Buy it... on DVD and watch the film if you want to hear Basil Poledouris' intelligent blend of orchestra, synthetics, and choir in the dynamic, crystal-clear mix in which they were intended to be heard.

Avoid it... if you expect much of the majesty of the score to carry over from the film onto the muffled and dry presentations on currently available commercial and bootleg albums.

Poledouris

The Hunt for Red October: (Basil Poledouris) Among the four major big-screen adaptations of Tom Clancy's novels about American intelligence agent Jack Ryan, The Hunt for Red October is almost unanimously considered the best. With both critical and massive popular acclaim as a summer blockbuster in 1990, the finely crafted John McTiernan film would stir Paramount's interest in creating a film franchise around the Ryan character, though by The Sum of All Fears over a decade later, the idea had worn out its welcome. There were a plethora of reasons why Red October succeeded so well, both on campy pop levels and highly skilled technical ones. Its story's intrigue speaks to the novel's bestseller status; in the waning days of the Cold War, the Soviets' top submarine commander violates orders and sails his revolutionary new and 'silent' nuclear submarine on a direct course for America, with the Americans not knowing whether he intends to launch his nuclear arsenal or defect for the cause of peace. The cast of the film begs questions, especially with Sean Connery and Tim Curry in primary Soviet roles, but if you look past their sometime waning control over their accents, the supporting cast puts the sequel ensembles to shame. A thrilling story and outstanding art direction are joined by an undeniably masterful job of sound production for film. Winning the Oscar for "Sound Effects Editing" and nominated for "Best Sound" and "Film Editing," the aural soundscape of the film was well beyond its time for a 1990 production, and part of the success in Red October's appeal to the ears is owed to composer Basil Poledouris (who won a BMI Film Music Award for his score). The assignment was a dream come true for Poledouris, whose capability in scoring raw action films was only eclipsed by his love of the sea. It's no coincidence that many of Poledouris' most cherished scores exist for films that involve the ocean. His knowledge of sailing and desire to be oceanside have figured into some of his most creative film scores, and Red October rivals the lesser-known Wind as the pinnacle of these inspirations.

Several unique challenges were posed to Poledouris in tackling The Hunt for Red October, ranging from the prestige of the Russian military to the techno-thriller elements begging for synthetic treatment. His score would ultimately balance an ethnically appropriate chorus (to provide the Russian hymns) with a full orchestra and Poledouris' expected range of electronics. Among these elements, the orchestra seems to simply be along for the ride, with the chorus and, primarily, the synthetic elements navigating the score's sound. The most remarkable aspect of Poledouris' efforts for Red October is the fact that he intentionally blurs the lines so effectively between a standalone melodramatic score and the kind of source music that a film like this requires. Not only does hymnal material receive a source-like performance in the context of the film's story, but Poledouris' array of synthetic sounds, developed over the course of the 1980's, merges with the sound effects so well that it's difficult to distinguish between the music and the effects in the film. The most memorable music from Red October for a majority of listeners will be the choral sequences, and the title hymn in particular. While speculation has raged for years that Poledouris used a Russian national anthem or a traditional Red Army hymn as the basis for the "Hymn to Red October," the fact is that Poledouris' material is his own. Despite some typical references to classic Russian composers, such comparisons are expected given the constructs of the music, and Poledouris should be commended for both his music and lyrics for the hymn. The falling "Oktyabreh" segment of the theme is used during the heroic moments of the Russian crew during the film, both with and without the choir, providing both an effective and lyrical title theme for the film to revisit for grand occasions. The remaining thematic material in Red October exists in mostly simple motifs of harmoniously elegant chord progressions. One of the better developed motifs exists in the form of a graceful choral movement for the title submarine itself, used repeatedly during underwater shots of the ship's movements. The crescendo heard in "Course Two-Five-Zero" is a teaser for the ballet-like sways of "Red Route I," during which the ease with which the massive sub navigates treacherous depths is given an almost effortless poise and flow.

