleet to go after Ramius. The U.S. forces are not blind to noticing this activity and national security advisor Jeffrey Pelt (Richard Jordan) calls together an advisory panel. Vice-admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones) calls upon analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) to accompany him to the meeting since he wrote a book on Ramius. The majority of the panel thinks that since the Red October is stealthy enough park off the U.S. coast and fill the skies full of nuclear missiles before we even knew it that Ramius has gone rogue and is about to start World War III. However, Ryan deduces that Ramius, after the death of his beloved wife, is possibly going to defect. Pelt has to keep the safety of the United States paramount, but tells Ryan that he has four days to prove his theory.

Meanwhile, the sub the USS Dallas, skippered by Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn), finds the Red October, which happens to disappear right in front of them when it engages the drive. Sonar operator Jonesy (Courtney B. Vance) deciphers a way to track the sub and the Dallas begins a pursuit. The Red October is being closed in on by the Russian fleet, but now Ryan has to make it to the Dallas and convince the gruff Mancuso that Ramius wants to surrender and not start a war. On the special features of Patriot Games producer Mace Neufeld talks about offering the role of Jack Ryan to Harrison Ford. He read the script and said that the part of the submarine captain was the better role in the film so he turned Neufeld down. I don’t know if it was Red October’s box office success or a more Ryan-centric script, but Ford wouldn’t turn down the next time it was offered him. The role of the Marko Ramius can’t help but overshadow Jack Ryan, but it has to do with the role being played by screen legend Sean Connery (note whose visage graces the cover of the DVD – it ain’t Alec). I can’t say that I blame the filmmakers. However, I’d have to say that Baldwin holds his own against Sir Sean and is quite good as Jack Ryan. Not only that but the film is chock full of character actors and each performs excellently. Some standouts include Sam Neill as Ramius’ second in command, Fred Dalton Thompson as Rear-Admiral Joshua Painter, Daniel Davis as Capt. Charlie Davenport, Tim Curry as Dr. Petrov, and many more familiar faces in both small and large roles. It’s quite a cast. Another character that is not seen but heard is Basil Poledouris’ excellent score (I’m still humming it, my Russian is pretty poor). An excellent film all around and probably the best of the Ryan films. I thought the transfer looked great and is the best that I’ve seen the film in the home video medium. The Hunt for Red October is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). Special features include a commentary from director John McTiernan. The 29 minute “Beneath the Surface” chronicles the making of the film and is in standard definition. The 2 minute theatrical trailer rounds out the special features and is in high definition. At least we’re getting supplements, even if they are older.The HD DVD releases of the Ryan titles had artwork that promised supplements but the discs were barebones. Paramount promised a correction. They did, but unfortunately it wasn’t to add on the supplements but to take mention of them off of the packaging. This time they’ve at least added some material. The Hunt for Red October is the thinking man’s action film and it delivers in spades. Paramount has provided us a lovely transfer and some vintage extras to round out the package. If I was allowed only one film out of the Clancy Ryan films to have this would be the one. The Hunt for Red October [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.