In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine Captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the U.S. Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
On a U.S. nuclear missile sub, a young First Officer stages a mutiny, to prevent his trigger happy Captain from launching his missiles, before confirming his orders to do so.
Director:
Tony Scott
Stars:
Gene Hackman,
Denzel Washington,
Matt Craven
C.I.A. analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.
Communist Radicals hijack Air Force One with The U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a Veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime.
The Soviets create a new nuclear submarine that runs silent due to a revolutionary propulsion system. The Russian sub Captain defects. His goal is taking it to the U.S. to prevent the Russians from using the sub to cause nuclear war against the U.S.
In the movie, the time the U.S. spent tracking down and "grabbing" the Red October is just a few days. In the Tom Clancy novel, the story unfolds over several more days. See more »
Goofs
In the evacuation scenes it is clearly raining, yet when the doctor is on top of the sail, the visor of his hat is completely dry. See more »
Quotes
[last lines]
Captain Ramius:
"... and the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home." Christopher Columbus.
Jack Ryan:
Welcome to the New World, Captain.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The words "Red October" are first spelled in Russian, with the Cyrillic alphabet, before being replaced with the English words. See more »
Alternate Versions
SPOILER: In its original theatrical run, Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) says "A fucking cook!" upon discovering the saboteur. However, on subsequent home video releases, the word "fucking" is replaced by "Goddamn." "Goddamn" is heard in at least some 35mm prints. See more »
It's almost 10 years now but I am still awed by the caliber of the film. McTiernan has made a moderately good book by Clancy into an outstanding political thriller.
The complexity of the film is particularly challenging. Clancy plots are notorious for beginning with several different threads that interweave somewhere in the book. Screenwriter Larry Ferguson takes apart those threads and models a film based on dual protagonists, Connery and Baldwin. The myriad of supporting actors (including current TN Sen. Fred Thompson) that appear on screen subsequently all have distinct but nonetheless crucial roles to the plot.
Baldwin, in what is and will probably be his career best role ever, shines as the intelligent and patriotic Jack Ryan, a thinking man's hero. Connery lends incredible presence, as usual, to his interpretation of Ramius.
A pure masterpiece.
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It's almost 10 years now but I am still awed by the caliber of the film. McTiernan has made a moderately good book by Clancy into an outstanding political thriller.
The complexity of the film is particularly challenging. Clancy plots are notorious for beginning with several different threads that interweave somewhere in the book. Screenwriter Larry Ferguson takes apart those threads and models a film based on dual protagonists, Connery and Baldwin. The myriad of supporting actors (including current TN Sen. Fred Thompson) that appear on screen subsequently all have distinct but nonetheless crucial roles to the plot.
Baldwin, in what is and will probably be his career best role ever, shines as the intelligent and patriotic Jack Ryan, a thinking man's hero. Connery lends incredible presence, as usual, to his interpretation of Ramius.
A pure masterpiece.