“The Hunt for Red October'A gem of a submarine movie where Sean Connery's dignity raises the level of reality.

Overcoming the language barrier

Tom Clancy's debut novel, ``The Hunt for Red October,'' is a huge bestseller that is said to have been highly praised by former US President Ronald Reagan. While working at an insurance agency, Clancy wrote a novel in his spare time, which he published in 1984. It is said that even U.S. Navy personnel who read the book were amazed by the realistic depictions. The director of the live-action movie is John McTiernan, who previously directed `` Predator '' (1987) and Bruce Willis' breakthrough movie ` `Die Hard '' (1988). .

In a sense, suffocating dramas set in closed situations are director McTiernan's best, and the reason for this is clear when you watch past films such as ``Predator'' and ``Die Hard.'' The former is set in a jungle, and while it is a vast space, the fact that it depicts a jungle from start to finish makes it seem like a very limited space. The latter is also a secret room drama set inside a high-rise building that is about to explode, and in that sense, ``The Hunt for Red October.”, it is natural that there is a sense of commonality.

What is particularly noteworthy about this work is the strange change in language within the work. Almost every audience member knows that Sean Connery, Sam Neill, and Tim Curley are not Soviet nationals, and there is no question that they speak English. However, in the opening scene of the film, the British actors playing the Soviet soldiers eloquently communicate the Russian dialogue, perfectly portraying the roles of Soviet soldiers. . However, it is. Before you know it, everyone will be naturally and calmly conversing in English.

“The Hunt for Red October!” TM & COPYRIGHT (C) 1989 BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.TM, (R) & Copyright (C) 2012 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

This is because the actors who play the Soviet characters are British, so even if they learn Russian, they can barely remember the first few minutes of their lines. Filming the entire movie in Russian is a bit of an absurd idea. Even the first Russian scene is meant to explain that they are Soviet soldiers, and as long as the audience understands that, it doesn't matter what language they speak from then on.

In other words, at some point, conversations between Soviet people had to be switched to English. That's why the director came up with a quote from the classic military trial film `` The Nuremberg Trials '' (1961). In director Stanley Kramer's film, the moment the German lawyer Maximilian Schell's face is shown in close-up, the dialogue changes from German to English. Gradually, the conversations, even between Germans, are conducted in English, and the process of switching languages ​​becomes very natural. It would be much smarter to unify the language in English than to mix English and German.

Director McTiernan borrowed an idea from that technique, and in a scene in which a Soviet officer hums a Bible verse, the camera gradually zooms in on the actor's mouth, and the next line he utters is ``Armageddon.'' As a signal, I switched from Russian to English. Gradually, everyone in the Soviet military begins to speak English, and their extremely natural language processing makes the tense drama seem lively. It's a Hollywood movie tradition to have non-English-speaking characters speak English, but with a few ideas, as in this film, it's possible to create a natural conversational drama. And if the cast is full of great actors, especially one as talented as Sean Connery, the film becomes even more convincing.

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Movie “The Hunt for Red October””Blu-ray, audio commentary

Movie “The Hunt for Red October””Theatrical program

Text: Hayato Otsuki

Born in May 1993 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Writer, editor. He started his writing career in 2016 and currently contributes columns, movie reviews, etc. to various media. By reading the creator's Arrival from a bird's-eye view, we incisively analyze and explain the original intention of the work. His writing publications include "THE RIVER", "IGN Japan", and "Real Sound Movie Club". My specialty is action and fantasy.

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TM & COPYRIGHT (C) 1989 BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.TM, (R) & Copyright (C) 2012 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

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