The Hunt for Red October [Blu-ray] Reviews

• A great movie finally gets the Special Edition treatment

  
  By A3EEO47ZPQ5JHE on 2003-02-25
  This great movie was previously only available on DVD as a "bare-bones" edition -- a non-anamorphic presentation of the movie, with only a trailer and no real extras. But with this release, the film finally gets the Special Edition treatment!

  The special features for this disc will reportedly include a new anamorphic transfer, both a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track AND a DTS 5.1 sound track, an audio commentary by director John McTiernan, a "Beneath the Surface" featurette (new interviews with Alec Baldwin, James Earl Jones, screenwriter Larry Ferguson and producer Mace Neufeld) and the theatrical trailer. Not TONS in the way of extras, but certainly a lot more than what was on the previous edition.

  And for you Tom Clancy fans, Paramount has also announced "The Jack Ryan Special Edition DVD Collection" for release on the same day this disc is released, May 6th. The box set will include the new Special Editions of "The Hunt for Red October", "Patriot Games", "Clear and Present Danger", and "The Sum Of All Fears"... each with new bonus material, new anamorphic transfers and both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 sound. (The movies will be available separately as well as in the 4-disc box set.)

  As for my review of "Hunt For Red October":

  Personally... and I'm sure that Harrison Ford fans will lambast me for this... I think that Alec Baldwin made the best Jack Ryan in the series. At least, he fit my own personalized vision of the character as I was reading the book better than Ford did. "The Hunt For Red October" is also far and away the best movie based on a Tom Clancy book and follows the SPIRIT of the book more closely than any of the others. Sure, they took some liberties with the details of the story, but they got the broad strokes absolutely dead-on correct. What movie based on a thick, highly technical, politically complex book could possibly match it exactly scene for scene???

  One of the thrilling things for me when I watch this film is seeing INTELLIGENT characters actually THINKING their way through problems. There are political, personal and technical issues that many of the characters are forced to deal with, and it is a joy to watch -- for example -- Alec Baldwin's Jack Ryan using his MIND and not his fists to get into and out of situations. This movie is defenitely a thinking man's action film.

  But that is not to say that this isn't an exciting movie with lots of plot twists, and some of the best submarine battles ever put into a movie. And to top all that off, you get Sean Connery AND the underrated Sam Neil as the "villains", and James Earl Jones in a superb supporting role. This is also directed by one of the best action-film directors working today, John "Die Hard" McTiernan (although I don't know WHAT he was thinking with the "Rollerball" remake). What more could you want in an action film?

  SOME TRIVIA: Star Trek fans take note, that is Gates (Dr. Beverly Crusher) McFadden in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo role as Jack Ryan's wife at the beginning of the movie. ... People in and around Portland, Oregon may be interested to know that the "Russian" submarine that breaches the water towards the end of the film is actually an American submarine called the USS Blueback which is retired and on permanent display for public tours at OMSI, the Portland science building.
  
  

• Great movie equals poor DVD

  
  By on 2000-11-11
  I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it in the theater, and it still holds up well after all these years. A cold war thriller. What happens when a state of the art russian submarine goes streaking for the United States with the entire russian fleet trailing it? I thought the movie was very true to the book. Alec Baldwin's performance was excellent. He fits the character of Jack RYan much better than Harrison Ford does in the later films.

  As for the DVD, this is a strictly second rate production. Other reviews mention the flaws: there is an annoying pause as the DVD changes layers; the print is clearly second rate and is more of VCR type quality, you can see dust and flaws on the original; there are no real extras except for the trailer. In terms of DVD quality, this one was a real disappointment. However, the sound quality is excellent.

  Bottom line: if you enjoyed this movie then the DVD may be worth adding to your collection. If you're not totally in love with the film then the second rate production on this DVD are enough that you will want to pass. I'd give the movie 4 stars but the DVD 2 stars for an overall rating of 3. Hopefully they will remaster it in a special edition with more features and higher quality production.
  
  

• Excellent movie, Horrid DVD

  
  By on 2002-05-14
  I won't bother reviewing the movie, as there are plenty of reviews here that emphasize the movie itself. What I want to make clear here is that the quality of the DVD transfer and sound is totally unacceptable. The transfer is grainy, unsaturated, has horrible black levels, and perhaps worst of all, has insane compression artifacts. Top that off with the fatc that it's NON anamorphic, and you're in for a miserable experience.

