“Hunting for Red October‘ was the first film adaptation of one of nine novels (plus several spin-offs) about CIA agent Jack Ryan. All these volumes sold millions and American author Tom Clancy became a literary titan. The thriller, directed by Die Hard and Predator director John McTiernan, is the only one of the five films to date to star Alec Baldwin (“Aviator”) as Ryan. Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine took on the role in later film adaptations. John Krasinski plays the role in the Amazon Prime series that started in 2018.
the big “Hunting for Red October” is on September 6, 2023 from 8:15 pm on Cable 1. There will be a replay that same evening at 2:10 am. If the dates don’t suit you, you can always stream the movie as part of your Paramount+ subscription. Or order it for your home cinema – ideally as a 4K UltraHD version:
Those who feel like treating themselves to the bloody excitingly written novel after enjoying the Hollywood film do so, among other things. here* find what you are looking for:
The second best submarine thriller
The Hunt for Red October was a huge success at the worldwide box office in 1990. Still, Baldwin was not allowed to return for the sequel “The Patriotic Hour”. One of the reasons for this: superstar Harrison Ford had been actively trying to get the part. Perhaps the more serious reason was that Baldwin – despite a very appealing performance on his part – was more than clearly outshone by another actor in “The Hunt for Red October”. It was about one of the absolute top stars in movie history: Sean Connery. As a Soviet submarine commander, he delivered perhaps his most convincing and charismatic performance outside of the James Bond franchise.
Besides Connery and Baldwin, there were many other famous mimes such as Scott Glenn (“The stuff heroes are made of”), Sam Neill (“Jurassic Park”), “Star Wars” legend James Earl Jones, Tim Curry (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Dune”) in front of McTiernan’s camera. With ‘Hunting for Red October’ he has created what we call it in our 4.5-star review: ‘a perfectly composed mainstream thriller’ – captivating and superbly entertaining until the very end. Surely, Wolfgang Petersen’s “Das Boot” will forever remain undefeated for intensity and authenticity in this subgenre. But that’s what “Hunting for Red October” should be about anyway Act all submarine movie.
This is the story of “The Hunt for Red October”
The Cold War is on its last legs: the Soviet government has lost contact with the flagship of its submarine fleet for no apparent reason. This is especially worrying for Moscow because on “Red October” a top-secret, innovative system was installed that allows virtually silent travel. There are also plenty of nuclear warheads on board. Under no circumstances should either fall into the hands of enemy forces.
Shortly afterwards, an American naval vessel captured the huge, by Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) suddenly commanded a submersible vehicle on its radar. Apparently it’s headed straight for NATO waters. The US Secret Service and the top admirals of the Department of Defense in Washington fear that Ramius plans to fire on his own initiative against military or even civilian installations in North America.
Only CIA Agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) has a different theory. He is sure that Ramius wants to defect and put his boat in American hands. The closer “Red October” approaches the American coast, the more nervous his superiors become and want to sink the ship. Ryan is under intense pressure to discover the Russian’s true motives, while his subordinates on board encounter enormous resistance and he is now hunted by his own navy…