One of the greatest “sub” movies of all-time is celebrating a birthday. The Hunt for Red October marks three decades with the release of a limited collector’s edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray.
Author Tom Clancy’s bestselling novel landed in 1984 under skies that were painted with Soviet red and American red, white and blue. At this point, a newly elected President Ronald Reagan was amping up the pressure on the Russians. History has shown that would result in the fall of the Communist Block.
On March 2, 1990, moviegoers headed into the darkened theaters of the world in a manner that was a bit different than when Clancy’s book was released. The Cold War was waning, yet a film such as The Hunt for Red October still exasperated that unspoken tension that every American felt from our first socio-consciousness awareness after World War II concluded. It was nice to dive deep onto an American sub that was embarking on an exponentially more complicated cat and mouse mission led by Scott Glenn’s Bart Mancuso, Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones), and Alec Baldwin’s one-off take of the literary and cinematic icon that is Jack Ryan.
Director John McTiernan (Die Hard, Predator) took the tension that was popping off Clancy’s pages and captured it onscreen impeccably. The helmer was at the top of his game with the 1990 smash hit and it didn’t hurt a thing that he had an electric ensemble to bring that Cold War tension to life. Filming a submarine movie is no easy task. Continuity is the least of one’s worries. By the time he had concluded his work on the film, he had crafted a tension-filled classic.
The crux of the story follows CIA analyst Ryan, as he discerns something different than the military brass does from the approaching Red October. He believes that the Soviet sub, that is heading towards American waters, finds a skipper in Sean Connery’s Marko Ramius who is in fact on a freedom mission and not one with nefarious nuclear intentions. Ryan is absolutely certain that Ramius is defecting. It’s a risky move to believe the youthful intelligence officer. If he is wrong, the U.S. would suffer greatly for not being prepared for a Soviet nuclear submarine attack. Making matters worse is the fact that the Kremlin is denying knowing anything about the sub as they actively try their best to rein in the rogue commander. The Soviets also know that this is no ordinary political defection. If Ramius is successful, it’s not simply that he is a free man. He brings an entire vessel’s crew and most importantly—the titular weapon. Red October is the most highly sophisticated nuclear submarine in history. It would be a devastating blow to the Communist regime in Moscow dealing with a geopolitical landscape that was already slipping away into the sands of history.
Connery plays the revered leader with such panache that it has left an indelible mark on cinema history. That is one legendary turn and an incredible showcase of talent by the Oscar winner (for The Untouchables) that merely looking at his image on the cover of this stylishly brilliant steelbook 4K Blu-Ray anniversary edition of The Hunt for Red October brings about an emotive response. It is among the Scottish actor’s greatest works—and yes, that is saying something.
Baldwin dives into the Ryan character with such unbridled enthusiasm, it’s gripping. He gives a youthful, yearning to always grow and learn vibe to Ryan that he made it uniquely his. The award-winning actor, despite only portraying the character one time, gave such a supremely impressive and rich arc to Ryan in this first film foray for the CIA operative that it forced producers to turn to a living legend in Harrison Ford for subsequent Ryan motion picture adventures.
Meanwhile, Fred Thompson lends his usual baritone gravitas to his role, with Glenn’s caught in the middle of orders from brass and belief in this CIA whiz kid who swears the runaway Russian sub is on a mission of peace. There’s always something so raw about the work of Glenn, and it’s even more grounded in toughness here. Sam Neill commands (as always) and so too does Tim Curry, Stellar Skarsgard and Courtney B. Vance.
Of all the technical aspects of this film, the sound effects stand out. Witnessing them in 4K only further enhances my belief that The Hunt for Red October was a movie way ahead of its time. The sonic succulence is absolutely stunning. For home theater aficionados, this 4K anniversary edition has to be a must-own. Then again, what is so special about Clancy’s story is that even on a 13-inch black and white television, this immediacy of the tale would catapult one into a world of high-stakes tension and international intrigue of the highest order.
The first item visited on the bonus features (there are no new featurettes for this anniversary release, there are all previously released) was the commentary track by director McTiernan. His insight, particularly looking back ourselves after three decades, is priceless. It will also further endear yourself to this film as the viewer comes to understand how incredibly challenging it was for this movie to be made and for it to succeed and live up to the mighty high bar set by Clancy.
Beneath the Surface is a terrific making-of featurette that is located on the Blu-Ray portion of this must-own package. The behind-the-scenes bonus feature is the only one included in this release, but it is firmly all that is needed. Between McTiernan’s commentary and Beneath the Surface, one has all the insight required to truly feel you know how The Hunt for Red October set sail thirty years ago.
While Jack Ryan dazzles audiences on Amazon Prime as a television series, it is also a perfect time to bring home the visual version of Clancy’s thrilling tales … you know, the one that started it all.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A-