"THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" (1990) Review

 

"THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" (1990) Review

I will be the first to admit that I have never been an ardent reader of Tom Clancy's novels. Many who know me would find this strange, considering my penchant for the movie adaptations of his stories. The first I ever saw was "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER", the 1990 adaptation of Clancy's 1984 novel of the same title. 

The last remnants of the Cold War - at least the one between the United States and the Soviet Union - were being played out when "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" hit the screen. Realizing this, director John McTiernan, screenwriter Larry Ferguson (who also had a role in the film) and producer Mace Neufeld decided to treat Clancy's story as a flashback by setting the movie in the year Clancy's novel was published. The movie begins with the departure of the new Soviet submarine, the Red October, which possesses a new caterpillar drive that renders it silent. In command of the Red October is Captain Marko Ramius. Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. Navy submarine called the U.S.S. Dallas has a brief encounter with the Red October before it loses contact due to the Soviet sub's caterpillar drive. This encounter catches the attention of C.I.A. analyst Jack Ryan, who embarks upon studying the Red October's schematics. 

Unbeknownst to the C.I.A., Captain Ramius has put in motion a plan for the defection of his senior officers and himself. They also intend to commit treason by handing over the Red October to the Americans. Unfortunately, Ramius has left a letter stating his intentions to his brother-in-law, a Soviet government official. This leads the Soviet ambassador in Washington D.C. to inform the Secretary of Defense that the Red October has been lost at sea and requires the U.S. Navy's help for a "rescue mission". However, Ryan manages to ascertain that Ramius plans to defect. When the Soviets change tactics and claim that Captain Ramius has become a renegade with plans to fire a missile at the U.S. coast, Ryan realizes that he needs to figure out "how" Ramius plans to defect before the Soviet or U.S. Navies can sink the Red October.

I might as well put my cards on the table. After twenty-three years, "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" holds up very well as a Cold War thriller. What prevented it from becoming a dated film were the filmmakers' decision to treat Clancy's tale as a flashback to the last decade of the Cold War. I have never read Clancy's novel. In fact, I have only read two of his novels - "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger". Because of this, I could not judge the movie's adaptation of the 1984 novel. But there is no doubt that "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" is a first-rate - probably superb thriller. Screenwriters Larry Ferguson and Donald E. Stewart made another first-rate contribution to the script by not rushing the narrative aspect of the story. The movie is not some fast-paced tale stuffed with over-the-top action. Yes, there is action in the film - mainly combat encounters, a murder, hazardous flying in a rain storm and a shoot-out inside the Red October's engine room. And it is all exciting stuff. However, Ferguson and Stewart wisely detailed the conversations held between Ramius and his fellow defectors, Ryan's attempts to figure out Ramius' defection plans and his efforts to convince various high-ranking U.S. Naval officers not to accept the Soviets' lies about the Red October's captain. 

"THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" also features some excellent performances. Sean Connery gave one of his best performances as the Red October's enigmatic and wily captain, Markus Ramius. Alec Baldwin was equally impressive as the slightly bookish, yet very intelligent C.I.A. analyst, Jack Ryan. A part of me believes it is a pity that he never portrayed the role again. The movie also boasted fine performances from James Earl Jones as Ryan's boss, C.I.A. Deputy Director James Greer; Scott Glenn as the intimidating captain of the U.S.S. Dallas, Bart Mancuso; Sam Neill as Ramius' very loyal First Officer, Vasily Borodin; Fred Dalton Thompson as Rear Admiral Joshua Painter; Courtney B. Vance as the Dallas' talented Sonar Technician, Ronald "Jonesy" Jones; Tim Curry as the Red October's somewhat anxious Chief Medical Officer (and the only one not part of the defection) Dr. Yevgeniy Petrov; and Joss Ackland as Ambassador Andrei Lysenko. Stellan Skarsgård made a dynamic first impression for me as Viktor Tupolev, the Soviet sub commander ordered to hunt and kill Ramius. And Richard Jordan was downright entertaining as the intelligent and somewhat manipulative National Security Advisor Dr. Jeffrey Pelt. The movie also featured brief appearances from the likes of Tomas Arana, Gates McFadden (of "STAR TREK: NEXT GENERATION") and Peter Firth (of "SPOOKS").

Before one starts believing that I view "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" as perfect, I must admit there were a few aspects of it that I found a bit troublesome for me. The movie has a running time of 134 minutes. Mind you, I do not consider this as a problem. However, the pacing seemed in danger of slowing down to a crawl two-thirds into the movie. It took the Dallas' encounter with the Red October to put some spark back into the movie again. And could someone explain why Gates McFadden portrayed Ryan's wife, Dr. Cathy Ryan, with a slight British accent? Especially since she was an American-born character?

