THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) Movie Reaction! | FIRST TIME WATCHING!

[@jimlight5137]

It’s so fascinating to watch people who grew up without the looming threat of the Cold War reacting to a movie like this and not understanding that both sides are being duplicitous and are speaking in a sort of “code.”

[@kathyice9100]

I think that for those of us who grew up during the Cold War, we don't really appreciate the knowledge gaps that younger people have. For example, at the time this movie came out, everybody was very clear on the meaning of "defect." So I think that part of why Sam got confused is that she is missing the Cold War context we were all familiar with in 1990. And this is also relevant to the Level 5 movie that I requested this month. :)

[@TheYakusoku]

Around the same time, I remember watching Robin Williams in a movie, "Moscow on the Hudson", about a musician who defects while on tour in the United States. I was a child then, so I didn't understand a lot of the politics of the Cold War, but I got the general sense that many citizens were unhappy with living conditions at the time and thought that by defecting to the U.S., they could possibly build a new life here.

[@emilianosintarias7337]

In my experience westerners who grew up in the cold war have the biggest knowledge gaps. They literally think the Soviets were the bad guys and don't know that 10 million people died as a result of their collapse, or that the citizens voted in a direct majority to keep the country.

[@leroylowe5921]

Not to mention she had no idea why he killed the political officer (but then most people wouldn't). That would be the first thing he had to do.

[@kevinmoore2929]

Not knowing what the meaning of "defect" is not her fault, really. It's more of an indictment of our educational system, the dumbing down of America.

[@PeterOConnell-pq6io]

Talk about wondering if you'd even be there to awake tomorrow morning, that was the 'cold war'.

[@kathyastrom1315]

You included one of my favorite movie quotes ever! “I’m a politician, which means I’m a cheat and a liar, and when I’m not kissin’ babies, I’m stealin’ their lollipops.” I love that so much!

[@OGBReacts]

Couldn't resist!

[@billolsen4360]

If I was running for office, I'd just use that clip for my TV campaign ad. lol Bill Olsen for Congress. At least you know what you're getting.

[@gluuuuue]

"So they're *not* at war. It's just a lot of tension.. and one wrong move could MAKE a war happen, so..." Welcome to the era of the Cold War, Sam! Yeah, it's always fascinating to see your generations' reactions to depictions of this kind of different world of another time (even fictional), mostly because it shows us what us older generations haven't managed to get across about what living during those times was like. This came out 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which, along with the fall of the Berlin Wall, were *pretty* significant events. After that, it *really* felt like an entire new world, full of optimism and new possibilities, just for like.. all of life. And, in spite of the reality of the ups *and* downs that set in afterward ever since, the conflicts in the Middle East + Afghanistan, it has been pretty good on the *whole*, unsettled just a bit by the recent stuff in Ukraine.

[@TangentOmega]

The book was released in 1984.

[@frankiecamacho8739]

Came here for this...

[@emilianosintarias7337]

it didn't feel good or work out for the people in the Soviet union. 10 million of them died (unicef).

[@Muck006]

Hint: the Cold War ISNT OVER ... but it is only one side that is still fighting it ... because admitting that "Russia isnt a threat anymore" would result in LOSS OF FUNDING. [The current conflict in eastern europe is the result of a BULLY taking the LUNCH MONEY from a kid on a schoolyard ... and now that kid is throwing punches. It did NOT start with the first shot ... but rather with the billions of POLITICAL BRIBES that were sent to Ukraine BEFORE the crisis 2014.]

[@Rmlohner]

Among all the big actors in this movie, one you may not have noticed is Scott Glenn as the captain of the Dallas. He's a former Marine and has played a ton of this kind of tough authority figure in stuff like The Right Stuff, Silence of the Lambs, and Vertical Limit. And especially notable for an MCU fan, he was Daredevil's mentor Stick in the Netflix series.

[@willcool713]

Well, we know Sam Neil does make it to Montana, because in about three years he's there for his opening scene in Jurassic Park, I believe.

[@thomasvlaskampiii6850]

Indeed, you are correct. But instead of raising rabbits and having a round American wife or two, he's digging up dinosaur bones and living the bachelor life

[@Hurbie_53]

You have to give Sean Connery the nobel price in "No shits given" due to the fact he plays a russian submarine commander with his very own thick scottish accent and friggin pulling it off!

[@julielabrouste6344]

2:07 The toilet paper isn't random. Sonar techs write on screens with grease pencils for tracking etc. and the TP is to erase.

[@OGBReacts]

I figured there was a reason 🤣

[@exile220ify]

The sheer amount of acting talent that shows up in this film, in lesser and greater roles, astounds me to this day.

[@jamesfischer2427]

7:27 "So yeah. They're not at war, but it's just a lot of tension, and one wrong move can make a war." You just described the whole of the 1950's, 60's, 70's and 80's.

[@HobGungan]

1990: "I would have liked to have seen Montana...." 1993: * *digging up a "raptor" skeleton in Montana* *

[@karlsmith2570]

Part of the reason why Ramius sent the letter to admiral padorin was because Ramius' wife was padorin's niece

[@billolsen4360]

Padorin looked so happy to have received a letter from Ramius. That sure didn't last long.

[@martinbraun1211]

I highly recommend the german movie "Das Boot"! One of the best submarine movies of all time!

[@DerOberfeldwebel]

18:08: Thats why I like the old style of subtle foreshadowing. Did you catch the crew of Red October complaining that the food is shit ? That happens when you swap a submarine cook with a KGB agent !

[@Rmlohner]

Jack's wife in the opening scene is played by Gates McFadden, best known as Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Genreation. When this film was made, she'd left the show after its first season and was looking to make this a new long-term role, but then ended up going back to TNG after a year off and stayed for the rest of its run. One really weird part is that she's portrayed as being British, despite McFadden and the character in Clancy's books being American. I've never been able to find why they did that.

[@j_tylor_captylor3822]

Was also the choreography for Labyrinth ( 1986 )

[@exile220ify]

Your comment seems to imply (and I'm sorry if I've misinterpreted) that Gates McFadden's leaving TNG was by her choice. It wasn't. She was fired, primarily because Maurice Hurley didn't like her. After Season Two, and after McFadden's replacement (Diana Muldaur) had alienated fans, Maurice Hurley was fired and McFadden was rehired.

[@brusher79]

Thank goodness or Wil Wheaton may have never been born.

[@ShawnRavenfire]

They were worried that it wasn't clear that Jack was travelling from London to Washington, so they decided (at the last minute) to give Gates a British accent. Really, though, they could have just as easily put another text caption on the screen.

[@mikejankowski6321]

@@exile220ify I was not fond of Diana Muldaur or her character, so having Gates back felt like going home. With all this firing, were the people who did the credits sacked as well? (Grail joke, sorry.)

[@rburton76]

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen this movie. It’s fantastic.

[@SweetLou0523]

Personally, conservative estimates are north of 3000 times for me. And no that's not a joke. I absolutely love this movie.

[@billolsen4360]

@@SweetLou0523 There's just something about submarine movies, ever since we saw James Mason as Captain Nemo in 1953.

[@SweetLou0523]

@@billolsen4360 yep, 20,000 Leagues is where it started for me as well. Then Grey Lady Down and HfRO. Red October though has perfect pacing, the right amount and type of dialog, no extraneous sub plots (pun intended) its just the perfect movie to put on and zone out to. I often have it playing in the background while working on my models.

[@briandurbin7676]

One other thing about choosing a deep location to "lose" the Red October. In the 1960's, the Soviets lost a nuclear sub in the Pacific, and it sank at a depth that they thought was too deep to retrieve. But Howard Hughes's corporation, funded by the CIA (IIRC), built the ship "Glomar Explorer" to specifically try to go down and get the Soviet sub. The effort was only partially successful, as part of the sub broke off and fell back to the bottom as they were pulling it up.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

If you think about it one of the reasons why Ramius defected was to keep the Cold War from turning into a hot war. The caterpillar drive was so powerful it would have allowed Soviets to win a nuclear attack before we could react. By giving the technology to the Americans he kept both sides even, and neither had an advantage, so no one would attack the other! This concept is called "The Balance of Terror". You keep both sides in a conflict evenly powerful so they won't fight. If one side was more powerful, it would start a war to beat the weaker side.

[@mikejankowski6321]

It wasn't in Balance of Terror, it was in A Private Little War. Star Trek, where Kirk said and did exactly that!

[@lukenshazard127]

The jelly beans actually have great significance. President Regan always had them on his desk and at meetings, and this was a Regan period movie.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Jelly Bellys 👍

[@adamskeans2515]

I love how Sam Neil's last words are " I would like to have seen Montana" in this movie and his first seen in Jurrasic Park is in Montana

[@Rmlohner]

Clancy's books are mostly in a shared setting with recurring characters, the most popular being Jack Ryan (which is probably how you recognized the name despite not knowing anything about this movie and presumably the rest of his work). He's been played by no fewer than five actors, with Baldwin followed by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger (pretty much universally considered the best version of the character), Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears, Chris Pine in Shadow Recruit (directed by Kenneth Branagh of all people, and intended to start a new film franchise until it flopped hard), and John Krasinski in an Amazon series simply called Jack Ryan, soon to release its third and final season. All versions have their pros and cons and are worth checking out.

[@joeldf6859]

While I like Harrison Ford a lot, I would not agree about his Jack Ryan. I much prefer Baldwin in the role.

[@kathyastrom1315]

@@joeldf6859 Me, too. Ford does a decent job, but I think the problem with his films came from the scripts, especially for Patriot Games, which is my favorite Clancy book, but the film is just okay. I love Baldwin’s air of definitely being an analyst forced into field work, as well as how they incorporated his ability to impersonate others.

[@randallshuck2976]

This movie is a pretty good representation of the tensions between the USA and the USSR that was the background of my childhood and early adulthood. We all had the ability to end the world whenever one side became crazy enough to do so. The soviets spent a lot of time and energy attempting to gain enough of an advantage to win the first strike. We did too, unofficially. We had a lot less mental problems than today. We didn't need to nurture crazy people since we lived in a crazy world for 50+ years. Ramius wanted to defect and take the sub with him to make sure the Soviets would not produce more of the special subs.

[@sdaniels160]

Defecting is very much a thing. In the 80s there were often news stories of russian soldiers defecting (without submarines). Russian atheles sometimes defected during the Olympics.

[@galandirofrivendell4740]

Cold War movies are frequently entertaining, if a bit stereotypical at times. One of my favorite Cold War films is "Ice Station Zebra," with Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine.

[@mikejankowski6321]

That was a good one!

[@Ofnir_Grabacr_]

You asked if this movie has any basis in real life, and the answer is yes. Now what part exactly is based on real life we don’t know, but we do know that after this film released in theaters, the FBI tracked down Tom Clancy and asked him how he knew classified material. He then proceeded to take the agents to his local library and showed them how anyone with a library card could access the same declassified material he did and piece the story together. Now to this day we still don’t know for certain what he got so accurate as to spook the Feds, but some part of this story did. Food for thought.

[@john0constantine]

You should watch the German movie "Das Boot" about a German WWII U-boat crew by director Wolfgang Petersen. It's probably the best U-boat film ever made. (Watch the long cut)

[@FrankJReynolds]

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK borrowed the submarine from DAS BOOT for its submarine scene.

[@jenniferjones2863]

I agree but you have to watch the version in German with subtitles.

[@davidmichaelson1092]

Amazing movie, but has to be watched with subtitles.

[@Hurbie_53]

pulling from reactors to "Das Boot" with naval background it must be the most realistic depiction of submarine procedures and life aboard a submarine.

[@MehWhatever99]

It never happened with a submarine. But people did defect. And there was at least one pilot who flew his plane out, and defected with the latest Soviet fighter plane.

[@jamesharper3933]

Nice reaction 😊 One of my favorite Sean Connery films. Another Connery movie to watch that has been highly overlooked, well 2 for that matter are Medicine Man and from 1990, The Russia House with Roy Scheider (Jaws) and Michelle Pfeiffer. Keep up the good work.

[@gasaholic47]

The inspiration for the novel by Tom Clancy that the movie was based on, was an actual mutiny on a Soviet destroyer in the late 70's. Unlike the movie, the mutiny was led by the political officer, and wasn't about defecting to the US. It didn't end well for the political officer, and those involved in the mutiny, as it ultimately failed.. Most were executed.

[@SnabbKassa]

That's how you deal with apparatchiks called Putin, Mr Bond

[@Rmlohner]

The original novel was the first fiction work by Tom Clancy, who before this made his living writing reports for the Navy. He couldn't get any publishers interested in it, and eventually convinced the Navy's own publishing house to put it out, even though they'd been purely a non-fiction publisher before. The book sold so well, especially helped by an enthusiastic review by President Ronald Reagan, that they've done several more fiction novels since. As you'd imagine from that background, Clancy's books focus heavily on the military, and are especially known for their extremely detailed "technology porn," though of course it's inevitably become pretty amusing to see how much he gushes over what was cutting edge technology from the time he was writing. He died at age 66 with no official cause given, though many fans have actually become relieved as we don't have to deal with how he probably would have had at least some level of support for Trump, given some other political stances in his books.

[@Momsbasement354]

Great one! I’m actually surprised that you had never heard of it! Clear And Present Danger is my favorite of the movies made from Clancy books.

[@elizabeths50]

And Patriot Games

[@elizabeths50]

The movie is very good. But the book is perfection. They had to do a lot of things for time comoression. If Hollyweird had been strict to the book the movie would have had to have been 6 hours long. LOL Understanding the time frame The Hunt For Red October was written in and for, The Cold War, would make things more clearer But is you like to read, the book is awesome. I have read it more than 10X. I was also in the US Navy at the time, so a lot of things were current for me. Hardest part was watching the star of Rocky Horror Picture Show play such an upright and proper Russian doctor. LOL

[@bobschenkel7921]

The best thing about this movie, besides the plot, is the cast. The Red October's commander was played by Sean Connery, the first James Bond, this was Alex Baldwin's big film debut as Jack tRyan, Sam Neil, as you noted from Jurassic Park, James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader from Star Wars, Jeffrey Jones, the principal from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Tim Curry, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Scott Glenn, from The Right Stuff and Fred Dalton Thompson, who after this movie, became a U.S. Senator from Tennessee for a couple of terms. And then there is Tom Clancy who wrote the story, a work of "Fiction". I think.

[@RetroClassic66]

The Cold War was a terrific background for all kinds of great stories, mostly spy thrillers and adventure tales. Defecting (escaping) from the real life Soviet Union, Communist China, North Korea, Cuba, and other Communist nations during the Cold War was somewhat common (defections from North Korea still happen today, from China and Cuba too but not as frequently as before), and a lot of people took all kinds of risks to escape to freedom in Western Europe, the USA, and other parts of the free world. Sadly, some didn’t make it. A really good film about how two German families did this for real, defecting from Communist East Germany into free West Germany in a self-made hot air balloon, was released by Disney in 1982, called NIGHT CROSSING. (Germany has since reunified and is a single nation again.) I think you might like that one. Other terrific Cold War-related films I’d recommend include THIRTEEN DAYS (2000), with Kevin Costner, and BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015), with Tom Hanks, and directed by Steven Spielberg.

[@Rmlohner]

Also the work of John La Carre, a real life Cold War spy whose identity was leaked by a defector, so he turned to writing novels inspired by his actual jobs.

[@willcool713]

True, but I still say Nazis are the single most perfect enemy (except possibly Zombie Nazis, depending on genre).

[@kathyastrom1315]

There was an entire sub genre of Escape from East Germany stories in magazines like Readers Digest that I read in the 1970s as a kid.

[@elijahvincent985]

Fun fact; in early prints of the film, when the culprit was revealed, Alec Baldwin's line was originally "I don't believe this. It's a (f-word) cook!" When the MPAA spotted this issue after they gave it a PG rating, the line was dubbed to what you heard to keep the rating unaltered. Personally, I think it's a little insulting to use religious names in vain, especially in a loose and crude manner, but I appreciate the realism and consistency with the film. Ironically, to this day, for some odd reason, PG films are still allowed to have one F-word due to occasions like appealing for a lower rating and a loophole in the guidelines. This movie is a fine example of being a slow-burning thriller with little on-screen violence while preserving an extremely tense atmosphere and this is also a good window into the last years of the USSR before the collapse in 1991.

[@Hortonfantastic4]

“One false move can make a war.” That sums up my experience the first 17 years of my life. Now imagine that war is a nuclear war. Not an ignorable war, a nuclear world affecting war. Welcome to the 80s

[@darrylcarden1851]

I’d say if nothing else, the high level USA vs. USSR, Cold War distrust and tension is historically accurate. Always was one of my favorite Sean Connery movie’s.

[@billolsen4360]

A nuclear sub was the only upgrade possible from a Model 007 Aston Martin.

[@user-dz6fy6qv2l]

I admit that I was confused the first time I watched this movie, but after the second time it all made sense. As for "defecting".. I would highly recommend you watch one of my favorite movies (and it stars ROBIN WILLIAMS!!). It's called Moscow On the Hudson. An often overlooked movie where Robin plays a Russian defecting to the US. I love that film and hopefully you will too.

[@biguy617]

I miss Sean Connery. He was great in this movie. RIP

[@sparky6086]

"The Hunt for Red October" was in the context of The Cold War. The people of the USSR & the Eastern Block generally weren't allowed to emmigrate to the United States or the rest of the West, so sometimes they came up with elaborate means to escape (defect) to the West.

[@donstruble7489]

I read this book while I was serving as an officer in the Navy. So I was already familiar with the jargon used by the author. (Tom Clancy) He meticulously researches his books and defections are definitely "A thing." Not at this level (Submarine Captain) and to have all the officers on board wanting to defect is a stretch. To defect with a multi-billion dollar state-of-the-art submarine is extremely unlikely. If it did though it would be so highly classified beyond top secret that we would never hear of it.

[@benkelly2024]

If I remember the book correctly, Ramius was more than just a Submarine Captain, he was a senior instructor at the Soviet Naval Academy and the "test pilot for submarines", taking the first of each new class out to write its operating manual. He'd chosen all the Red October's officers except the doctor and the political officer specifically because he knew they were unhappy with life in the USSR. He'd mentored them for years, not least in helping them keep their disatisfactions private. It wasn't as though they all just happened to want to defect together. I've no idea how plausible that scenario actually would have been (though knowing Clancy, I'm prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt!), but in the book at least the issue didn't go unaddressed.

[@KBH27]

It's true about the caterpillar drive. Magneto hydrodynamic propulsion. It's like a jet engine for the water. Goes in the front, gets squirted out the back

[@karlsmith2570]

Hey Sam, in the opening scenes of this movie, Jack's daughter had requested getting a little brother for her Teddy Bear, Stanley and Jack was telling the flight attendant that he always had trouble sleeping during a flight, which is touched on by the US Navy admiral on the Enterprise when he'd told the Captain about Jack's helicopter crash in the Mediterranean

[@wwoods66]

And at the end he's _got_ the new bear ... and is so exhausted he has *no* trouble sleeping on the plane.

[@rccraig7580]

Most movies that are based on novels written by Tom Clancy will usually have a lot technical jargon and it stands to reason you'll have to watch it again to pick up on those things you missed the first time. If I remember correctly at the end of novel the Red October was basically dismantled and had its constituent parts shipped to different secret locations for study.

[@karlsmith2570]

"Why Is There Random Toilet Paper There?" To wipe the condensation off the screens for the sonar equipment

[@OGBReacts]

NOTED! I figured it was useful, it was just a bit funny haha

[@donsample1002]

Not exactly. They’d write temporary notes on the screen with dry erase markers, and the toilet paper was there to wipe them off.

[@jamielandis4308]

I met a high level Soviet defector in 1985. His name was Arkady Shevchenko and he was a high ranking UN diplomat. He spoke at the University I attended and all us Soviet Studies majors were invited to a reception after. Another good defector movie is “White Nights,” starring Gregory Hines and Boris Berishnikov (an actual Soviet dancer who defected). Btw, the toilet paper was used to wipe the sonar screens if they got streaked or dirty.

[@OGBReacts]

Wow, that's pretty interesting!

[@kathyastrom1315]

The actor dancer is Mikhail Barishnikov, who is just a brilliant dancer. I love that film more for the dancing than the acting-sadly, Helen Mirren gets a bit misplaced by the script.

[@Nate6981]

"I bet money one of this crew is going to try to kill him!" I bet it's the cook. 😉

[@Cydonius1]

The toilet paper in the sonar room wasnt random, it's used to clean up condensation that can form on the various monitors and equipment

[@kenlangston3451]

Another great submarine movie is Crimson Tide with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. It is an action thriller.

[@williewilliams6571]

Tom Clancy's books are great, but they take patience. He would write a 1,000 page book and use the first 700- 800 pages to lay the groundwork for the last part of the book's finale.

[@juanforrester2283]

Another movie in a similar vein is Firefox (1982)with the great Clint Eastwood,please cover it if you can find it,a nerve-wrecking suspense-action kinda like a cross between this one and The Fugitive to give a spoilerfree idea,but a really fantastic underrated movie. Really dig yer reactions and commentary!

[@billolsen4360]

Yes, Firefox is now largely, and it sure doesn't deserve to be. Especially Eastwood's PTSD episodes.

[@juanforrester2283]

@@billolsen4360 My favorite actor,even if not the best,king of cool with his trademark western unique subtle badssnes.

[@CraftsWithCrafts]

Defecting from the Soviet Union is DEFINITELY something that happened in the late 70s, early 80s, up to the mid 90s. Athletes and military personnel did defect from the Soviet Union and the Communist Bloc - you may recognize some of the names in here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Soviet_and_Eastern_Bloc_defectors#List_of_defections

[@kathyastrom1315]

Fictional films like Moscow on the Hudson (a comedy) and White Nights (a dance and action drama hybrid) are interesting takes on defection in the 1980s. Both are well worth a watch.

[@mikejankowski6321]

People have been defecting since nations opposed each other. Remember Benedict Arnold, our most famous example? The Cold War had many, some more known than others. In 1976, Lieutenant Viktor Belenko of the USSR defected to the West by flying a Mig-25 to Japan. This was an aircraft that US intelligence wanted, since we knew very little about it. Thanks to this gift we found out that we had overestimated its threat. This was mentioned in passing as a point of comparison, that a ballistic missile submarine is not a Mig and that we cannot inspect it as we did to Belenko's aircraft. That said... Great reaction to a great movie. Clearly you applied yourself to keep up with a set of unfamiliar circumstances in this story, and it paid off.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

During the cold War there were some famous examples of prominent soviet citizens who defected to the west. Military people, ballet dancers, authors, etc. It's a fascinating study. Especially during the 70s and 80's when soviet society was on its last legs people if they could get out they did.

[@shainewhite2781]

I remember First watching this movie on CBS Sunday Night Movie in 2000! I had no idea it was based on a book! I read the novel in high school and it was a lot different than I thought. Kevin Costner was considered for the role of Jack Ryan but turned it down as he was too busy working on the Oscar winning epic, Dances With Wolves. Alec Baldwin plays Ryan in the movie, and was tapped to play him in Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger. He had a payment dispute with Paramount. Harrison Ford played Ryan as well s Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, and John Krasinki in the Jack Ryan Amazon series.

[@lethaldose2000]

What's really cool about the REd October movie is the placement of Courtney B. Vance as Seaman Jones. It was unusual to have a black person in such an intelligent and critical role for a major Hollywood movie. They took a chance back then to portray his character using a black actor. I guess having such heavyweights as Sean Connery, Sam Neill, Alec Balwin, and James Earl Jones would make it go unnoticed.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Isn't James Earl Jones black? and playing a intelligent and critical roll? smh I've seen this movie a million times and Jonesy's skin never factored into anything that was happening any more than any other character. I think Morgan Freeman is exactly right on that subject.

[@tomyoung9049]

a fictional story based on actual technology and how the US and former Soviet Union threatened and played 'war games' with each other all thru the cold war. I remember hearing that Tom Clancy the author of these books was getting so accurate with some of the tech that wasn't suppose to be general knowledge that he was interviewed by the military asking about his sources. In those days, many Russians wanted to get away from the Soviet lifestyle so defection was real and a major concern for those in the USSR. Their top athletes were always watched very closely when there was a risk they might go for it and try to seek asylum in the US.

[@subtlewolf]

In this case the captain is Lithuanian, which adds some more depth to his motives.

[@elizabeths50]

White Nights covers that part of the Cold War exceptionally. Gregory Hines and Barishnikov played excellent parts. Amazing choreography. Well worth watching

[@williewilliams6571]

The US got a few MiGs from Communist pilots who defected- with their plane.

[@CaturdayNite]

I think the most important thing to understand about this film is that it is a sequel. It's true. After the events of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Frankenfurter SURVIVED and went into hiding as a medic on a Russian submarine. Now i just want to know what happened to Rocky. Did he make it? He wasnt in this film, so i fear he indeed perished as the mansion jetted back to Transexual Transylvaniaaaa ah ah, hey hey! He's just a sweet trans.....wait..... I think....i may have gotten characters mixed up with actors.

[@GrouchyMarx]

@ 4:57 Like they said, none of it _"ever happened"_ !! LOL! Note _their_ italics. There may be some truth to some of this.... maybe. It's based on Clancy's book so perhaps he can explain it. @ 13:27 Watch the good movies, the ones you like and may be a bit unsure about details here and there, watch them again to pick up more info. (I have to do that sometimes. 😁) I've suggested "Interstellar" to you several times and that will be one you'll likely have to watch more than once. But I'm sure you'll really like it the first time and will want to watch it many times. (Don't forget the NASA shirt. 😁) BTW, research "political officers" or "political commissar" to see the significance of that and why Ramius had to dispose of him first. This was a fun video you did here. We like your confusions Sam, especially later when you "get it". It's the same with most of us with new movies first time around. I watched Red October several times to catch all the details and it's a fun movie to watch and share with newbies. You were wondering about how true Red October is or is not, and you made me think of one like it from 1971 I think you'll like because it leaves the viewer wondering if something like that bizarre shit actually happened! It's called "The Andromeda Strain" a story by Jurassic Park author, Michael Crichton. If you decide on that one please don't research it and pay close attention to the places and dates they flash across during it. They flashback briefly a few times to related events a couple years before. When you start watching, you'll soon see why the topic is very significant today! I'm still wondering since 1971 if it was scifi or scifact. Or a little of both. 🖖😎

[@rburton76]

The other Jack Ryan films range from very good to meh. None come anywhere close to how good The Hunt for Red October is.

