Rating: 
Summary: classic movie made better on DVD
Review: The visual clarity provided by the DVD really makes this film great. If you haven't seen it before, you will love the film, and if you have you will love the DVD's improvements. Allec Baldwin is excelent as well as Sean Connery and James Earl Jones. The truth is that I am not the best to do a movie review, but I just love what a DVD does to make a movie that much more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic adaption of Clancy's novel
Review: A first-rate thriller that provides the goods again and again. Excellent cast, good direction (the almost always reliable McTiernan--see "Last Action Hero" for the only real blemish on his record), plenty of suspense and thrills. There are a few differences between the novel and the film, but only purists will quibble about that. And yes, Scotsman Connery plays a Lithuanian, but he does it well, and as always, brings a touch of class to the role. I despise Alec Baldwin, but he's perfect as Ryan--the right age and look combined with the proper mix of guile, humility, and cockiness. The film also boasts an excellent supporting cast, with kudos to Sam Neill, Richard Jordan, and Courtney Vance for their performances. Scott Glenn and James Earl Jones are also solid in their roles. The occasional "technobabble" and military talk may confuse those unfamiliar with such terms, but it doesn't detract from the plot or action--in other words, you can still understand and follow the film even if you don't understand the terminology. The DVD features no extras of note, unfortunately, but the transfer quality--while a bit off-color at times--is still far better than VHS, and those of you with home theaters BEWARE--the sound quality (5.1 Surround) is frighteningly good at times (is that torpedo in your living room, or on the screen?!?). A so-so disc, but an incredible, intelligent thriller that's worth buying in any format.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: The Hunt For Red October is a well made,very entertaining film.It was directed by John McTiernan(Predator,Die Hard,The Thomas Crown Affair-1999),and is my personal favorite film of his.The film takes place during the cold war,and the story is mainly about CIA analyst Jack Ryan(Alec Baldwin) trying to prove that the skipper(Marco Ramius,played by Sean Connery)of a new Russian missile sub called Red October,who is operating on his own,actually intends to defect rather than fire his nuclear missiles at the US as the Russian government has led the United States to believe(in order to obtain the help of the US Navy in finding Red October and sinking her). The film is suspenseful with just enough action and very good performances all around.Connery is excellent as usual,and in my opinion this is Alec Baldwin's best performance.Among the supporting characters Sam Neil stands out as Ramius' executive officer,as does Scott Glenn as skipper Bart Mancuso of the USS Dallas-the American sub that is tracking Red October.
The music score by Basil Poledoures is excellent and the special effects are very good. As for the DVD the picture and sound quality are excellent,but there isn't much in the way of special features,except a trailer.
Rating:
Summary: Best Clancy Adaptation
Review: Having read many of Clancy's books, including "The Hunt for Red October" I can honestly say that of the three books (this, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger) that have been turned into movies (The Sum of Fears and Rainbow Six are apparently in production now) this is the best one. It is most faithful to the book's plot (with some minor deviations) and is enjoyable. Its hard to go wrong with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin (although I think Ford was a better Jack Ryan.) If you like the Clancy stories, this is the film to see. It keeps with the story and sucessfully transplants the suspense of the book into film form. An overall enjoyable picture.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Ryan's first and best to date.
Review: THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER might well be the very best espionage thriller of all time... What starts as a chess match between the Russians and the United States ends up much more complex as ironic friendships are formed. But, the real chess match is between the audience and the brilliant director, John McTiernan (DIE HARD). He spends the entire film staying just ahead of the viewer, often giving what appears at first to be confusing information but revealed to be crystal clear. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan, a role which Harrison Ford picked up in the far less focused PATRIOT GAMES and continued in the not good CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Baldwin seems to have a reason for being involved, and thus puts in a more interesting turn than Harrison. Helping Alec along is scene stealer... sorry.. film stealer Sean Connery as Sub Stealer Ramius. Everything under McTiernans great touch leads to an exciting "jump out of the water" ending with little left unturned. The musical score by Basil Poledouris is stunning and beautiful. And the colorful photography makes great use of the compressed submarine atmosphere. But, this DVD, while having a good soundtrack, offers nothing in the ways of extras but worse, offers a horrible video transfer. Lets hope this gets re-done by someone who cares...