  The studio is about to release a second edition, which I was looking forward to until I saw the stats - it's also non anamorphic, which means it's probably the same, rotten transfer. Until they remaster this movie, stay clear...
  
  

• "Most things in here don't react well to bullets..."

  
  By A3MCQSIBV7QW8Q on 2001-10-17
  Now this is a movie worth watching. "The Hunt for Red October" has such a superb casting with actors Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Richard Jordan, Joss Ackland, and more.

  Under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery), a technologically superior Soviet nuclear sub, the "Red October", is heading for the U.S. coast. When the American government hears this, they immediately jump to the conclusion that the Russians are planning to attack the United States. But then strangely enough, they find out that the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find the "Red October": there orders, to sink the submarine! The Americans are told that they think that Ramius is mad and that he's going to shoot nuclear missiles into America so of course, the American government agrees to help the Soviet hunt the "Red October" to stop him. But a lone CIA analyst, Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), has a different idea that he thinks that Ramius is planning to defect but he has only a little time to be able to prove it with the reluctant help of Cammander Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn). The hunt is on!!

  On my list of favorite movies ever, "The Hunt for Red October" measures up to such submarine movies such as "Run Silent, Run Deep" with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster and "U-571" with Matthew McConaughey. This movie is based on Tom Clancy's bestseller and you have to admit, he was a genius in writing this story.

  I love the acting done by not only Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, but also of Sam Neill as Vasily Borodin, Scott Glenn as the Commander, and naturally James Earl Jones as Admiral James Greer. My favorite parts are probably the very last 40 minutes (of which I won't tell what happens because I don't want to give anything away to anyone who hasn't watched this movie yet) and the parts where National Security Advisotor Jeffrey Pelt (Richard Jordan) and Amabassador Andrei Lysenko (Joss Ackland) and talkint to each other. And the whole movie has very subtle humor which I like.

  Watch "The Hunt for Red October" and if you like it, I also recommend other submarine movies such as "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "U-571".
  
  

• Absolutely wonderful!

  
  By A16X61RLY1YJL7 on 2002-08-11
  "The Hunt for Red October" is an absolutely great adaptation of one of the best novels ever written. The producer's of this movie took Tom Clancy's masterpiece and made one of the best military action movies ever. While they didn't stick to the novel perfectly, that's no big deal, it's still a great movie. Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin and the rest of the cast performed admirably. Although later films have Harrison Ford and now Ben Afleck in the role of Jack Ryan, to me, Alec Baldwin epitomized Jack Ryan. Sean Connery turned down the role of Sybok in Star Trek V to do this role, clearly a no brainer there. I would recommend this DVD to anybody. I would also recommend the book.
  
  
• Paramount's Heart Isn't Into DVD's
  By AF353FIJSOC4M on 1999-01-24
  It is obvious that Paramount's late entry into the DVD format and lack of support shows on this movie. It is not anamorphic transfer but a second generation print used for making VHS tapes..hence the poor video and dust specks. Sound is also lacking it's depth of realism though it is Dolby. I have also noticed a "pause" when the layer change occurs. This seems to be common on all of their releases thus far and hope that they would take a second look at their quality -vs- the demand by the public for DVD titles. The $29.95 MSRP for the movie is NOT worth it's features or quality and unless you can find it on sale somewhere, would pass on it until Paramount can become serious with their DVD's.
  