[@billparrish4385]

I was a real Tom Clancy nerd in the 80s... I can admit that now! (And truth be told, I admitted it back then, too! lol) _Red October_ was my favorite book in the series. When a screen adaptation was announced, a major motion picture being released in 90, I could hardly wait! Sean Connery did not disappoint, even though he was definitely not how i envisioned Marko Ramius. My Marko had darker hair, was short and stout, and spoke with a Russian accent (as opposed to a Scottish one! lol). It was a real treat to see all the military gear, science, and procedures I'd been geeking out about for years. I took my wife to see the picture when it came out in theaters. She wasn't into Clancy, but she could handle looking at Alec Baldwin in his prime for a couple hours. She 'made the mistake' of asking me a couple of obvious questions afterward, and had to endure my seminar on the way home covering all things Soviet and military, from history to procedures to gear. That was a real labor of love, let me tell you! On her part! And not that I had anything more than a 'Clancy-fan level' knowledge of any of it, mind you. But I was over the moon at being able to see with my eyes all this technology I never thought I'd see with more than my mind's eye. It was such an experience!!

[@lazyperfectionist1]

1:44 "Yeshterday, I was shitting in my living room and a _book_ fell on me. I had only my _shelf_ to blame."

[@lethaldose2000]

Hey Sam, Tom Clancy wrote the Novel using publicly available technical information and guides to the Soviet and US navies from their Naval Technical Press Journals. The novel was so full of technical details on American, British, and Soviet subs that each Navy changed the way they reported activities in their promotional public journals.

[@Muck006]

2:10 "I could never be in a submarine" ... those submarines are four star hotels ... you should watch *DAS BOOT* from 1981 (the longest version available). Stick to the german version with subtitles.

[@ketchuploverful]

Crimson Tide ain't too shabby either

[@randallshuck2976]

To continue the Jack Ryan saga the next movie is "Patriot Games" staring Harrison Ford there are 5 and they all are set in the cold war period.

[@kenlangston3451]

The book for this came out in the mid-80s. Tom Clancy was such a genius and did so much research that he correctly predicted many of the top secret advances in US submarine technology at the time. So much so that the US Department of Defense actually investigated him for stealing state secrets. They thought someone had leaked the plans but he figured it out on his own.

[@gerardcote8391]

Movie based on a novel by Tom Clancy. He was an insurance salesman, whose clients were a lot of military, and CIA people. The book has a lot of very accurate materiall regarding subs, nuclear reactors, navy operations and spy stuff.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

The "Cold War" was the term use because it was not a "Hot War". The US and the Soviet Union were opposing each other, but the almost never fired on each other for fear of destroying the world. They basically spent 40+ years trying to out class each other. Eventually the Soviet economy collapsed and we "won".

[@mikejankowski6321]

The description Ramius gave was so on point, no battles, only casualties.

[@PatrickPrejusa]

I will always love this movie, from the director of DIE HARD.

[@PatrickPrejusa]

I had a bit of an advantage, coming from a Navy Family, and knowing alot about the military. But your experience is normal, and so glad ou enjoyed it, growing up in that time, russians defecting to the u.s. was talked about alot. Robin williams did a great film about a russian defecting, you should watch it, it's called MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

13:19 "Why's he wanna bring him _there?_ He said 'Somewhere deep.' That's apparently deep. To- To _sink_ it, like he just said, or... huh." This movie is based in 1984. At that time, the necessary technology to come anywhere _near_ investigating the deepest parts of the world's oceans had not yet been developed. That includes the Laurentian Abyssal at a depth of just over 15,000 ft. Ryan wants the _Red October_ to look like it sank in a place it will be a few _decades_ before anyone can _check._

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Hi O.G. Bojangles, let's watch for the buckaroo.

[@fidel2xl]

Great reaction to an awesome 'Tom Clancy novel' movie adaptation. I saw this movie on HBO (or Showtime) when I was a kid back in the 1990s, and fully understood the story from start to finish. But then again, I was an avid reader as a child, and especially loved Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy novels, so a word like 'Defect' was always understood. And yes, 'Defecting' is indeed a real thing. Anyway, I was never a fan of Alec Baldwin whatsoever, but I've always been a fan of the Tom Clancy novels and his 'Jack Ryan' character who was played by Baldwin in this movie. In the following Jack Ryan movies, Harrison Ford took over the role of Jack Ryan in 'Patriot Games', and 'Clear and Present Danger' ; and thereafter Ben Affleck took over the Jack Ryan role in the 2002 movie 'The Sum of All Fears'. There was another Jack Ryan movie around 2014 (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) played by Chris Pine. And of course, Amazon Prime currently has a series based on Jack Ryan. I'm just glad that the worst actor on the planet (Alec Baldwin) did not manage to f#$k up this great role...lol

[@glynnisi]