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: I've already reviewed this item before, so I won't bother to repeat myself. I wanted to add some additional details as to why I bought this movie on DVD vs VHS.
First off, I have a brand new laptop w/ DVD player. So, I wanted to pick up some of my favorite movies so I could watch them during lunch at school.
Second, the picture quality isn't THAT bad. It's reasonable for an eleven year old film, recorded without the aid of any digital technology, then being transfered to a DVD. (Sort of like when you record a CD to casette tape- you lose a lot of the sound quality and pick up background noise)Besides that, I'm sure that the junk in the picture is on the VHS, too, only you can't see it because tapes offer a much lower video quality.
Finally, I bought this movie on DVD because video discs don't degrade with age. As a VHS tape is watched heavily, the picture quality worsens. Eventually, you would have to buy a new VHS. I don't know what the difference in cost between the DVD and tape is, but it can't be that much.
If you like this movie, pick up the DVD. It's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT MOVIE --- BAD DVD
Review: I really do like this movie the action , acting and story are all very strong but....I can only give the (DVD) three stars. Mind you I say DVD not the movie it`s self.This DVD has to be the worst quality I have ever seen . The sound is great but the picture really stinks( trust me folks it`s really bad) It looks like you are watching this movie though a dust storm.I have seen problems like this on older movies that have been put on DVD but come on! Paramount needs to get it in gear and improve the DVDs they are selling. A movie this great deserves better
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Ever
Review: If you understand the dynamics of the Cold War, this movie (and the book) are perhaps the fictional epidome before the terminus. In fact, this is one of the few movies that differs from the book, but both are enjoyable. Everyone I know who has read the book and then seen the movie likes both, and vice versa. That rarely happens.
Rating:
Summary: The Absolute Best
Review: The Hunt For Red October, is simply the best Naval film ever made. Sean Connery (playing Capt. Marko Ramius) played his role beautifully. I can't think of anyone else who could of played that role better. Alec Baldwin (playing Dr. Jack Ryan) filled his role great too. For those of you who haven't seen the film, here's a summary: The Red October, named after the October Revolution, was a ballistic missile submarine. Capt. Ramius, had plans to defect and to take his officers with him. In order to accomplish this, he had to make his crew want to get off his submarine. I won't spoil how that happened, but it was performed beautifully. Dr. Jack Ryan, who knew more about submarines and Capt. Ramius for that matter, figured out that Ramius was going to defect. He analyzed all the data and demanded to be flown to the U.S.S. Dallas, which was where he thought the Red October was. His hunch was correct, and he communicated to Ramius, via Morse code. Ramius was dumbfounded by the accuracy of Ryan. Officers from the Dallas as well as Ryan, boarded the Red October. They all had planned to ride on the Red October to Maine. The only problem was that there was a crew member on board who tried to kill them all. That added to the suspense. I'll let you watch the movie, to see the rest. A must see for the avid maritime film follower. A five-star without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie- costs less locally, though
Review: This movie is one of my top ten favorites. I watch it every time it comes on HBO...... First, it's very true to the book. Some lesser events are left out for the sake of time and a more interesting movie. However, the director has not, as far as I can tell, changed the sequence or content of the events from the book for the movie. Further, they did not invent scenes just because the book wasn't interesting enough or because they deleted a scene that expalined what was to happen (If you've seen the 1974 Odessa File movie you'll know what I'm talking about.) Second, this is plausable. The Russian reaction to the skipper's attempted defection fits with what the USSR would have done- release a massive fleet to find him and then lie about it to the rest of the world. Third- the cast is believable. If there is one thing that I hate most in military movies it's a young and inexperienced director/cast. They usually portray the military as a place where you can disobay orders as you please and back talk your commanding officer.This is never done in Red October which is something I must commend. Finally, the special effects and cinemetography are still very good and professional looking eleven years after this movie's release. As I have said, I consider this to be one of my favorite movies, and as far as I'm concerned it always will be.
|