  
• Decent film; terrible DVD
  By AEOE7KS11WYO2 on 2002-07-30
  "The Hunt for Red October" is a smart, tightly directed adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel of the same name. It's probably one of the more entertaining submarine movies (if you'll buy into the genre). There are some wonderful performances (especially by Joss Ackland, Courtney B. Vance, and the late Richard Jordan) as well as some inspired casting (most notably Tim "Dr. Frank-N-Furter" Curry as Dr. Petrov). While this film is certainly no "Das Boot," it is highly entertaining for all of its 134 minutes.
  However, as an avid collector of DVDs and laser discs, this is perhaps the worst video transfer I have ever seen. In fact, I've seen Chinese bootleg copies of other films that have been superior in terms of video quality. For example: In the opening sequence there is a great deal of dust and dirt on the screen - like you're in a third-rate theater watching the film after it has been showing for about a month and a half. Another example: There is an important interior scene on the USS Dallas that features a wonderfully acted and written interplay between Seaman Jones (Vance) and Seaman Beaumont (Ned Vaughn). However, each shot of Jones is inexplicably awash with so much video noise that it completely distracts from the performances.
  Why Paramount would neglect such a film is beyond me. The other huge disapointment on this disc is the complete lack of any extras. This disc is a complete bust. Frankly, I hope that another edition is released out of respect to this worthy film.
  
  
• After 18 years, my favorite movie on BD.
  By A3BJU51IF26NAB on 2008-07-29
  The Hunt for Red October is my favorite movie of all time, bar none. It's the kind of movie you can watch over and over.. I've probably watched it a couple of dozen times over the years, first on VHS, then DVD, now on BD. Mind you, I'm not in the habit of re-purchasing titles, but in this case, I made an exception.
  
  The picture is the best I've seen for a film of this vintage. It's not up to the quality of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but it is a film that's nearly 20 years old. All that said, there is a noticeable improvement over my copy on DVD.
  
  The audio was remastered in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and is utterly stunning. Good thing my wife & kids are out of town tonight, because I'd be in trouble if they were here -- the sound's so good, I've got the shades drawn and the sound turned up, we're going movie-theater style here.
  
  Don't expect a gaggle of extras here, just expect a great copy of the film with fantastic audio.
  
  
• Excellent movie, poor transfer to DVD
  By A129ZEFEEMOYM5 on 1999-10-26
  I love the movie and it's in my top-ten list. The quality of the cast is unbelievable and it has an amazing sense of rythm. However, after using the VHS version quite a few times, I have to say that the DVD image quality (especially color) is worse than the tape. Muddy images, horrible flesh tones . I was not too excited about the audio either. Don't waste the money on the DVD, buy the VHS.
  
  
• Great movie but a terrible dvd
  By AE06E59KAV06A on 1999-11-07
  This is a great movie but the movie lacks any special features and looks really bad. You might as well save your money and get the VHS version,
  
  
• Terrible Picture Quality
  By A1IEYDVHOB1AHD on 2000-01-02
  This DVD is so low in picture quality it is not worth purchasing. It looks like a used VCR tape that has been watched many many times. Don't waste your money on this one.
  
  
• Horrible Video Quality
  By A23RBBGMMS10BY on 1999-12-28
  I love the Hunt for Red October and the makers of the DVD did it a horrible injustice. The video quality is horrible. I tend to buy DVDs for the enhanced video quality, but save your money on this one. Just buy the VHS version and save your money because it is not worth it.
  
  
• Among the best adventure films ever made
  By A3HC1RBPNS4JOY on 2001-05-01
  An excellent screen adaption of a complicated cold war story minus the book's intense political dialogue which would have greatly clouded the film's suspense. You can read other reviews that center either on the storyline (defection of a Soviet submarine captain and its officer crew) or the roles of the major actors in the film.

  However, when I see a movie I tend to center my attention (if not on the first then on subsequent viewings), on the characters played by supporting actors which hold the story together. These are the unsung people who make the story flow and allow the major actors to concentrate on their adaptation of the character they are portraying rather on trying to insure that the story is moving along without confusion.

  My favorite characters along these lines are:

  Courtney B. Vance -- Jonesy, the skilled sonar operator whose ability to track the Red October and interpret the individual characteristics of sonar pings over many hours of intense and focused listening allowed the American Navy to function successfully in this chase.

  Scott Glenn -- CDR Bart Mancuso, commanding officer of the American attack submarine whose role demonstrates the increasing reliance of Naval Officers on the technical ability of their enlisted men. In this case, the conversational interplay between the ship's captain and Jonesy, his #1 sonar operator, are priceless in displaying this increasing reliance in a Navy that grows more technical each day.

  Sam Neill -- CDR Vasili Borodin whose desire to travel in the United States without papers and to have a home in Montana with his American wife, his children and his truck pinpointed the simple things of life we take for granted and which mean so much to those in other countries who can never hope to have them as long as they remain there.

