As I was writing about John McTiernan's 'Die Hard', I could not stop thinking about his 1990 film, 'The Hunt for Red October'. Originally I just wanted to say a few words about this Sean Connery-Alec Baldwin gem, yet I finally decided that it deserves an article of its own. This espionage thriller does bring back a lot of childhood memories for me, because we have a laserdisc version of this film at home. In fact, I have always been a big fan of submarine films. Though I think Wolfgang Petersen's 'Das Boot' will always be the number one submarine film, 'Red October' is also a memorable one for me. I have a great respect for the military officers who work inside the submarine. To work in such a claustrophobic and stressful area, one certainly needs commitment, courage, skills and a positive outlook to take in the pressure - both physically and mentally!
As a famous adaptation from Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' series, 'Red October' is a spy thriller with quite a lot of action and suspense. The fact that the story takes place in the Cold War era makes it even more thrilling , because if anyone on both sides of the ideological camp send out a wrong message, it can lead to catastrophic consequences for the whole world. Indeed, the film was first released in 1990, the time that marked the end of the Soviet Union. The appeal to the audience from the 1990s probably led to the film's box office success and popularity. Even if we watch 'Red October' nowadays, that is still interesting as a comparison to the current US-Russia relations, though I do not aim to go too far into the political questions here.
The tense story took place in 1984, and it was about the Russian Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery). He was the captain of 'Red October', which was a fictionalized version of a type of Soviet submarine. The name of the submarine really symbolized the Soviet Union nicely. Ramius, due to some unspecified reasons, directed his submarine towards the US territory. People on both sides of the Cold War were really nervous, because they had absolutely no idea what Ramius' motivation was. Could that be his desire to start World War III ?! Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), who was a CIA analyst, suggested otherwise: he hypothesized that Ramius' reason was because he wanted to defect to the US. Hence, Ryan's superior decided to give him an opportunity to prove that. Ryan had to brave himself onto a US submarine, and tried his best to contact Ramius . Time was running out, because the Soviet Union has declared Ramius a regenade and requested the US side to stop his submarine or destoryed that if the situation called for it. On the other hand, another Soviet submarine was on the way to intercept and possibly destoryed the 'Red October'. What would eventually come out of this under-water thrill ride, and after all what was Ramius' true motivation?
Jack Ryan is probably Tom Clancy's masterstroke as an author of fiction. This character has a career trajectory crazier than President Trump's, all the way from marine officer to investment broker to CIA officer to the President of United States! Jack Ryan has been portrayed by a number of great actors throughout the many films that chronicle his adventure - Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine and many more in the future. I don't know why, but I always find Baldwin to be a better Jack Ryan than Ford, though I suppose many will first think of Ford when they hear about Jack Ryan. Harrison Ford can give cool and restrained performance like Han Solo and Rick Deckard, resourceful and analytical at the same time, yet I think Alec Baldwin seems to portray the mindset of Jack Ryan better here - who uses insight, intelligence and interpersonal skills to solve problems rather than sheer force. It is a shame Baldwin has only starred in one Jack Ryan film because that is quite an iconic role for him. I think Ryan's power originates from the fact that he can effectively connect with and convince others, to address the common interests even if the two parties are seen as adversaries to each other. In the scene when Ryan demonstrated that he understood and could speak Russian, he stated that one should understand more about their enemies by getting closer, which was clearly a military wisdom advocated by Sun Tzu. Ryan clearly has contributed a lot to the successful escape by the crew members on 'Red October' and also eliminated the undercover agent, who exposed the whereabout of 'Red October' and then attempted to conduct a counterattack on US with a missile.
Sean Connery, who starred as Captain Ramius, was just as smashing as Baldwin. Sir Connery has always been an actor with charisma, no wonder he was the first ever James Bond! He has made a bit of a come back in the late 1980s, by starring in films like 'The Untouchables' , 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' and 'Red October'. Ramius is the embodiment of military genius. While he has possessed a strategic mind and loads of experience, he was also calm and assertive even at the face of extreme adversity. The sequence when the 'Red October' attempted to escape from a torpedo serves as a great example, and that is a scene I really like. The sequence illustrated the excellent craftsmanship from McTiernen when the filmmaker was creating exicting and suspenseful sequences. With a series of fast cuts, the shots were fragmented and focused on both the interior - with all the different members in the submarine - and the exterior. When the camera focused on Ramius, he was staged in the foreground with a shallow depth of field, and the camera was held very tight and static on his face, signifying his authority and control of the situation. The other characters were often showed with more mobile dolly shots, which illustrated their fear and anxiety regarding the potential collision by the torpedo. The stark contrast was also complemented by the aural effects of the sonar - a reminder of high school physics - which sent out the warning about the approach of the torpedo. McTiernen was able to use all these techniques to put the audience members on the edge, and it also further painted the image the battle-hardened Ramius.
It turned out that Ramius was not the bad guy, he just wanted to defect to US because he embraced the liberal values provided by the spirit. Ramius had idealistic beliefs regarding his country and he could see the negatives implications for the new type of submarine he was leading. As a man who has worked for many decades in the submarine, he was also disillusioned about the political aspect of the Cold War, and could not see any ideal future provided by his country. I guess Captain Ramius is indeed quite a positive character, because not only he possesses intelligence and power, he also shares an universal outlook regarding humanity. He finds contradiction in a blind patriotism and a desire for liberty, and he eventually makes his decision and arrives at USA with Jack Ryan.
So, welcome to the New World, Sir!
Film Analysis
