The Hunt for Red October

Continuity mistake: When Ryan is helo'ed to the Dallas it does not have a DSRV attached, but they use one later in the movie to board Red October.

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Suggested correction: In the film more than 24 hours pass between the time Ryan gets on Dallas and when they show the DSRV attached to her. If you remember earlier in the movie it was stated that they could have the DSRV anywhere in the world in 24 hours. Therefore, one may assume that this time was used to get the DSRV to the Dallas.

Dallas was in the middle of tracking Red October and would have to have broken off the tracking (as it did anyway to pick up Ryan) in order for a sub tender to meet Dallas, place the DSRV on her, and then Dallas would have to hightail it back to find Red October. Plus getting the DSRV out to Dallas seems like a critical part of the story. While some scenes end up on the cutting room floor in every movie one has to wonder why there wasn't even a mention about having to surface for the DSRV.

Dallas didn't need to track the Red October anymore because the extraction point was already arranged, so it was very plausible the Dallas could get access to the DSRV.

Other mistake: When the sub is ordered to turn right, Ramius is seated facing forward and tightens his seat belt. When the sub makes a tight right turn, his coffee cup slides the wrong way. (01:00:01)

Visible crew/equipment: On the Dallas, the two men are listening to sonar and get a fax that the Soviet sub is a new type. The camera moves in on the man (Jones) on the left seat and its shadow is very visible on his seat.

manthabeat

The Hunt for Red October mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Sally is saying that Stanley is keeping her awake, her grip on the bear's ear is changing between constant shots. (00:04:40)

Ssiscool

Continuity mistake: When chasing the KGB agent, Ryan climbs up a ladder empty handed, but when he rolls over on the walkway he has a gun in his hand.

The Hunt for Red October mistake picture

Revealing mistake: Near the end, when Ryan and Ramius are talking, right before Ryan says "welcome to the New World", Ryan is facing Ramius and his thick hair should be blocking the hill in the distance behind him, but his hair is translucent and the hill is visible through his hair. (02:06:00)

rossboulet

Continuity mistake: Towards the beginning of the film, when Captain Marko Ramius kills Political Officer Putin, Ramius initially grabs Putin's face and forehead from behind, pulling the political officer off balance and into the edge of the table at which they were just sitting and discussing their orders. In the cut just before Putin slumps to the floor and falls backwards, Ramius' hand is now high on his victim's chest, near the collarbone.giving an extra push. Putin also moves some distance towards the door as he falls backwards onto the deck and dies. (00:18:30 - 00:19:00)

Jeffrey Pelt: Mr. Ryan, I'm a politician. Which means I'm a cheat and a liar and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops.

More quotes from The Hunt for Red October

Trivia: Paramount Studios essentially rented a US submarine to be in the movie. The USS Houston (SSN 713) played the USS Dallas and the surface scenes were filmed off of Long Beach, CA and Port Angelas, WA. Two crewmembers off the Houston were actually given very small speaking parts in the movie.

More trivia for The Hunt for Red October

Question: During the ending sequence (with the Alpha) the Red October is running on the screws instead of the caterpillar. Now, we know the "reactor leak" was fake...and we know that the caterpillar was working normally (right after Ramius says "let us turn South" you see the Red October dive over a canyon wall with the screws not moving hence the caterpillar running). Wouldn't it have been wiser to run on the caterpillar during the ending?

Michael Westpy

Answer: The caterpillar drive was inoperable. The reactor leak was staged by the defecting officers, but the sabotage to the caterpillar (by the undercover KGB agent posing as the cook) was real.

Chosen answer: No, (mentioned in the book, not the film), the caterpillar can only drive Red October at a little over 1/2 her top speed. Speed is far more important than silence at this point.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: The caterpillar was repaired but later after the crew exited screws were on and caterpillar was operation. The Russian fleet was still on there tail you still should be on silent drive. Movie shows them running on normal propulsion. Possible movie boo boo. Makes no sense.

The Caterpillar is not silent, it just does not sound like a sub. This is how the Dallas was able to track Red October even when it was running on the caterpillar. The Dallas just need to know what it sounded like. Presumably The Alpha knows what to listen for so speed would be important.

More questions & answers from The Hunt for Red October

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