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The Hunt for Red October Play Trailer

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

tomatometer

80

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

84

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 150,056

My Rating

Movie Info

The first of several films based on Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" technothrillers, Hunt for Red October stars Alec Baldwin as eccentric CIA analyst Ryan and Sean Connery as Soviet submarine commander Marko Ramius. Ramius sets the plot in motion when he murders his political adviser, burns his orders, and steers his sub Red October towards American waters, hoping to defect. The CIA, aware that the Red October was about to embark on an evasive mission to demonstrate its ability to avoid detection and

PG,

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

,

Larry Ferguson, Robert Garland, John Milius, David Shaber, Donald Stewart

Dec 1, 1998

Paramount Pictures

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Cast

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The Hunt for Red October Trailer & Photos

Critic Reviews for The Hunt for Red October

All Critics (49) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (2) | DVD (29)

A skillful, efficient film.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A leviathan bore, big, clunky and ponderously overplotted.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comments (15)
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A Reagan youth's wet dream of underwater ballistics and East-West conflict.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's less action-y and thrilling than Predator or Die Hard, but The Hunt For Red October still contains the sort of suspenseful thrills we expect from John McTiernan. It just takes bloody ages to get to them.

March 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Flix Capacitor
Stephen Carty
Flix Capacitor

The first Jack Ryan thriller adventure is a supremely mounted film, well acted by Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery, and vastly enjoyable.

August 6, 2012 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

It is a thriller in some sequences, action in others, but it depends on personal taste, how many thrills you believe a movie should have in order to be considered a thriller

May 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Screen It!
Rory L. Aronsky
Screen It!

As for the film's suspense credentials, you know it's time to get tense when James Earl Jones intones, 'Mother of God.' [Blu-Ray]

August 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

The Soviet captain has a brogue. I'm okay with it. Sue me.

September 15, 2005
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

For all its flaws, it still holds water.

June 13, 2005
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

Exciting submarine adventure w/Connery, Baldwin

October 19, 2004
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan Source: Kansas City Kansan

Regressive old-fashioned thriller of a sort that mostly died out 20 years earlier.

May 23, 2004
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
View all critic reviews (49)

Audience Reviews for The Hunt for Red October

View All
Captain Ramius: You're afraid of our fleet. Well, you should be. Personally, I'd give us one chance in three. More tea anyone? 

"Invisible. Silent. Stolen."

The Hunt for Red October is a film that deserves its classification as a thriller. There isn't a lull in the 2 hour plus runtime. It's a nonstop thrilling ride beneath the sea. Part of the reason the movie works so well is because of an extraordinary cast of Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, James Earle Jones, Sam Neill and Tim Curry. There's a bunch of great character actors in there too, that I know by their face, but if asked I couldn't tell you their names. 

Red October is the name of a Russian sub, which is the command of Captain Ramius. Under his command the sub defects and makes its way towards the United States. The plot has many turns and what you expect isn't always what you get. Sean Connery makes this movie with his terrific veteran presence. Every time I watch a movie with him in it; I am always stunned by how convincing the guy is onscreen. Alec Baldwin isn't one of my favorite actors, but he is pretty good as the hero.

This is a thriller that doesn't rely to much on action. There are long sequences where the excitement comes from listening to the characters talk instead of watching them run and shoot. Its a smart, well paced, cool film that I liked immensely. I'll take this over Die Hard any day.
September 26, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

Based on Tom Clancy's debut novel, The Hunt For Red October. This film is about a new type of Russian typhoon class submarine, being chased across the seas when the crew decides to defect to the Americans. This typhoon class submarine is named the Red October and the Russians have installed a secret propulsion system that could render the sub nearly silent to sonar. The thrills are nonstop, the story is top notch and is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery deliver strong performances. The Hunt For Red October is one of the best films adapted from a Tom Clancy novel. This film is brilliant with great directing, pacing and acting. The Hunt For Red October is a different type of submarine film thats very enjoyable, despite the fact it's very different from previous films in the sub genre. This isn't a war film, this is more of a suspense / Thriller film and it delivers on both. For those who have read the book, they will be pleased to know that this film was very well adapted and the filmmakers stayed through enough to the source material. John McTiernan delivers a solid piece of cinema, and The Hunt For Red October is one of his best films since Die Hard. A superbly crafted thriller, The Hunt For Red October is a film that Tom Clancy fans will thoroughly enjoy, and as a person who's read Clancy's book, I can honestly say that the filmmakers did a terrific job at adapting this electrifying story.
July 31, 2010
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

The Hunt for Red October Quotes

View All
    1. Jack Ryan: Send him this.
    2. Capt. Bart Mancuso: Are you out of your mind?
    3. Jack Ryan: Just send it.
    4. Capt. Bart Mancuso: tell me one thing how did you know he was going to Starboard?
    5. Jack Ryan: I didn't. I had a 55/50 chance. I needed a break, sorry.
    6. Capt. Bart Mancuso: That's alright. Mr. Ryan My Morse is so rusty I could be sending him dimensions on Playmate of the Month.
    – Submitted by Aaron P (21 days ago)
    1. Capt. Marko Ramius: Ryan some things in here don't react well to bullets.
    – Submitted by Aaron P (42 days ago)
    1. Capt. Bart Mancuso: Are you out of your mind Ryan?
    2. Jack Ryan: Just send it.
    3. Capt. Bart Mancuso: My Morse is so rusty I could be sending him dimensions on Playmate of the Month.
    – Submitted by Aaron P (42 days ago)
    1. Capt. Bart Mancuso: The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch.
    – Submitted by Victor M (10 months ago)
    1. Jeffrey Pelt: Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops, but it also means that I keep my options open.
    – Submitted by Victor M (10 months ago)
    1. Bill Steiner: Your sub captain's going to make to America Mr. Ryan. And he's going to die within sight of it.
    – Submitted by Aaron S (11 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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There are no discussion threads for The Hunt for Red October yet.

Latest News on The Hunt for Red October

August 21, 2012:
Kevin Costner in Talks for Multiple Jack Ryan Movies
He's close to becoming the Nick Fury of the Jack Ryan movie universe.

March 14, 2011:
Alec Baldwin Explains What Happened After The Hunt for Red October
Still wondering why Alec Baldwin never played Jack Ryan again after "The Hunt for Red October"? He's...

March 20, 2008:
Sam Raimi, Meet Jack Ryan
It looks like Paramount really is planning a Jack Ryan revival -- and they're looking to Sam Raimi...

View all news

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Foreign Titles

  • Jagd auf Rotor Oktober (DE)
  • A la poursuite d'Octobre rouge (FR)
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