THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
(A Second Look)
A film review by Anna G. McDougald
Copyright 1995 Anna G. McDougald
When John McTiernan's film of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER opened in the spring of 1990 early reactions were mixed. Those who had read Tom Clancy's novel were upset at the way the story had been edited down. Those who had NOT read the book wondered how the tale could retain any relevance given the ongoing collapse of Soviet military power. And English speaking audiences everywhere were puzzled by the selection of Sean Connery as the movie's lead.
Nonetheless, the film became--and remains--a success, attracting a world wide fan following which it continues to enjoy. Many who admit to repeated viewings cite the superb acting, acting, direction, and sound as the picture's chief attractions, along with a spellbinding quality not quite so easy to explain.
What exactly casts that spell becomes more and more obvious as the Cold War fades into history. Today's viewer discovers more than just another "geopolitical thriller." For Tom Clancy's story, as adapted by the able John McTiernan, emerges as a clever retelling of the most famous submarine epic of them all.
When Alec Baldwin is seen as the ingenuous Professor Aronnax, Scott Glenn as the cynical Ned Land and Courtney Vance as a compelling and very hip Consuelo the choice of Connery as the moody Master of the Deep is revealed as a stroke of genius. Even the glittering hardware and vast scale of the Red October--in contrast to the dark and claustrophobic sets normally presented in submarine movies--make sense. For the menacing, mysteriously-driven Red October is, from this perspective, the re-incarnation of Jules Verne's Nautilus, and her Commander, a latter-day Nemo.
(Physically, Connery is a virtual double for Nemo as Verne describes him. In one of the more charming passages, Nemo--having amused himself by testing poor Aronnax's facility with foreign languages--informs the Professor that though his books have made for good reading they could, in Nemo's opinion, stand improvement!)
How McTiernan moves his story to a thunderous denouement while remaining faithful to both Clancy *and* Verne delights and astonishes audiences to this day. But not content to simply update the Verne tale, McTiernan--aided by Connery's unforgettable portrayal and by Basil Poledouris' rich and highly anthemic orchestral score--adds to the film a spiritual dimension that cannot fail to resonate with even those who have never heard of Tom Clancy, or of a Nautilus far older than America's atom-powered version.
The ambiguous tone of the film is established at the very outset, as the mixed choir's haunting and evocative "Dosvedanye, Rodina" ("Farewell, My Homeland") contrasts sharply with the all-male chorus, extravagant in its praise for the destructive capabilities of their new weapon. The film itself is filled with allusions to martyrdom and resurrection. The grouping of officers in the wardroom shortly after the Red October sails echoes da Vinci's "Last Supper"; Ramius' bunk fits him uncannily like a coffin while a "lift" from Melville allows Sam Neill to play Starbuck to Connery's Ahab; a small cross appears briefly amid the geysering spray of a submarine explosion; and the finale aboard the Red October calls to mind an old sailors' metaphor for passage to a better life--making Ryan's closing line both poignant and prophetic.
For all these reasons, increasingly apparent as the Cold War continues to fade from memory, John McTiernan's HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER--far from becoming another piece of nostalgic propaganda--stands revealed at last as a brilliant reworking of a masterpiece, capable of standing as a classic on its own.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews