The Hunt for Red October

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The Hunt for Red October ★★★ 1990 (PG)

Based on Tom Clancy's blockbuster novel, a high-tech Cold War yarn about a Soviet nuclear sub (commanded by Connery) turning rogue and heading straight for U.S. waters, as both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. try to stop it. Complicated, ill-plotted potboiler that succeeds breathlessly due to the cast and McTiernan's tommy-gun direction. Introduces the character of CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Baldwin) who returns in “Patriot Games,” though in the guise of Harrison Ford. 137m/C VHS, DVD . Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jordan, Scott Glenn, Joss Ackland, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance, Jeffrey Jones, Fred Dalton Thompson; D: John McTiernan; W: Larry Ferguson, Donald Stewart; C: Jan De Bont; M: Basil Poledouris. Oscars ‘90: Sound FX Editing.