  Tim Curry -- Dr. Petrov, the medical officer aboard the Red October. Dr. Petrov (the only living officer aboard the Red October who is not defecting)is an example of the completely brain washed mind of the Soviet bureaucrat. His performance shows us the subhuman mental prison from which the officers of the Red October are running. As the intelligent Soviet officers show with their approach to problems and life in general, it is impossible to be a free thinker who uses common sense while simultaneously happily bathing every day in the totalitarianism of the Soviet State.

  Thomas Arana -- the cook aboard the Red October. His attempt to thwart the defection displays the complete subjugation to the state which can be achieved only by indoctrination from an early age. The look in his eyes when confronted shows a defiance and willingness to die without any regrets for the State.
  
  

• Only the lack of a THX dvd keeps this from ranking 5 stars
  By A1P2NBM3P3TS2X on 2000-07-23
  THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, the third film in John McTiernan's "holy trinity" of action films (following 1987's PREDATOR and 1988's DIE HARD) ranks as one of the finest action thrillers of modern times. What makes it rise miles above slop like the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced CRIMSON TIDE is the intelligent script. Viewers feel like they are immersed in this military underwater world, complete with submariner jargon that hasn't been "dumbed down" or "conveniently explained" for you. The story is tense, believable, and PLAUSIBLE, factors often missing from lesser knock-offs of this film.

  Alec Baldwin brings so much believability and humanity to the character of CIA analyst Jack Ryan that Harrison Ford's subsequent portrayals of Ryan, albeit in far inferior movie sequels, seem wooden and stiff. But that is mostly the fault of the scripts he had to work with. And Philip Noyce, who directed Ford in the 2 Clancy movies so far, just isn't the director McTiernan is.

  But what this DVD SORELY lacks is the THX treatment that the RED OCTOBER laser disc got. Why Paramount didn't insist on it is a mystery to me.

  Great, great movie, but it deserves the superior picture and sound that THX affords. Hate to say it, but the laser disc beats the DVD in this case.

  If you pay close attention to the RED OCTOBER movie trailer included on this DVD, though, you can see a shot of footage of some AWAC planes that didn't make it into the final film. That's the fun of movie trailers included on DVDs. You get to see what the trailer editors had to work with long before the final cut of the film was delivered to the distributors for release. (Another example: the trailer for BATMAN RETURNS featured a different take of a Michelle Pfeiffer line reading than the one that ended up in the film - a noticeably different one. But I digress...)

  Back to RED OCTOBER: Great film! Even a buddy of mine who is career military finds this film fascinating and believable! But you are not getting the best video transfer available by buying the DVD.
  
  

• Fantastic Movie, Junk DVD-quality
  By on 1999-10-25
  As some people stated before: The movie is great, very thrilling, with excellent actors. But the DVD-version is REALLY disappointing. The worst one I have seen. Compared with the german version of the 5th Element, this DVD is junk!
  
  
• Super movie, junk DVD
  By A337XUY8HSGC33 on 1999-08-23
  This movie is one of my all time favorites for kewl action and awesome sound for a theater system. Loved it on VHS. But the DVD is pure TRASH! It is the worst DVD I have bought yet and am returning it. Pictures are very fuzzy and unclear, even compared with movies of similar vintage. Paramount ripped us off by just slapping this thing on DVD with no focus on quality. DON'T BOTHER WITH DVD. Stick with the VHS version.
  
  
• Clancy hard to go from print to screen
  By on 1999-11-22
  See this movie if you have never read the book. If you have read the book, then do not see this movie. Clancy's ability to tell the story greatly outstrips Hollywood's ability to show it. Because the movie cannot really follow the nuances of the book the director must add some unrealistic contrivances to add suspense. The director creates the impression for the American Naval Officers that a "mad" Soviet sub captain is on the loose capable of starting World War III. The book correctly avoids that trap. To get the Americans worried about the "Red October" the director suggests that when the sub gets to some point in the Atlantic it will shoot its missiles. There is enough of the American moviegoing public that knows the missiles on the Typhoon Class subs have sufficient range to reach most of the United States from bases on the Kola peninsula. Ramius would not have to go into the Atlantic to fire his missiles at the United States. He could have fired them right after the conclusion of the opening credits.

