Hunt For Red October DVD Review:


Synopsis

In 1984, a new, technologically superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Connery). The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Baldwin) has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it, because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find him, too.

Critique

John McTiernan, hot off the success of Die Hard (and Predator), delivers the goods with The Hunt for Red October. The submarine movie before this one, namely Das Boot (directed by Wolfgang Peterson), set the stage for drama, action, and adventure in the genre. Red October is not only a great adventure, but also a very smart, tense thriller. It’s easy to categorize this film, but it is able to stand on its own without association by genre. The first thing working in the favor of Red October is the story. It is not only interesting, but also very mysterious. The question always remains, "what are Ramius’ intentions?" The film plays back and forth for two hours until the viewer figures the answer. This strategy might not work for many films, but Red October is the exception, because the anticipation of what will happen next is very great.

The talented cast helps make the film more fun to watch. From Sean Connery and Sam Neill on the Russian side to Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, and James Earl Jones on the American side, Red October’s focus between the two sides maintains an equal balance. What could have been an inequality between going back and forth between the two sides turns out to work just perfectly. The intrigue Sean Connery elicits in his performance as Ramius holds a steady balance in comparison to Alec Baldwin’s subtle, yet commanding performance as Jack Ryan.

Aside from very fine performances all around, the main attractions of the film are the sets and the cinematography. McTiernan and D.O.P. Jan De Bont move the camera in many great ways, either slick tracking shots or exquisite close-ups. The sense of claustrophobia is also present in many of scenes taking place inside the submarines. The visual and special effects of the time also give Red October a fantastic, realistic look. Underwater sequences are terrific simply because they look so real. Screenwriters Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart adapted Tom Clancy’s famous novel and turned it into an exciting two-hour thriller, plus an additional fifteen.

It is McTiernan’s direction that is worthy of praise. The submarine genre is usually not very commercial nowadays, except for U-571 several years ago – have you heard from K-19: The Widowmaker or Below since the time of their release -- but Red October pulled in circa $120 million in 1990. I think the success of the film is quite evident, yet the PG rating probably made it accessible to a broader audience. While I’d like to question the sincerity and integrity of the rating in this case, it seems hardly an issue. Foul language doesn’t exist, but violence does. Either way, The Hunt for Red October is as exciting and tense as thrillers can get.

9 out of 10

The Video

Paramount presents The Hunt for Red October in an all-new anamorphic widescreen transfer. The picture quality here is quite fabulous. Dark tones and underwater scenes show no distractions or spots of dirt. Some evidence of dirt is present, but hardly noticeable. The color palette is beautiful and used very well. Each of the three main colors, including blue and red, identify a specific location for the sake of geography. This film deserves a great transfer and that’s what Paramount did. I can’t compare the previous, older release with this one side by side, however I believe this all-new anamorphic widescreen transfer is probably just the right look McTiernan and crew aimed for.

8 out of 10

The Audio

Presented and available in three different tracks, The Hunt for Red October sounds very good. First up, the English Dolby Digital 5.1 makes great use of all speakers. The film is designed well for sound effects and the rear speakers come to life in a great effort. The most blossoming part of this audio presentation, not to mention the effect in the film, is Basil Poledouris’ extraordinary film score. The DTS Surround Sound, also very effective, and the French Dolby Digital Stereo, of which you can expect the average, make up the remainder of the audio options.

9 out of 10

The Extras

Commentary by Director John McTiernan – He is not as conversational as David Fincher, for example, but McTiernan's comments and recollections are interesting when he does speak. It turns out there are times of silence, but McTiernan is obviously very passionate about the film and he gives off that sense in more than a few ways.

Beneath the Surface – This all-new documentary is great to watch right after the film, because it combines behind-the-scenes footage and interesting cast and crew interviews. Even though the comments tend to me more congratulatory than necessary, the focus of Beneath the Surface is to tell the story of how Red October came to be. Some of the stories Producer Mace Neufeld talks about are pretty cool, especially the missing first page of the script faxed to Connery. Thirteen years after the film we get to see McTiernan, Neufeld, Ferguson, Baldwin, Glenn, and Jones talk about their experience. Connery must have been unavailable at the time this documentary was produced, because the only two times he appears is in old, stock-like footage.

You also get the Theatrical Trailer. I’ve seen DVD releases that omitted even this extra, but thank you very much for this one because it’s good. In addition, English and Spanish subtitles are available. The menus are somewhat animated, but not much. The 135-minute feature is organized into thirteen chapters. This DVD is the definite version of The Hunt for Red October and I think the subtitle Special Collector’s Edition signifies just that.

6 out of 10

Overall

The Hunt for Red October is an exciting, tense, and interesting thriller. The performances and production make the film stand out among other submarine films. This definite version includes a really good video and audio transfer in addition to two very respectable special features. This DVD comes highly recommended even if you own the poor first release.

Overall DVD Rating: 8 out of 10 (not an average)

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