Despite these minor quibbles, "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" is a first-rate spy thriller that has withstood the test of time for the past 23 years. And I believe the movie's sterling qualities own a lot to John McTiernan's excellent direction, a well-written script by Larry Ferguson and Donald E. Stewart, and superb performances from a cast led by Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.

"THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" (1990) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER", the 1990 adaptation of Tom Clancy's 1984 novel. Directed by John McTiernan, the movie starred Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin:



"THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" (1990) Photo Gallery

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (2008) Review

 

”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” (2008) Review

Looking back on the number of Agatha Christie movie adaptations I have seen, I find it surprising that only a handful of Christie titles have been adapted for the movies or television more than once. One of those titles happened to be the author’s 1938 novel called ”Appointment With Death”. 

The most well known adaptation before the 2008 one had been produced and directed by Michael Winner some twenty years earlier. Released in 1988, the movie starred Peter Ustinov in his last appearance as the Belgian-born sleuth, Hercule Poirot; and is not considered among the best of Christie adaptations before the premiere of ”Agatha Christie’s POIROT” around 1989. The production values of the 1988 version of ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” almost had a cheap, B-movie quality about it. Nevertheless, I feel that it is a masterpiece in compare to this recent version that starred David Suchet as Poirot.

”APOINTMENT WITH DEATH” told the story of Hercule Poirot’s investigation into the murder of a wealthy, middle-aged American woman named Lady Boynton (Mrs. Boynton in the novel). But screenwriter Guy Andrews made so many changes from Christie’s original tale that it would seem pointless for me to recap the plot. One, the victim is not a widow. Instead, she is in the middle of a second marriage to a British peer and archeologist named Lord Boynton. Only Lennox Boynton is her stepson by marriage . . . and his name has become Leonard. The others – Carol, Raymond and Ginerva (Jinny) – had been adopted before her marriage to Lord Boynton. And yes, Jinny is no longer her child by blood. Lady Boynton never spent time as a warden for a women’s prison. Instead, she was an astute businesswoman. The character of Nadine, Lennox’s wife, did not appear in this adaptation. Jefferson Hope was transformed from the Boynton family’s attorney, into an American traveler with business ties to Lady Boynton. Dr. Gerard’s nationality and profession had been changed from French psychologist to British medical doctor. The American-born Member of Parliament, Lady Westholme, became British-born world traveler Dame Celia Westholme. And former nursery governess Miss Amabel Pierce, became known as “Nanny”; Lady Boynton’s nervous and very reluctant henchwoman in the abuse of the murder victim’s many adopted children. Andrews also added a new character – a Polish-born nun, who had befriended Jinny, named Sister Agnieszka. However, Dr. Sarah King remained intact – in both characterization and profession. The story’s setting is changed from Petra to Syria. The novel featured a single killer. This movie featured two killers . . . and a different motive. These changes allowed Andrews to give the murderers a fate straight from the finale of 1937’s ”Death on the Nile”.

I have to make one thing clear regarding the changes made by Guy Andrews. I have nothing against a writer making changes from a literary source to accommodate a screen adaptation. There are some things that do not translate well to the screen. But I feel that most of the changes made by Andrews did NOT serve the movie’s plot very well. In fact, I would say that the opposite happened. Despite its B-movie atmosphere; the 1988 movie seemed like an elegant affair in comparison to this 2008 version. Mind you, the latter had some virtues. David Suchet gave a subtle performance as Hercule Poirot. Peter Greenhalgh’s photography struck me as beautiful and rich in colors. Even Sheena Napier’s costume designs managed to capture the mid-to-late 1930s quite well. Elizabeth McGovern’s portrayal of a British or Irish female seemed surprisingly competent, despite her being American-born. Both Tim Curry (as Lord Boynton) and John Hannah (as Dr. Gerard) gave entertaining performances. And I also felt impressed by Christina Cole (Dr. Sarah King) and Mark Gatiss (Leonard) performances as well. So, why do I have such a low opinion of this movie?