  I thought the acting was very good. Especially, the first officer and the engineering officer portrayels were excellent. The Jones character was true to the book and held my interest.
  
  

• Excellent...but not much reason to buy it on DVD
  By AURZ4YQ270W3T on 2000-10-25
  "The Hunt for Red October" works wonderfully as a film, but Paramount really short-changed customers with this DVD.

  First, the film...

  "Red October" is a terrifically entertaining techno-thriller based on a novel by Tom Clancy, who is the king of the terrifically entertaining techno-thriller.

  Director John McTiernan wisely cuts some of the inevitable Clancy fat and right wing platitudes out of the plot; most notably, the 'international intrigue' aspect of the novel is pretty much reduced to a series of amusing exchanges between the Soviet ambassador and the American national security advisor (a very effective Richard Jordan).

  You probably know the plot by now: legendary Soviet captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) plans to defect to the U.S. with his new, radically advanced missile submarine, the Red October. Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) is the CIA analyst who figures out that Ramius is defecting and winds up in WAY over his head (but never out of his depth) to help Ramius out.

  McTiernan does a VERY nice job solving a problem inherent to this type of film: changing languages. The beginning of the film is largely set on the Russian sub, and the dialogue is all in Russian with English subtitles. As Ramius has a conversation in his quarters with the ship's political officer, who is quoting from an English-language book in Russian, McTiernan zooms in on the political officer's lips and holds the shot. At that point, the political officer begins speaking in English, and all the dialogue aboard Red October from that point on is also in English. Well done!

  The action sequences, of course, are well handled; the sets for the Russian and American subs were constructed on hydraulic struts so that McTiernan could realistically portray the ships moving in three dimensions through the water without having the actors do "Star Trek" style movements. Submarines are far more cramped than they look in this movie, but I suppose that realism had to bow to practicality in this case; it'd be awfully hard to get a camera dolly down the real corridor or into the command center of a real sub.

  Nice supporting performances complement the well-handled action sequences; in particular, Scott Glenn is fine as the cool-as-they-come American sub captain Bart Mancuso, and Sam Neill has a nice turn as Ramius's second-in-command, who dreams of moving to Montana after he defects to the U.S.

  It's easier to see how wrong Baldwin was for the role of Jack Ryan after Harrison Ford took over the role for the next two Clancy movies, but I guess Baldwin is serviceable, if a bit too overcome by boyish enthusiasm. And, of course, Connery is excellent as Ramius; who else besides Sean Connery could get away with playing a Russian with a Scottish accent?

  The film's only real weakness, frankly, is the special effects. Granted, depicting action sequences in murky water isn't an easy task, but a big-budget film like this one deserved better visuals.

  Overall, though, "Red October" rightly deserved the critical and commercial success it enjoyed during its release, and it's a good addition to your video collection.

  The bad news is that Paramount has done absolutely nothing to justify your spending money on this DVD. There are no special features to speak of, and the sound/picture quality isn't much better than you'd get on a tape. But I guess the good news is that a DVD won't wear out, and this is a film you'll watch a few times, so it's not a bad investment.
  
  

• The Best Of The Jack Ryan Movies...
  By ASR84M1GD9X89 on 2000-12-28
  ...but man, does the DVD transfer fall flat.

  THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is a movie that, surprisingly, gets better through repeat viewings; it's a masterfully done Cold War thriller about a super-quiet sub, a Russian sub master who's trying to defect, and a London-based CIA researcher who figures out the whole plot and finds himself thrust into a situation that even experienced agents would shy away from.

  Tom Clancy's books, filled with their wordy descriptions and political statements disguised as exposition, are notoriously dense and hard to translate into visual spectacles. Thus, one gets the horrendous PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. The saving grace in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is that it's a much shorter book than the others, and contains more that can be translated visually. The filmmakers wisely concentrate on the action in the book and leave much of the politics aside, and the long scenes of Jack Ryan's thought processes as he tries to sort out the details of Captain Ramius' possible defection are perfectly captured in an Alec Baldwin monologue that is both audibly interesting (Baldwin displays his talent for mimicking voices as Ryan privately mocks the suspicious Navy officers he encounters) and great eye candy (Baldwin must have had a clause in his early contracts that he appear shirtless in at least one scene).

