Set during the cold war, The Hunt for Red October tells a story of a Soviet nuclear submarine, the Red October, heading for the coast of the United States. Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst, believes the captain of the Red October, Marco Ramius, intends to defect. The United States government gives Ryan a chance to prove his theory before they sink him to protect the nation. The original story, written by Tom Clancy, was later adapted for film. The film by the same name is directed by John McTiernan. McTiernan utilizes formalism throughout the film to support and comment on the action of the story. The climax of the story comes during a submarine battle between the American submarine, the Dallas, the Red October, and another soviet submarine. In this scene, McTiernan packs all the aspects of formalism together: lighting, sound, mise-en-scène, space usage, camera techniques, and editing, to turn the already action packed plot, into a thrilling few moments.
The lighting is an important technical aspect in supporting the action this scene. McTiernan utilizes an easily noticeable lighting scheme. The Red October has a mainly blue color scheme. The other Soviet submarine is lit with greenish light. For the American submarine, the Dallas, McTiernan employs red lighting. Submarine interiors are typically lit with red lights during combat so McTiernan uses this different lighting scheme for a reason. There does not seem to be any readily available thematic interpretation for the lighting scheme. Likely, the different colors are chosen to give each submarine its own character. Cutting from one submarine to another, all dimly lit with red light, would make it difficult for the viewer to identify the location of the action. Giving each submarine its own character helps avoid viewer confusion. In this way the lighting allows the fast paced action to be easily understood.
McTiernan’s use of space helps tell the story throughout The Hunt for Red October, especially in this particular scene. The use of space is interesting to note since submarines are notoriously cramped vessels. The few glimpses that the viewer receives of the rival Soviet submarine portray an extremely tight space. In each shot the entire frame is filled with little or no open space. These claustrophobia inducing shots add to the viewer’s sense of urgency and tension. The Dallas and Red October on the other hand are portrayed as being less confining. Shots inside of the Dallas tend to still be confining, but have more open space than the rival Soviet submarine. Shots inside of the Red October have the most open space of any of the submarines. The relative openness portrays a sense of calm and order associated with these two submarines. The feelings that the different spaces portray help immerse the audience in the film.
During this scene, McTiernan also employs mise-en-scène in powerful ways to support the action. One example of the use of mise-en-scène happens when the Americans first enter the Red October. Here a few, extremely tense, shots are seen. In these shots the Americans are seen standing, grouped, on one side of the control room. The Soviets are grouped together on the other side of the control room. The two groups are separated by the railing which encircles the center of the control room. The railing here shows the separation of the two cultures. As the scene continues, Ramius confirms his intention of defection. At this point the Americans and Soviets begin to interact and much of the tension that the viewer is feeling subsides. The two groups are no longer seen separated and they begin to work together towards the common goal, a successful defection. Another example of mise-en-scène is the smoking of cigarettes. Not once does the viewer observe any of the American submarine crew smoking. Smoking on the Soviet submarines, however, is a common occurrence. Throughout the film Ryan is offered cigarettes a number of times but each time says that he does not smoke. When he enters the Red October for the first time though, he asks for a cigarette from one of the officers and proceeds to smoke it. In doing this Ryan is identifying himself with the Russians. In a sense this is similar to the Native American ritual, the smoking of a peace pipe. When Native Americans smoked the peace pipe with another group, it was a symbol of a peace treaty between the two peoples. In a similar way Ryan is declaring a peace treaty with the officers of the Red October. Each of these examples of mise-en-scène, in their own way, comments on the action of the story.
Camera techniques are another important technical aspect in supporting the plot of The Hunt for Red October. One of these camera techniques takes place when Ryan comes face to face with a KGB agent who is on board the Red October, attempting to incinerate the ship. A focused close up shot of the agents face is seen first and then the camera, without moving, refocuses to the wires he is holding in his hands. The camera then focuses back on the agents face and then refocuses again to the wires. Through the two different camera focuses the viewer sees Ryan’s two choices, to kill this man in cold blood or let the ship be incinerated. This focusing technique does a wonderful job of commenting on the action in the film.
Editing, another aspect of formalism which McTiernan utilizes, also supports the action in The Hunt for Red October. An easily noticeable aspect of editing is the change in time between cuts. When the scene begins, cuts take place at a moderate pace. When the Americans enter the Red October the time between cuts increases. This increase in time between cuts slows the pace of the scene and gives the viewer a feeling of tension. As the action in the scene mounts, the cuts become much faster. These faster cuts contribute to the sense of urgency which the viewer feels during these shots. The pace of the cuts is critical in supporting the speed of the action in the film.
McTiernan also uses sound to support the pace of the movie. The way in which the music score assists the action is essential. During a lull in the action, the music is either not present or faint. As the action increases though, so does the volume of the music. The parallel between the action and the music immerses the viewer in the film. Sound effects are also used by McTiernan to enhance the movie. When the Americans first enter the Red October the electronic relay, which controls the flashing warning lights, is heard clicking on and off. This clicking, much like the ticking of a clock, seems to set a pace in the movie. The movie which is faster paced up to this point suddenly slows as the truth behind Ramius’ motives becomes unveiled. The ticking stops as his motive becomes clear and the pace of the movie beings to increase again. Through the music score and sound effects, the pace of the movie is upheld.
The Hunt for Red October‘s action packed plot requires the clever use of technical elements to properly support it. McTiernan’s use of formalistic elements is critical to achieving the end result. Each technical element: lighting, sound, mise-en-scène, space usage, camera techniques, and editing, work strategically together to support and comment on the action of the story. Through these elements the viewer is immersed in this technological thriller.
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