My main beef with ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” was the changes made to the story. I simply found them unnecessary. The change in the story's setting from Petra to Syria, created a small confusion. In the 1930s, part of Syria was under British control and the other half was under French control. Yet, the movie featured a very British Colonel Carbury (portrayed by Paul Freeman), who had French troops under his command. Confusing. And was it really necessary to include characters like Lord Boynton and Sister Agnieszka, who did not exist in the novel? No. Lord Boynton was nothing more than a red herring created to distract viewers of the teleplay. And Sister Agnieszka was used to include a subplot that was never in the novel and had nothing to do with the main narrative. Was it necessary to change the number of murderers from one to two? Again . . . no. By changing the number of murderers, Andrews changed the motive behind the victim’s murder from preserving a secret to an act of revenge. Worse, by changing the number of murderers and motive, Andrews complicated the plot to such a ridiculous level that by the end of the story, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief. Even more ridiculous was the convoluted method used by the killers to bump off Lady Boynton. Was it necessary to include a subplot about the sex slave trade, which had nothing to do with Lady Boynton’s murder? I would say no. Especially since the subplot was never included in Christie’s novel.

In the novel, Mrs. Boynton inflicted a great deal of psychological abuse upon her step-children and her daughter, Jinny. This movie had Lady Boynton bullying a hired nanny – Nanny Taylor - into inflicting physical abuse upon the many children she had adopted over the years – including Raymond, Carol . . . and Jinny. Was the change necessary? I certainly do not believe it was. Both the novel and the 1988 film made it painfully obvious how harmful Mrs. Boynton’s psychological abuse was upon her stepchildren. Apparently, Andrews, director Ashley Pierce and the producers thought it was not dramatic enough and decided to be more drastic by including physical abuse. To emphasize the horror of Lady Boynton’s domestic situation, they allowed Nanny Taylor to fall into a catatonic state following her employer’s death out of guilt. I found these changes unnecessary. I found the idea of Nanny Taylor remaining with the family after the children became adults irrelevant. And if I must be brutally honest, I was not that impressed by Angela Pleasance’s slightly hammy performance as the tormented nanny.

In a review of "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", the 2010 version of Christie’s 1934 novel, I had complained about the religious themes that permeated that movie. Apparently, ”MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” was not the first movie in the series to emphasize religion. The same happened two years earlier in ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH”. As I had stated earlier, one of the new characters turned out to be a Polish-born Catholic nun. I had to endure a sanctimonious conversation between her and Ginerva. Lord Boynton’s archeological quest turned out to be a search for John the Baptist’s head. I had never heard of anything so ridiculous. How was anyone supposed to figure out whether the head of John the Baptist or some citizen of the region had been found? And to make matters worse, once Lord Boynton thought he had found the object of his quest, he had Sister Agnieszka lead the rest of the party into a prayer over said skull. The scene struck me as too ludicrous to believe. The over-the-top choral music that permeated Stephen McKeon’s score did not help matters.

When it comes to adapting a novel or play for the screen, I have no problems with screenwriters making changes to the story or any of the characters . . . if those changes manage to serve the film. After all, some aspects of a novel or play do not translate well into film. But the changes I found in ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” struck me as unnecessary. They not only failed to serve the movie’s plot, I found them convoluted and over-the-top. The addition of a religious theme simply made matters worse. The movie had a few virtues – including a solid performance from David Suchet. But not even he could save the amount of damage inflicted upon this movie.

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (2008) Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery of images from "APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH", the 2008 adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1938 novel. The movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot:

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (2008) Photo Gallery

"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1993) Review

"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1993) Review

Alexandre Dumas' classic 1844 novel, "The Three Musketeers" must have been one of the most adapted stories in film and television history. I do not know exactly how many adaptations have been filmed. But I have seen at least four of them - including Disney Studios' version, released in 1993.

Directed by Stephen Herek, "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" is not a faithful adaptation of Dumas' novel. David Loughery's script utilized some elements of the novel, including most of the characters and d'Artagnan's first meeting with his three friends and fellow musketeers. But in the end, he created his own story. In "THE THREE MUSKETEERS", a young Gascon named d'Artagnan hopes to follow in the footsteps of his late father and join the King of France's Musketeers in 1625 France. Unfortunately for d'Artagnan, several factors stand in his way. One, he makes an enemy out of a local aristocrat named Gerard and his brothers, who believe he has defiled the honor of their sister, and is pursued by them all the way to Paris. Two, upon his arrival in Paris, he discovers that the Musketeers have been disbanded by King Louis XIII's chief minister, the power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu. And three, his encounters with Musketeers Athos, Aramis and Porthos results in him accepting a duel from each man.

Fortunately, d'Artagnan's hostility toward the trio is short-lived and he ends up helping them battle Richelieu's guards, who arrive to arrest Athos, Aramis and Porthos. But after they leave him, d'Artagnan is arrested by more guards and Richelieu's lackey, Captain Rochefort. While in prison, he meets the Cardinal and overhears a conversation between the latter and spy Milady de Winter. She is ordered to deliver a signed treaty to France's primary enemy, the Duke of Buckingham of England. Cardinal Richelieu plans to undermine the King's authority, before assassinating him, taking the throne and Queen Anne as consort. When Athos, Aramis and Porthos rescue d'Artagnan from execution, the four men set out to expose Richelieu as a traitor of France and save King Louis XIII from death.

