I think the performance of Courtney B. Vance should have been mentioned as well. Jonsey's performance was indicative of a man who's confidence in his skill set would not let him quit until his goal was accomplished. When Jonesy said to the skipper " now that I know what to listen for, I'll bag him", was a display of all the attributes needed to perform ones duty as a member of the military.
20 yrs in the US Submarine force here - Scott Glenn's performance is the only one I've ever seen that is true, real and believable. BZ Commander Mancuso!
I remember back then. I was in the USCG on the CGC Venturous. The "Red October" (a barge with an overlay to look like a submarine on the surface) was docked right behind us at the Coast Guard pier in San Pedro. They were giving our crew a chance to be extras in the movie. I opted out because they wanted us to shave our heads. Sean Connery came aboard our ship (CGC Venturous) for a tour. We were all supposed to be below decks as our Captain showed him around. I was doing some last minute polishing on the bridge when they came up, so I got to shake hands with Sean Connery. I thought I was gonna get in trouble, but the captain just smiled and nothing ever came of it. I know it's weird, but I've remembered and cherished that moment for all these years and still tell that story. I've always been a Sean Connery fan even before that movie.
Fun fact from a former submariner friend: That scene where SSN Dallas "FLEW" out of the water on an emergency blow used a real sub, the Captain of which ended up getting in SERIOUS hot water for because it was a much greater ascent angle than the Navy brass was expecting. A bit too realistic!
Godspeed, James Earl Jones! By far, the best Admiral in the Jack Ryan serious and a great actor. Seemed like a very decent man as well. All of my sympathy is with his friends and family as I would also like to thank them for sharing him with us.
This documentary omits one of the most important things in the movie (and yet, you can hear it all the way through): the incredible score by Basil Poledouris. I'm very disappointed they couldn't spend a couple of seconds talking about a musical masterpiece that lifts the entire experience to another level.
Scott Glenn never became a huge movie star, but the man is just consistently excellent in everything he does. His performance in this is subtle but brilliant!
The lighting scenarios and making the subs slightly different variants, so the audience could recognize the difference on which sub was in the scene, probably made a huge difference in the overall success of Red October. Still my favorite movie of all time
I can't fathom how this movie did not win more Oscars. This is still one of the best movies i have ever seen, and i have seen it multiple times i can't count anymore.
One of those movies where, no matter what time it is, no matter how far into it's runtime it is, you just give up everything you were doing and watch right to the end.
The old diesel boat they used for the interior scenes was the USS Blueback SS-581. How do I know this you might ask, well that's a very easy to answer question, I was stationed on her when they shot those scenes. Three of our enlisted guys were extras cast as russian sailors and one of our officers played the weapons officer on the USS Dallas. A few months after the film debut we decommissioned the Blueback, that was one of the saddest days of my life and the end of the era of USN diesel boats. If you'd like to see the Blueback she is a museum exhibit at the museum of science and industry in Portland Oregon.
Making of "The Hunt for Red October" - Behind the Scenes