While the choral majesty of "Course Two-Five-Zero" and "Red Route I," as well as the curious variant of the hymn for a more balanced choir in "Ancestral Aid," have the most dramatic impact on the film's visual beauty, Poledouris' action material has a far more technologically cold side to its precision. As in many of the composer's works, rhythm is key to Red October, launching cues like "Nuclear Scam" and "Kaboom!!!" with unabashed vigor and attitude. Many of the same sound effects that Poledouris would use in Free Willy and his other intelligent synthetic/orchestral combo scores would be utilized in full for Red October. The early cue "Putin's Demise" would offer the methodical rhythmic incorporation of the upper ranges of these keyboarded effects, while the evacuation sequence in "Nuclear Scam" would use a lengthy, nearly solo portion of the lower ranges of the same effect. Many of Poledouris' other effects would use sounds manipulated for underwater imitation or pressurized release. For instance, the primary sound effect used by Poledouris in Red October is an echoing synth orchestra hit that bounces between the left and right front speakers, dissipating like an underwater signal bouncing through the ship and mirroring the ping-like variant used as a sound effect in the film. An interesting, but barely noticeable sound effect in the score is the use of a "release of air" sound heard at the end of "Putin's Demise," though it's not very audible in other parts. Some of the action sequences in Red October feature a more traditional set of synthetic aides, including the use of drum pads in "Chopper" and "Kaboom!!!." The latter track is a strange study; for the final battle involving the Red October and two other submarines, Poledouris approaches the cue from an almost completely synthetic approach. Even the choral usage in this cue is synthetic, begging questions about whether this cue was a last minute replacement or the result of dwindling recording funds. The emergency surfacing of the American submarine in this scene is given the best majesty that Poledouris can muster given the tools at hand, but the cue (despite some good low-range rhythmic pulsing later in the recording) is cheapened by the embellished drum pads and fake orchestra hits.

	Learn about supporting Filmtracks

The curiosities involving the score for Red October don't stop there, either. Much of the score was removed from the film and several other cues were mixed repeatedly where Poledouris probably didn't intend them. As many as ten major cues were either cut completely, such as the opening moments of the film that featured silence instead, or cut short, including some of the score's major action pieces. Even the end credits music consisted of a highly rearranged version of "Nuclear Scam." And if you're looking for answers to your questions about the Red October score on its woefully short commercial album, don't expect any answers. The 30-minute album is nothing short of a disgrace, partly because of the music not included in its length, but mostly because of a truly terrible quality of sound that fluctuates wildly from track to track. For a film with such glorious surround mixes, including a superior presentation of the score's recording in the movie, Red October teases you with musical creativity on screen that you'll never hear on album. On that MCA product, Poledouris' recording is muffled and dry, with poor balance between synthetic and orchestral, orchestral and choral. That disservice is exactly what this finely tuned score does not need, and if you read criticisms of Red October's score from other reviewers who don't understand all the hoopla about this score, then rest assured that those writers probably haven't done the necessary research into this massive difference in quality on the various media. Having a muted mix of this score completely defeats the purpose of the synthesizers' intentional movements across the spectrum. That leaves us with hearing the leftovers on the better presented Free Willy album from 1993. For several years, fans have taken the end credits rearrangement of the title hymn and "Nuclear Scam" from the DVD and burned it onto CDr, and when you compare this straight stereo sound with that of the MCA album, you'll be astonished. A bootleg with over an hour of music from the film began to surface a decade after the MCA product's debut, though be aware that this bootleg doesn't solve many of the quality issues. Overall, Red October stands alongside Ice Station Zebra and Crimson Tide as a thoroughly enjoyable score of immense popular appeal to its generation. But until some entity takes the sources for Poledouris' recording and given them justice on a well-mixed, expanded album, there will be nothing but frustration for fans of the film.   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Music as Written for Film: *****
Music as Heard on MCA Album: **
Music as Heard on Bootleg: ***
Overall: ****

Bias Check:

For Basil Poledouris reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47 (in 33 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.27 (in 32,977 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.