This Cold War thriller marks the first screen appearance of Jack Ryan, the US agent subsequently played by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears, and Chris Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
Here, Ryan (Alec Baldwin) plays a distinct second fiddle to the enigmatic Soviet commander Marko Ramius (a charismatic Sean Connery) who sparks an international crisis when he starts heading his new submarine – the Red October – straight for the USA during the trial voyage.
The sub is heavily armed and equipped with an experimental new propulsion system that makes it virtually impossible to track.
As the superpowers engage in the usual round of accusations and denials, it’s left to Ryan to figure out whether the Russian is defecting or preparing to launch an undetectable, pre-emptive nuclear strike.
The talented supporting cast (Sam Neill, Tim Curry, Joss Ackland, James Earl Jones, Scott Glenn) gives a pleasing sheen to the material while John McTiernan’s no-frills direction ensures that the tension rarely slips below pressure-cooker level.
Capt. Marko Ramius
Sean Connery
Jack Ryan
Alec Baldwin
Captain Bart Mancuso
Scott Glenn
Captain Vasily Borodin
Sam Neill
Admiral James Greer
James Earl Jones
Andrei Lysenko
Joss Ackland
Jeffrey Pelt
Richard Jordan
Ivan Putin
Peter Firth
Dr. Petrov
Tim Curry
Seaman Jones
Courtney B. Vance
Captain Tupolev
Stellan Skarsgård
Skip Tyler
Jeffrey Jones
Bill Steiner
Timothy Carhart
Admiral Painter
Fred Dalton Thompson
Captain Davenport
Daniel Davis
Loginov
Tomas Arana
Seaman Beaumont
Ned Vaughn
Lieutenant Commander Thompson
Anthony Peck
Lt Melekhin
Ronald Guttman
Ivan
Ivan Benko
Kamarov
Michael Welden
Slavin
Boris Krutonog
Director
John McTiernan