  Sean Connery is very good as Ramius, Soviet sub master, though his accent is annoying (a Russian Scotsman?). More interesting is Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Jack Ryan, a deeper and richer performance than Harrison Ford's stock hero turns in the other two Clancy films. There are some great supporting performances, more than I can name, but the standouts include: Sam O'Neill as Ramius' first officer, who dreams of living in Montana and wonders if the U.S. allows you to go from place to place without papers; Richard Jordan as the President's National Security Advisor, who is willing to go along with Ryan's hairbrained scheme because Ryan's expendable; James Earl Jones as Ryan's boss at the CIA, disarmingly casual and chilling stern simultaneously; Jeffrey Jones as a former Navy shipbuilder who helps Ryan figure out the secret of the Red October; Fred Dalton Thompson as the Admiral who knows "The Russians don't take a dump without a plan" but is willing to at least consider Ryan's farfetched notion of a nuclear sub commander trying to defect.

  The movie is worth seeing--especially when viewed as a comparison between Ford's and Baldwin's interpretations of Jack Ryan--but the DVD is really only necessary if you're a completist. The transfer isn't as clear as it could be; the sound lacks the depth of the laserdisc version; there aren't enough special features to take advantage of the technology available through DVD. If you have a laserdisc player, look around for a copy of RED OCTOBER on LD; it's a much better edition.
  
  

• Visually Disappointing But Audibly Exciting on Blu ray
  By A2S1TF4OD00K53 on 2008-08-03
  In typical studio fashion, Paramount has transfered this exact same master that was temporarily released on HD DVD early this year which was a mixed bag and not what these films, the fans of the films, or high def owners deserve.
  
  I really enjoy the first 3 Jack Ryan films, the 4th not so much because of Ben Affleck and because it's just too out of sync with the previous trilogy. The first 3 are classic political thrillers that do a great job of bringing Tom Clancy's books to the big screen. His vision and Jack Ryan character are for the most part, executed very well on these films. Many have their preferences as the stronger and better of the bunch but I like Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger individually for their own qualities and suspenseful action.
  
  I've seen all of the Jack Ryan's on HD DVD, and sure enough, the Blu Ray's are exactly the same. Which is too bad because Paramount didn't do a very good job remastering them and they just don't look nearly as good as they should in hi def. I suspect that many Blu Ray owners will be pretty disappointed with the lack of visual pop that they're hoping for. Each of the Jack Ryan's looks better than the one before it which is typical as newer films upgrade easier to high def. And at least they all look better than their standard def counterparts. The problem is, is that most hi def owners have seen older films than these look better than these. Which brings us to wonder, what went wrong here? Granted, these films are a difficult upgrade as most of the scenes take place inside a submarine, house, office, or outside on overcast days, making it more difficult to provide that 3D pop we're looking for. But there are specks and dirt in the transfers and while I didn't find them in abundance or distracting, I do feel it's inexcusable at this point in the Hi Def's life cycle, especially for these movies. There's no reason for them not to be squeaky clean by now, even if they're going to look a little flat. But they are the best transfers available and the best we'll see until they provide us a proper remastering. But one is due.
  
  The audio, well this is finally where these discs pop. And I mean POP!!! We're given some truly thunderous transfers here in Dolby TrueHD. These films sounded good to begin with on standard dvd (especially October) but these new transfers are just incredible. They easily trounce the old ones. The scores, sound effects, gun shots and explosions are absolutely thrilling. This is all moot if you don't have a proper surround system to decode and dish out the TrueHD tracks though. If thats the case, then you may want to consider keeping your standard discs if you have them because the audio is the clear selling point for the upgrade.
  
  Despite my dissatisfaction with the flimsy visual upgrades, I'm still satisfied with these discs. I'd recommend them for any Blu Ray (and home theater) owner looking for a worthy upgrade for their favorite Tom Clancy films. Again, I stress you'll be much more impressed by the HD audio here rather than the passable but not demo worthy HD video. I give this set a 4 out of five because even though difficult, I believe if they really wanted to, Paramount could've and should've given these films a better makeover than they got. The powerful audio will help ease the disappointment with the video. Overall, I still recommend them.
  
