Patriot Games (1992)

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers (WGA):

Tom Clancy (novel)
W. Peter Iliff (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 June 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Let the Games Begin.

Plot:

When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Jack Ryan | CIA | Assassination | Revenge | Assassination Attempt

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Jan. 7

10:00 PM

MAX

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Jack Ryan
Anne Archer	...	Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan
Patrick Bergin	...	Kevin O'Donnell
Sean Bean	...	Sean Miller
Thora Birch	...	Sally Ryan
James Fox	...	Lord William Holmes
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson
Polly Walker	...	Annette
J.E. Freeman	...	Marty Cantor
James Earl Jones	...	Adm. James Greer
Richard Harris	...	Paddy O'Neil
Alex Norton	...	Dennis Cooley
Hugh Fraser	...	Geoffrey Watkins
David Threlfall	...	Insp. Robert Highland
Alun Armstrong	...	Sgt. Owens

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Peru:18 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (Certificate #31598)

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Mace Neufeld Productions

Trivia:

When the IRA are coming to kill Kevin O'Donnell, he is watching the music video for Clannad's "Theme From Harry's Game" on his TV. This song was made for the movie Harry's Game (1982) (TV), which is also about the Troubles, and some of the footage in the music video is taken from the movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The announcement also contradicts itself, telling passengers both that the train is for Hatton Cross and that they must change at Acton Town for Hatton Cross. Also, the instruction "all change" means that passengers for ANY other destination must change, and is not used in relation to a specific destination.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Ryan: [answering machine answers] Sorry, we can't come to the phone right now. If you leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in L'appât (1995)

Soundtrack:

Theme from Harry's Game

A great credit to Clancy that one if his books was made into a movie that almost lived up to the book

I think this film's greatness (it is indeed great) is a credit more to Clancy than the film makers, because writing is the most crucial part of any film. Unfortunately, a novel adapted to a film will almost never be as good as the book because there just isn't enough time or money to include everything and make everything look as good as it reads. This is evident here. Having said that they certainly didn't leave it to the story to support itself. Impressive heroics from Ford and a superb bad guy performance from Sean Bean (strikingly similar to his performance in the James Bond film Golden Eye) turned Clancy's classy classic book into a classy film. I was also impressed to discover that the director was none other than Australia's Phillip Noyce. As is also sadly common among films made from books, the plot was a little hard to follow due to the audience having to fill in the gaps that were left by the film makers not having time or money to include it all.