There
is no denying that THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER ($20) is a great movie
adaptation of the Tom Clancy thriller. Of course, that assessment has
absolutely no bearing on how closely the movie resembles Clancy’s novel,
which I have not had the opportunity to read. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
is just top-notch cinematic entertainment, with a screen story that just
works in spades. This is a taut, intelligent political thriller directed
by John McTiernan, who underscores the film’s basic story structure that
unfolds like a game of chess. Additionally, McTiernan keeps the suspense
building throughout, and it eventually reaches a squirming in your seat,
nail-biting level. On top of McTiernan's fine work, THE HUNT FOR RED
OCTOBER benefits from a superb cast, all of who are all at the top of
their game, especially star Sean Connery, who dominates the film with the
sheer force of his presence.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is set before the fall of the Soviet Union, at a
time when the cold war was still at its frostiest. The film’s title
references a prototype Soviet nuclear submarine named the Red October,
which has the kind of stealth technology that would allow it to approach
the United States undetected- giving it nuclear first strike capability.
Although The Red October is under the command of Marko Ramius (Sean
Connery), the fleet’s most respected Captain, the Soviets soon lose
contact with their new weapon. Running his undetectable submarine under
radio silence, Ramius plots a course for U.S. territory. As soon as
American intelligence learns of the Ramius situation, there is a general
consensus that the renegade Soviet commander is planning a sneak attack.
However, there is one voice of descent- CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec
Baldwin) has been studying the Soviet commander and is of the belief that
Ramius is planning to defect to America and turn the Red October over to
the United States. With less than three days to prove his theory about
Ramius, Ryan races to track down The Red October before the American and
Russian navies can blow it out of the water. The cast of THE HUNT FOR
RED OCTOBER also features Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones,
Joss Ackland, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance,
Stellan Skarsgård, Jeffrey Jones and Daniel Davis.
Second
time must be a charm because the folks at Paramount Home Entertainment got
it right with their Special Edition release of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
Unlike the first Letterboxed DVD, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER now
features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays, as well as
presenting the film in its proper 2.35:1 wide screen aspect ratio. This is
a really good-looking transfer, although there are some very minor
quibbles that are related to this being a 1990 release. The film element
does display some blemishes and there are a few shots here and there that
look a bit softer than the main body of the film. However, for the most
part, the image is sharp and very nicely defined, despite the limitations
of filming in the dark, confined submarine sets. Colors can be strongly
rendered or somewhat subdued depending upon the films lighting. None of
the more intense hues show any signs of noise or smearing. Blacks appear
pure, whites are crisp and the image has fairly smooth contrast. As I
mentioned above, shadow detail is good, which brings out the intricacies
of the dark, claustrophobic sets. There is something of a noticeable grain
structure in the image at times, but it makes for a rather film-like
quality. The dual layer DVD doesn’t betray any signs of digital
compression artifacts.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER features 5.1 channel soundtracks in the varieties
of Dolby Digital and DTS. Without question, this is a full-bodied
soundtrack, although the mix isn’t as surround intensive as one finds in
newer films. The rears do provide a great deal of enveloping ambient sound
and musical fill, but the area of active sound effects seems to fall below
the expectations of the average surround junkie. However, there is a good
deal of directionality in the forward soundstage, as well as distinct
stereo separation for Basil Poledouris’ rousing Russian flavored score.
Dialogue reproduction is clean and precise, plus the actors’ voices
usually come across with a nice sense of presence. The bass channel is
deep and certain to shake the deck plates a bit at key moments. The
differences between Dolby Digital and DTS aren’t jaw dropping, but DTS
does come out ahead in the areas of musical warmth and detail. A French
Dolby Surround soundtrack is also encoded into the DVD, as are English and
Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few supplements. Director John McTiernan
is on hand for a really good running audio commentary track. McTiernan
discusses the production of the film in great detail, giving a lot of
insight in to the moviemaking process, as well as sharing some of the more
interesting anecdotes from the set. Also included on the DVD is Beneath
the Surface, a newly produced twenty-nine minute program that
looks back on the production of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER via
interviews with key players from behind-the-scenes and in front of the
camera. A theatrical trailer closes out the supplements.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is a great movie thriller that is both
wonderfully paced and well acted. Paramount has done a fine job with the
DVD, offering a really good-looking 16:9 enhanced wide screen
presentation, as well as solid Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. The
Special Edition of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is a must have upgrade
for fans with wide screen displays, as well as those interested in the
informative supplemental content.