  
  
• The best of the Jack Ryan film series.
  By A188KU3SI543V3 on 2004-06-27
  Based on Tom Clancy's 1984 novel of the same title, "The Hunt for Red October" is the first Jack Ryan adventure on film. Although I like Harrison Ford better in the role of Jack Ryan than either Alec Baldwin or Ben Affleck, "Red October" is the best of the Ryan films partly because of the script, but largely because of the ensemble cast including Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Tim Curry, James Earl Jones and, of course, Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius, the Lithuanian-born commanding officer on the Soviet nuclear submarine Red October who seeks to defect to the United States. Tension builds as Ramius and the Red October move closer to U.S. waters with the Soviet Navy in pursuit and U.S. forces unsure of Ramius' true intentions. "The Hunt for Red October" is a taut thriller, an excellent movie based on a modern masterpiece of a novel, and I fully recommend it.
  
  
• Be prepared to update your firmware
  By A2XA8FC1WH2QEZ on 2008-07-31
  I'm beginning to be sorry that Blu-Ray won. My HD-DVDs consistently play, start up quickly without a bunch of crap at the beginning, and the user interface is rather nice (Toshiba A2). Compare with my Sony BDP-300 (comparable generation player): takes forever to load, often a bunch of unskippable crap, and even though I updated the firmware last December, when I got it, it won't play Hunt for Red October. I'm downloading the May/June update to see if that makes it work, but if I have to update firmware every time a new release comes out on Blu-Ray, I'm bailing on it.
  
  
• One of Clancy's best
  By AD15V9DIZ08EE on 2000-01-02
  One of Tom Clancy's best books converted to film. I hadn't seen this movie in years, and seeing it recently on DVD reminded me how good it was. I read the book prior to the original film's release, and was surprised at some of the changes in the movie version. However, converting a 500 page novel, especially Clancy's, into a 2 hour movie takes some doing. Even though changes were made, the movie was excellent. The widescreen video quality was great, but the effects are 10 years old. The cast, acting and story carry this movie to a 5 star rating.
  
  
• A Cold War cat-and-mouse gripper, but a murkfest on DVD
  By on 1998-12-29
  From my favorite book by my favorite author, I bite my nails off every time I see The Hunt for Red October. I loved submarines growing up, and this one tops them all. Connery is his usual brilliant self, and Baldwin plays Jack Ryan exactly as I had pictured him (unlike the grisly Harrison Ford, later). The film features a great supporting cast with the exception of the sniveling Tim Curry, who delivers one particulary lame line that makes me cringe: "Captain!" Rick Ducommon's comic relief was also memorable. I have to dock this DVD for the relatively poor image quality. The underwater scenes were realistically murky, stressing my LCD projector's blue range. But the rest of the film crawled with compression noise, detracting from our enjoyment. Several SFX shots were obvious blue screens, with the seams visible as halos. In fact, the moonlit epilogue scene was unnecessarily fake. Granted, this movie was made "way back" in 1990, but a story this good deserved better treatment. I had wondered why this DVD cost less than most others, and now I know why. Shame on Paramount. This film was worth remastering.
  
  
• Superb!
  By on 1999-12-06
  This was a great action film. The scenery was fantastic and the sound track was moving. The chorus and music were especially excellent. I viewed on a large screen HD format with very good sound reproduction. This added greatly to the entire experience.
  
  
• Great Movie, disappointing DVD
  By on 1999-08-12
  This is one of my favorite movies - I really enjoy Baldwin's and Connery's portrayals of their characters. While the sound of the DVD nicely met expectations, I found the video quality of the DVD version disappointing...color saturation was anemic in many places, downright poor in a few. The image shimmered on ocean textures and delivered speckled blacks. Love the movie, lump Paramount for a weak DVD remastering job.
  
  
• Great Film But UGH!
  By AY7BBXWJ87G14 on 2001-12-23
  firstly this is more of a rant than a review....

  the movie is great one of my favourites which was the reason in me buying this dvd, i own it on vhs. there i was expecting a remastered picture with enhanced sound but.....

