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Dom Robinson reviews
Paramount
- Cert:
- Cat.no: PHE 8018
- Running time: 112 minutes
- Year: 1992
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 22 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: 5 languages available
- Subtitles: 9 languages available
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Theatrical Trailer
Director:
- Philip Noyce
(Clear and Present Danger, Dead Calm, Heatwave, Patriot Games, The Saint, Sliver)
Producers:
- Mace Neufield and Robert Rehme
Screenplay:
- W. Peter Iliff and Donald Stewart (based on the novel by Tom Clancy)
Music:
- James Horner
Cast:
- Jack Ryan: Harrison Ford
Cathy Ryan: Anne Archer
Kevin O’Donnell: Patrick Bergin
Sean Miller: Sean Bean
Sally Ryan: Thora Birch
Lord Holmes: James Fox
Robby: Samuel L. Jackson
Annette: Polly Walker
Admiral Greer: James Earl Jones
Paddy O’Neal: Richard Harris
Owens: Alun Armstrong
Electrician: Tom Watt
Harrison Fordtakes over the main star reins from Alec Baldwin as CIA agent Jack Ryanin Patriot Games and straight into the action as a holiday in Londongoes wrong when terrorists, led by Kevin O’Donnell (Patrick Bergin),make an attack on the Royal Family starting with Lord Holmes (James Fox)and his family. Ryan intervenes and Holmes survives, but after Ryan killssome of the terrorists and others escape, one is captured – Sean Miller(Sean Bean) – and he vows revenge after his brother was one of thevictims.
As the film progresses, Miller is helped to escape from the police and thesafety of Ryan’s wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch)is seriously threatened, the terrorists touch base in North Africa and thewhole thing culminates in a boat chase and a showdown between Ryan and Miller.Guess who wins?
Oh – and ex-Eastenders’ Lofty (Tom Watt) turns up as an electrician,although these days he can be found on TalkSport doing a weekday footballphone-in at 4pm, which, for those not in the know, is on 1089 and 1053 MWor SkyDigital channel 918 in stereo.
The anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen ratio looks better here than inThe Hunt for Red Octoberwith some grain at times, but it’s mostly noticeable when the pace is slowand the picture is neither very bright nor dark.The average bitrate is 6.58Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.
English dialogue is available in Dolby Digital 5.1, which sounds at its bestfor the scenes I mentioned above while other nationalities aren’t so lucky.The Czechs, Hungarians and Germans are given Dolby Surround, while the Polishare left with mono.The soundtrack is, as you’d expect, dominated by Irish traditional tunes andsome Clannad.
Extras :
Just a two-and-a-half minute Theatrical Trailer, but we do get more chapters thistime with 22.
Subtitles are available in English (and hard of hearing), Danish, Dutch,Finnish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and Turkish.The menus are all static and silent.
Patriot Games is still a very good film, but I’ve seen it way too manytimes now and on DVD here, the extras are sparse. Why?
And the sex of Ryan’s forthcoming child is…
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.