Clear and Present Danger (1994)

CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers:

Tom Clancy (novel), Donald E. Stewart (screenplay) (as Donald Stewart)

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Jack Ryan
Willem Dafoe	...	Clark
Anne Archer	...	Cathy Ryan
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Felix Cortez
Henry Czerny	...	Robert Ritter
Harris Yulin	...	James Cutter
Donald Moffat	...	President Bennett
Miguel Sandoval	...	Ernesto Escobedo
Benjamin Bratt	...	Captain Ramirez
Raymond Cruz	...	Chavez
Dean Jones	...	Judge Moore
Thora Birch	...	Sally Ryan
Ann Magnuson	...	Moira Wolfson
Hope Lange	...	Senator Mayo
Tom Tammi	...	Emile Jacobs

Storyline

Jack Ryan is back and this time the bad guys are in his own government. When Admiral James Greer becomes sick with cancer, Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. Almost before he can draw a breath in his new position, one of the president's closest friends and his family are murdered in their sleep by what appears to by drug cartels. Ryan is called in to investigate, but unknown to him the CIA has already sent a secret field operative to lead an illegal paramilitary force in Colombia against cartels. Things get even more complicated when his team is set up and he loses an agent in the field and a friend of his wife's, who was the murdered agent's secretary, is murdered that same day. Ryan must then risk not only his career, but his life to expose the truth behind the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

jack ryan character | good versus evil | cia | drugs | colombia | 

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Taglines:

Truth needs a soldier.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense action/violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Peligro inminente

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,348,017, 7 August 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$122,187,717

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$215,887,717

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mace Neufeld Productions,Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes five Oscar nominees: Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, James Earl Jones and Hope Lange.

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Goofs

The apparent 'supercomputer/codebreaker' that Petey uses to hack into Ritter's system is actually the Powderhorn system, a tape backup library made by StorageTek that includes magnetic tape cartridges and a robotic arm to retrieve the cartridges and load into a tape drive. So unless Ritter saved his password on a hard drive and it was backed up to a tape cartridge, this data storage system would not help Petey hack into Ritter's system.

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Quotes

Jack Ryan: I didn't sign up for this. This is someone's bullshit political agenda. Who authorized this? Cutter?
Ritter: Cutter couldn't tie his own shoes without permission.
Jack Ryan: If I go down you're coming with me.
Ritter: Wrong again. I have an *autographed get-out-of-jail-free card*! "The President of the United States authorizes Deputy Director of the CIA Robert Ritter to conduct 'Operation Reciprocity' including all necessary funding and support. This action is deemed important to the national security of the United ...
[...]

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Connections

Followed by Without Remorse

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Soundtracks

Dulce Material
by E.Z.D. and Fransheska
Performed by Franzheska
Courtesy of Prime Records

User Reviews

Condensed Clancy

The makers of this movie are to be congratulated for turning a Tom Clancy doorstop into a tense, tightly woven international thriller with a top notch cast and believeable plot. Where the previous two Jack Ryan movies depended on stunts and quite unbelieveable plot twists this film concentrates on a grubby little military/political incident (more the domain of intelligence men) and the men of honour and integrity (Ford and an under used Dafoe) trapped in the middle of it.

I also like this movie for its subtle dig at the American establishment and how it assumes it can coerce the weak into doing its bidding.

The Clark character in Clancy's fiction is an interesting one and deserves to be further developed. Casting Willem Dafoe in the part was actually a stroke of genius, and I could easily imagine his character in Platoon doing this kind of work if he had survived Vietnam. The fact that Dafoe is one of THE most underrated actors in Hollywood also means I like this.