  WHAT HAPPENED! paramount have just transferred the movie from film to disc with no cleanups whatsoever! the picture is grain ridden and the colours are bland, in fact i get a better picture on my vhs version. add to that the bare bones features [1 measley trailer], which is normal for most paramount movies being reproduced. dear oh dear, i wouldn't have minded about the lack of features if they had only cleaned up the picture and sound, but the haven't and i'm left with one of my favourite movies in which the representation is worse than the vhs version.

  another paramount rip off!

  the film gets 4 stars but i'm going to have to give this dvd a big fat 1 star for poor presentation and lack of features, don't waste your cash folks, keep your vhs version if you have it, you'll get a better picture and sound and better value for your money.
  
  

• Great Movie - TERRIBLE Transfer!!!
  By on 2003-05-19
  One of THE greatest Sub movies ever filmed has received absolutely shabby treatment from it's recent transfer to DVD. Overall, the DVD menus are fine (though lacking in any sort of comprehensive background material which would be expected with a DVD that carries a label of "Special Edition"). The audio is also fine; however, even that should have received the DTS treatment rather than just the Dolby Digital.

  The main crime committed against this film was the horrendous film-to-DVD transfer as it is presented. Frankly, with the sheer graininess and tendencies towards pixelization, I can't help but think that this is a VHS-to-DVD transfer. Not even a pristine VHS tape, but one that has been played daily for over 10 years! The video quality of this transfer is the worst I've seen of any movie in a very long time. Shame on the production company that made this transfer!

  This great movie deserved a lot better (Special Edition???) than what it got!
  
  

• A superb film version of Clancy's excellent novel!
  By A2XRMQA6PJ5ZJ8 on 2004-01-02
  This is one of my very favorite movies of all time. It is, of course, the story of a Soviet submarine captain attempting to defect to the United States with his state-of-the-art "first strike" submarine during the latter days of the Cold War. The bestselling novel upon which the movie is based is the one that made Tom Clancy famous, and the movie hews close to the original story, rarely straying from it.

  Sean Connery is magnificent as Captain Marko Ramius, the Soviet sub captain. He absolutely becomes the role, and whenever I re-read the novel I see Connery in my mind's eye as Ramius. Alec Baldwin does fine as Jack Ryan, although I don't find him to be nearly as good as Harrison Ford, who plays Ryan in the subsequent "Jack Ryan" movies (e.g. Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger). He's wildly better than Affleck though. While some reviewers have been critical of Baldwin as Jack Ryan, my own opinion is that he succeeded, and probably made a serious career mistake by not ensuring that he played Ryan in the subsequent films. Sam Neil does his customary stellar job as Ramius' second-in-command and co-conspirator. By the way, I thought that the actors who played the other Russian submarine officers all did fine jobs. They seemed Russian, at least to me.

  The entire supporting cast does very well in this film, and everything comes together very effectively, making this one of the truly great films about the Cold War. The story transports from novel to Silver Screen beautifully, and the DVD is excellent. This is one that belongs in everyone's collection, and it is one that you will watch over and over again.
  
  

• Best Translation of a Clancy Novel to Film
  By A2B73CL3QSYWLB on 2004-12-26
  I have to admit that Tom Clancy's work translates better to the screen than it does on the printed page. I tried to read "The Hunt for Red October" but couldn't finish it because Clancy seemed more enamored with the hardware of the nuclear subs than with actual characterization. John McTiernan, though, has cut away the grist of Clancy's novel and gets down to plot and character motivation. This film is thrilling from start to finish whether it is inside the Soviet submarine, the corridors of the Kremlin, or in the bowels of the CIA. Sean Connery has one of the roles of his storied career as Captain Ramius, the commander of the "Red October" whose motivations we cannot be certain of. Alec Baldwin gives the best portrayal of Jack Ryan of any actor who has assayed the role, Ryan being the CIA officer who is certain of Ramius' desire to defect. Good support is offered here by Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Scott Glenn, and Tim Curry. The Cold War may be over but this film still packs a punch.
  
  

• Clear and Present Danger [Blu-ray]
• Top Gun [Blu-ray]
• The Sum of All Fears [Blu-ray]
• Men in Black (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]
• Batman Begins [Blu-ray]