The Hunt For Red October (Special Edition) (DVD)

.../> Most people will associate the character of Jack Ryan with Harrison Ford, as he has played him in two highly successful films. However, the first outing in a movie for Jack Ryan was played by the excellent Alec Baldwin.

Jack Ryan is an American intelligence agent. He lives in London with his wife and child. He is given cause for concern when a Russian nuclear submarine goes missing without warning and decided to travel back to ...
...concludes from a picture of the sub that it has a new silent propulsion device that makes it undetectable, and potentially a lethal weapon.

The Captain of the sub is a soviet veteran commander with the name Marko Ramius, played with great gusto by Sean Connery (with a fine hair piece). Along with other senior members of his crew he defies his orders and sets sail for America, telling the crew that they are to attack.

... more

We Sail Into History…
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Most people will associate the character of Jack Ryan with Harrison Ford, as he has played him in two highly successful films. However, the first outing in a movie for Jack Ryan was played by the excellent Alec Baldwin.

Jack Ryan is an American intelligence agent. He lives in London with his wife and child. He is given cause for concern when a Russian nuclear submarine goes missing without warning and decided to travel back to America where he is briefed by his boss played by James Earl Jones. He tracks down a Navy submarine expert who concludes from a picture of the sub that it has a new silent propulsion device that makes it undetectable, and potentially a lethal weapon.

The Captain of the sub is a soviet veteran commander with the name Marko Ramius, played with great gusto by Sean Connery (with a fine hair piece). Along with other senior members of his crew he defies his orders and sets sail for America, telling the crew that they are to attack.

What are his true motives however? Ryan has a hunch and persuades his superiors to give him a chance but he only has so long to prove he is right. In the mean times the American and Russian Navies find themselves in a massive search
for the renegade sub. During the film the motives become clear but will they evade the mighty American and Russian navies? . To make matters worse there seems to be a saboteur amongst the crew. The Americans would also love a good look at the silent propulsion system (or caterpillar drive) they have developed, but of course how do you find and capture a sub that is totally undetectable? All will be revealed.

Special Features
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There are three special features on the disc, although one is just a theatrical trailer (always relatively pointless in my opinion).

There is a commentary by the director. In parts this can be quite interesting and enlightening, but on the whole is pretty dull.

The final special feature is a 28 minute featurette called "Beneath The Surface". This is a well put together look into the making of the film. It shows behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. It is very enjoyable and informative.

Summary
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The writer of the book this film is based on, Tom Clancy, is a busy man. When he's not writing books, he's writing computer games. I am a big fan of his work. This is one of my all time favourite films, and definitely my favourite of the Jack Ryan films. There is an excellent supporting cast, Sam Neil and Tim Curry (who often plays a bad man, is he this time?). James Earl Jones with his velvet voice always makes a welcome (if short in this case) appearance.

This is director John McTiernan's best work to date, his previous form has been Die Hard and Predator, he's definitely known for action packed movies.

Here there are surprises, tension and lots of action involved in what could be seen as a thinking mans movie. The special effects are very good, you never think you're looking at a model submarine or digital effects. The soundtrack is pretty standard fare but supports the films well without being obtrusive. This ranks very highly in my DVD collection.

Definitely Recommended.

Main Cast List
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Alec Baldwin Jack Ryan
Sean Connery Captain Marko Ramius
Scott Glenn Commander Bart Mancuso
Sam Neill Captain 2nd Rank Vasily Borodin
James Earl Jones Admiral James Greer
Joss Ackland Ambassador Andrei Lysenko

Directed By John McTiernan

Feature Running Time : 134 Minutes
Certificate : PG

Other Recommendations
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If you like this film, others I would recommend are Crimson Tide and Das Boot, but definitely not U-571.

Where To Buy
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At the time of writing the cheapest price I could find is £4.99 from the online retailer BlahDVD.com. That's a bargain.
 

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