I enjoyed how you sort of accidentally defined the Cold War, not at war but full of tensions. Present day doesn't have the monopoly on anxiety, lol. Hunt for Red October was a Tom Clancy novel. He wrote very detailed political/war related novels. His Jack Ryan character was super popular. Harrison Ford plays Jack Ryan in Patriot Games & Clear and Present Danger. More recently there's been a Jack Ryan series on Amazon Prime starring John Krasinski. All pretty good, but this one stays a fave for many people. So many good actors! Enjoyed watching you learn from it. :)

[@lazyperfectionist1]

6:28 "Before we sailed, I dispatched a latter to Admiral Padorin in which I announced our intention to _defect."_ And let me just emphasize, Ramius _had_ to _do_ this. Defecting to the US, and taking a vital Soviet Naval prototype _with_ you is an incredibly dangerous _undertaking._ He knew there would be those among his co-conspirators who would legitimately entertain thoughts of going _back._ That kind of complication would make this even _more_ dangerous, so he understood he had to snuff the notion out. So he took steps to make _sure_ that trying to go back would get them _killed._ Now, they'll be looking forward _hole-heartedly._

[@ctidd]

Great review, like to see the younger folks reaching beyond their comfort zone and learning. My favorite Tom Clancy novel is Red Storm Rising, which plays out what could happen if a conventional war kicked off between the Soviet Union and NATO in the late ‘80s. It’s a long read, but a great ride.

[@gailjohnston1248]

Hi Sam, this is a movie you really do have to pay close attention to while watching it. I was a bit surprised you didn't say a quip or etc. once you saw and heard James Earl Jones' voice, being as he is Darth Vader lol. What I do find strangely funny in this movie is....Sean Connery, like John Wayne, never even tries to do a darn Russian accent like the other actors around him!🙈🙉😝 In many ways they are just being THEM (Connery/ JW) in whatever role they are doing. Anyways, when Sam Neill's character gets killed, I remember so many like myself felt heartbroken for him and his missing out on his dream of living in the U.S. . You should watch the 2 Jack Ryan movies with Harrison Ford, they were great. And being as you hadn't ever heard much about the Defecting thing, react to the film-- White Nights. It'll show you an even deeper view of it from 2 viewpoints. One of the actors in it is - Mikhail Baryshnikov. Who actually did Defect to the U.S. many years ago. He is a huge star in both the Russian and then American ballet world before he started acting.

[@karlsmith2570]

Hey Sam, This movie, based on the Novel of the same title By Tom Clancy, is based on an actual event, with some minor changes

[@artembentsionov]

“I would like to have seen Montana.” Guess where Alan Grant was digging for dinosaur bones in Jurassic Park?

[@PeterOConnell-pq6io]

"I estimate our odds against the Soviet fleet at one in three" -Capt Remius

[@jeffstewart7431]

This is one of my favorite movies. As others have said this is based on a Tom Clancy novel. It always amazes me that they are able to squeeze a Tom Clancy novel into a 2-hour movie. Clancy was known for taking his time to paint a very detail picture for you. The man definitely did his research. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago.

[@christhornycroft3686]

Another American Cold War movie (end of, anyway) where "Russians" are played by a New Zealander (Sam Neill) and a Scotsman (Sean Connery). Reminds me of Highlander, where a Scottish Highlander was played by a New York-born French guy and an Egyptian-Spanish immortal was played by a Scotsman. But hey, any actor with any accent will do in most of these movies when they're played a "foreign" character. It's actually pretty funny at this point.

[@Lynn705Hal]

Love this movie. Watched it a few times over the yrs. And yes, the first time, I had to pay close attention & couldn't figure out what would happen next. Also, yes, defection is a big deal. ~ I'd recommend Thirteen Days, from 2000 based on actual events w/ Kevin Costner, if you want to see cold war tension between the US & Russia. Thx for your reaction. 🙂

[@lethaldose2000]

I'm a politician. Which means I'm a liar and a cheat. If I'm not kissing babies, I'm trying to steal their lollypops. So true, So true. Truer word could nto have been spoken in a movie.

[@Muck006]

4:20 That's the SOVIETS ... NOT "the russians" ... you just have to ignore the guy with the scottish accent playing the captain. 5:00 YES and NO: 1. there was a soviet vessel that had a mutiny and tried to defect, but it was a cruiser and not a submarine ... and it was captured again 2. there was a soviet submarine - the KURSK - which sank somewhere (I cant remember where) ... which was in the news for some weeks. It was later determined that a torpedo had blown up inside it and basically blown the front off. 13:20 The reason for them going to the DEEP SPOT is easy: you cant easily find "the wreckage" ... because it is deep. The Soviets would have investigated and found "something missing" if they had staged the incident at a shallow spot. The investigation into the Kursk took YEARS. *HAVING LIVED THROUGH THE TIME ... IN EUROPE* ... will make it easier to understand. No offense, but "you americans" are NAVEL GAZERS and think you are the most important thing in the world. Sorry, but there are other countries too, you should try to learn some history and inform yourselves a bit ... AND IGNORE YOUR PROPAGANDA! Look up FACTS ... and then THINK about what they could mean.

[@OGBReacts]

I love how you’ve insulted me several times in multiple comments across multiple videos and yet you keep watching and commenting on my videos… interesting. Like, don’t treat me like I’m dumb. I’m not. I just don’t know everything. So, chill.