Fans of Dumas' novel will probably be unhappy with this adaptation, considering that it failed to be a faithful one. I must admit that when I first saw "THE THREE MUSKETEERS", I was surprised and a little disappointed myself. And there were a few aspects of the movie that I disliked. The addition of Gerard and his brothers into the story really annoyed me in the end. Mind you, I found the aristocrat's determination to confront d'Artagnan at the beginning of the movie tolerable. But once d'Artagnan reached Paris, with Gerard still in hot pursuit, the subplot became an annoying running joke that refused to die. And it did not. I like Paul McGann as an actor . . . but not that much.

Even worse, McGann's Gerard seemed to have more screen time than any of the major female characters. Although I never viewed Queen Anne as a "major character", I felt otherwise about Milady de Winter and d'Artagnan's lady love, Constance Bonacieux. I did not mind when Loughery's script transformed Julie Delpy's Constance from the Queen's dressmaker to maid/companion. But I did mind that her role was reduced to a few cameo appearances. The same almost happened to Rebecca De Mornay's portrayal of Milady de Winter. I personally found the reduction of the latter role rather criminal. Milady has always been one of the best villains in literary history. And nearly every actress who has portrayed her, did justice to the role. I can say the same about De Mornay, who was excellent as Milady. Unfortunately, Loughery's script gave her very few opportunities to strut her stuff.

Despite the change in Dumas' story and the reduction in the females' roles, I cannot deny that "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" proved to be a first-rate and entertaining movie. It had romance - well, a little of it. The best romance in the film proved to be the long simmering one between Athos and Milady, whose marriage had earlier ended in failure. And I found the one between d'Artagnan and Constance rather charming, if brief. The movie featured some great action, including a marvelous chase scene in which the Musketeers are being pursued by Rochefort and the Cardinal's men; d'Artagnan's first sword fight, in which he allied himself with the Musketeers; Milady de Winter's capture at Calais; and especially the final fight sequence in which the Musketeers prevent Richelieu's plans for the King's assassination.

Tim Curry made an entertaining, yet splashy Cardinal Richelieu. He came close to being all over the map, yet he still managed to keep his performance controlled. And Michael Wincott's sinister portrayal of Captain Rochefort was superb. Rebecca De Mornay was superb as Milady de Winter, despite the role being reduced. And her Milady has always struck me as the most complex in all of the adaptations. Julie Delpy and Gabrielle Anwar were charming as Constance and Queen Anne. I wish I could say the same about Hugh O'Connor as King Louis XIII, but I must admit that I was not that impressed. He was eighteen years old at the time and probably a little too young and stiff to be portraying the 24 year-old monarch.

But the highlight of "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" proved to be the four actors who portrayed d'Artagnan and his three friends - Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. They were perfect. Chris O'Donnell captured every aspect of d'Artagnan's youthful personality - the earnestness, cockiness, and immaturity. Watching the movie made me realize that he has come a long way in the past twenty years. And he had great chemistry with the three actors who portrayed the Musketeers. Kiefer Sutherland was perfect as the commanding, yet cynical and disillusioned Athos, who regretted ending his marriage to Milady. The producers of this film certainly picked the right man to portray the smooth-talking ladies' man, Aramis. And whatever one might say about Charlie Sheen, he did a superb job in the role. Oliver Platt was a delight as the brash and extroverted Porthos. Quite frankly, he made a better figure for comic relief than McGann's Gerard. However, the best thing about the four actors' performances was that they all perfectly clicked as a screen team. All for one and one for all.

Yes, "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" was not perfect. What movie is? And it is certainly not the best adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel. But I cannot deny that it was entertaining. And I have no regrets in purchasing a DVD copy of this film. If one can keep an open mind over the fact that it was not a close adaptation of the 1844 novel, I think it is possible to find it very enjoyable.

"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1993) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Disney's "THE THREE MUSKETEERS", Disney's 1993 adaptation of Alexandre Dumas père's 1844 novel. Directed by Stephen Herek, the movie starred Chris O'Donnell, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt.


"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1993) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Disney's "THE THREE MUSKETEERS", Disney's 1993 adaptation of Alexandre Dumas père's 1844 novel. Directed by Stephen Herek, the movie starred Chris O'Donnell, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt.


"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1993) Photo Gallery