There
is no denying that THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER ($20) is a great movie
adaptation of the Tom Clancy thriller. Of course, that assessment has
absolutely no bearing on how closely the movie resembles Clancy’s novel,
which I have not had the opportunity to read. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
is just top-notch cinematic entertainment, with a screen story that just
works in spades. This is a taut, intelligent political thriller directed
by John McTiernan, who underscores the film’s basic story structure that
unfolds like a game of chess. Additionally, McTiernan keeps the suspense
building throughout, and it eventually reaches a squirming in your seat,
nail-biting level. On top of McTiernan's fine work, THE HUNT FOR RED
OCTOBER benefits from a superb cast, all of who are all at the top of
their game, especially star Sean Connery, who dominates the film with the
sheer force of his presence.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is set before the fall of the Soviet Union, at a
time when the cold war was still at its frostiest. The film’s title
references a prototype Soviet nuclear submarine named the Red October,
which has the kind of stealth technology that would allow it to approach
the United States undetected- giving it nuclear first strike capability.
Although The Red October is under the command of Marko Ramius (Sean
Connery), the fleet’s most respected Captain, the Soviets soon lose
contact with their new weapon. Running his undetectable submarine under
radio silence, Ramius plots a course for U.S. territory. As soon as
American intelligence learns of the Ramius situation, there is a general
consensus that the renegade Soviet commander is planning a sneak attack.
However, there is one voice of descent- CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec
Baldwin) has been studying the Soviet commander and is of the belief that
Ramius is planning to defect to America and turn the Red October over to
the United States. With less than three days to prove his theory about
Ramius, Ryan races to track down The Red October before the American and
Russian navies can blow it out of the water. The cast of THE HUNT FOR
RED OCTOBER also features Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones,
Joss Ackland, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance,
Stellan Skarsgård, Jeffrey Jones and Daniel Davis.
Second
time must be a charm because the folks at Paramount Home Entertainment got
it right with their Special Edition release of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
Unlike the first Letterboxed DVD, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER now
features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays, as well as
presenting the film in its proper 2.35:1 wide screen aspect ratio. This is
a really good-looking transfer, although there are some very minor
quibbles that are related to this being a 1990 release. The film element
does display some blemishes and there are a few shots here and there that
look a bit softer than the main body of the film. However, for the most
part, the image is sharp and very nicely defined, despite the limitations
of filming in the dark, confined submarine sets. Colors can be strongly
rendered or somewhat subdued depending upon the films lighting. None of
the more intense hues show any signs of noise or smearing. Blacks appear
pure, whites are crisp and the image has fairly smooth contrast. As I
mentioned above, shadow detail is good, which brings out the intricacies
of the dark, claustrophobic sets. There is something of a noticeable grain
structure in the image at times, but it makes for a rather film-like
quality. The dual layer DVD doesn’t betray any signs of digital
compression artifacts.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER features 5.1 channel soundtracks in the varieties
of Dolby Digital and DTS. Without question, this is a full-bodied
soundtrack, although the mix isn’t as surround intensive as one finds in
newer films. The rears do provide a great deal of enveloping ambient sound
and musical fill, but the area of active sound effects seems to fall below
the expectations of the average surround junkie. However, there is a good
deal of directionality in the forward soundstage, as well as distinct
stereo separation for Basil Poledouris’ rousing Russian flavored score.
Dialogue reproduction is clean and precise, plus the actors’ voices
usually come across with a nice sense of presence. The bass channel is
deep and certain to shake the deck plates a bit at key moments. The
differences between Dolby Digital and DTS aren’t jaw dropping, but DTS
does come out ahead in the areas of musical warmth and detail. A French
Dolby Surround soundtrack is also encoded into the DVD, as are English and
Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few supplements. Director John McTiernan
is on hand for a really good running audio commentary track. McTiernan
discusses the production of the film in great detail, giving a lot of
insight in to the moviemaking process, as well as sharing some of the more
interesting anecdotes from the set. Also included on the DVD is Beneath
the Surface, a newly produced twenty-nine minute program that
looks back on the production of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER via
interviews with key players from behind-the-scenes and in front of the
camera. A theatrical trailer closes out the supplements.
THE
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is a great movie thriller that is both
wonderfully paced and well acted. Paramount has done a fine job with the
DVD, offering a really good-looking 16:9 enhanced wide screen
presentation, as well as solid Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. The
Special Edition of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is a must have upgrade
for fans with wide screen displays, as well as those interested in the
informative supplemental content.