[@adamskeans2515]

you could say a lot of tension. try 50 years of tension. The Cold War was rough.

[@one1charlie643]

The book and the movie is loosely based of a real event where a Soviet crew highjacked a Soviet surface vessel and tried to sail it to Iceland (IIRC) and defect.

[@mikejankowski6321]

I think they ended up going for Sweden, but got repatriated.

[@stinkystu1]

Young people don't get a lot of the subtle references because schools don't do a good job of teaching history anymore.

[@OGBReacts]

I feel I understood some of the references they were making, especially since I always enjoyed learning about history in school. Like I believe one of the guys were talking about building a bomb shelter with his dad because someone 90 miles off the coast had missiles-- AKA I believe the Cuban Missile Crisis, yeah?

[@davewhitmore1958]

@@OGBReacts Yup. Just like Capt. America, you understood that reference :)

[@dubbleplusgood]

I'm sure you try not to, but don't ever feel bad about not fully getting a movie in the 1st half or even on your whole 1st watch. The truth is many people that comment on youtube have usually seen the movie more than once already. All that matters is if you enjoyed it or not. If you're up for another submarine thriller, Crimson Tide (1995) would be a great choice.

[@gk5891]

It's based on a novel by Tom Clancy. It was inspired by an actual Soviet Sub that disappeared. There were a lot of rumors about s confrontation between the disappeared sub and a US Sub. If anything untoward did happen it's classified.

[@Rmlohner]

One interesting change from the book is that originally, Ramius' motive to defect was extremely personal as his wife died of an illness that could have easily been treated, but instead the case got tied up in government red tape and she didn't make it. His wife's death is still present in the film, but it's reduced to simply meaning he doesn't have anything tying him to Russia anymore, and the defection is more idealistic as he wants to stop the war that subs like the Red October would cause. A possible reason for this is that by the time the film was made, the Chernobyl disaster had occurred a few years earlier, setting the Soviet Union's economy on a steady downward trend until it completely collapsed just a year after the film's release, and it was now a lot more acceptable to imagine Soviet citizens would be willing to make this kind of defection even without such an intensely personal reason behind it.

[@kenkonwick6660]

The book is better as most are. Its also a difficult read, lots of technical jargon. I read the book before seeing this movie, so i knew what was going on and it makes the movie much more enjoyable. Its really unfortunate that this movie was made just after the end if The Cold War. It would have been much more relatable. The acting however, is top notch. And the cinemetography was tricky with the lighting for underwater scenes. Pretty well done. Jack Ryan becomes a very interesting character in later books and films. 2 books that will never become movies are Debt of Honor and the follow up book, Executive Orders. I strongly recommend those reads, and keep in mind they were published in the early to mid 90s . U wont believe how eerily prophetic they are.......

[@jimglenn6972]

As mentioned, “Das Boot” is probably the most realistic submarine movie but there are other great film since WWII. I could suggest “Run Silent, Run Deep” from 1958… very famous. If you go back to the 1940’s, try a sentimental movie, “Destination Tokyo”. We’ll get you in a submarine, yet!

[@robertbunting3117]

This is supposedly based off real event, very loosely based, from 1975. Rumors I remember from when this was released, and they might have been spread just to promote the movie so take with a grain of salt, is that Clancy got the details of the story from making a lot of phone calls to a lot of people in the government, kind of like how Woodward and Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal. Also he got so many of the details of the Russian sub correct that the N.S.A. (National Security Agency ) made him change quite a bit. Again they were rumors but it made the movie that much more exciting back in the day

[@chrisbullard5901]

Sam, definitely listen to the audiobook “The Berlin Wall” by Frederick Taylor. It will put a lot of this movie and the Cold War into perspective.

[@BirchLeafPhotography]

You're not alone in your confusion. It's hard for the younger generation to understand the cold war political climate. Actually, we were at war with the Russians. A cold war. Everything is cloak and dagger and very nuanced in a cold war. It becomes a real war when you openly start shooting at each other. Up until that point, it's just a game of cat and mouse. This is before the wall fell, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, and we had a lot of close calls with the Soviets (now Russians) no one even knew about. I was in the Navy during this period, and I worked on subs. Lots of classified stuff went down and only recently has some of it come to light. This exact scenario didn't happen, but things very much like it did. Defection was a huge theme during this time. It's why Cubans hop on boats and try to get to Florida - because Cuba is still communist. It's a horrible political system and everyone wanted out, but if a senior member of the Soviet military wanted out, the only way he would be able to do it is something sort of like this. He would have to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes, because if the Soviets got one whiff of it, he'd have been executed. So he wasn't crazy and he wasn't a bad person. He simply wanted out of the Soviet Union, as did the other senior officers. And the little mini sub near the end that attaches to Red October was a real thing. I used to work on that too, and had to pull guard rotation on it. It was called the NR-1 submarine. Look it up. Pretty spiffy little sub for the time. You should watch the Chernobyl mini series on HBO. It will give you a good idea of how messed up the Soviet system was. Great reaction

[@nates1092]

This is a book by Tom Clancy. The main character in his books is Jack Ryan. Alec Baldwin played him in The Hunt For Red October. There are two Clancy films after this where Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford. Please watch Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger.

[@moonbrooke27]

Great reaction! Been a busy day so I wasn't on top of it like usual!!!