Patriot Games (film)
Encyclopedia
Patriot Games is a 1992 film directed by Phillip Noyce
and based on Tom Clancy
's the novel of the same name
. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October
. In the movie, Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford
, Jack's surgeon-wife, Dr. Cathy Muller Ryan, by Anne Archer
, and the vengeful Irish Republican volunteer, Sean Miller, is played by Sean Bean
.
with his family. He has retired from the CIA and is a professor at the United States Naval Academy
. They witness an attack on Lord William Holmes (James Fox), British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
and a distant cousin of the Queen Mother. Ryan intervenes and kills one of the attackers, Patrick Miller, while his older brother Sean (Bean) looks on. Ryan is badly wounded.
The remaining attackers flee and leave Miller to be apprehended by the police. Whilst recovering, Ryan is called to testify in court against Miller, who is part of a fictional breakaway group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
. Ryan is awarded a knighthood and eventually returns to the United States.
While being transferred to Albany Prison
on the Isle of Wight
, Miller's escort convoy is ambushed by his comrades, including Kevin O'Donnell (Bergin), who kill the police officers, and he escapes. Miller and his companions flee to North Africa to plan their next attempt on Lord Holmes. Miller however, cannot shake his anger towards Ryan for killing his younger brother and persuades several members of the group to accompany him to the United States to murder Ryan and his family.
Ryan survives an attack outside the Naval Academy. Simultaneously, Miller and an accomplice attack Ryan's wife and daughter on a busy highway. They crash and both are severely injured. Enraged over the attack on his family, Ryan decides to go back to work for the CIA, having earlier rejected the appeal of his former superior, Vice Admiral James Greer (Jones).
Ryan's work leads him to conclude that Miller has taken refuge in a training camp in Libya
. A Special Air Service
team attacks and kills everyone in the camp while Ryan looks on through a live satellite feed. Unbeknownst to Ryan, Miller and his companions had already fled the camp and were on their way to the US to stage their next attack.
Lord Holmes decides to visit Ryan at his home to formally present his KCVO. With the aid of Lord Holmes' traitorous assistant, Miller's group tracks Holmes to Ryan's home, kill the Diplomatic Security Service
agents and Maryland state troopers guarding the house, and attempt to kidnap Lord Holmes. Ryan leads Holmes and his family to safety while he attempts to lure Miller and his companions away from his home.
The FBI Hostage Rescue Team
scrambles to pick up Holmes. Upon realizing that Ryan is leading them away from Holmes, Miller's companions try to persuade Miller to turn around, but an enraged Miller kills O'Donnell and the rest of the group and continues his pursuit of Ryan. Ryan and Miller fight hand to hand; Miller is killed, and his body is obliterated in the subsequent explosion of the craft.
, on location in the United Kingdom
, and in the Washington, D.C.
area including Annapolis, Maryland
.
The numerous changes between the film and the novel caused Clancy to distance himself from the film production.
Harrison Ford accidentally hit Sean Bean
with a boat hook while shooting the final scene; Bean has a scar over his eye as a result. (In Bean's subsequent Sharpe
series, this would be emphasized with makeup to add credibility to his character.)
, Alec Baldwin
and Gates McFadden
, were unavailable. At the time, Baldwin was performing A Midsummer Night's Dream
on Broadway
. In 2011, Baldwin says he did not appear because of "sleazy Hollywood tools." McFadden, who appeared in Red October only for a moment, didn't accept Patriot Games greatly expanded screen role for Cathy Ryan due to her regular role as Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation
. Despite the film's plot and setting, Richard Harris
, Patrick Bergin
and Jonathan Ryan
, are the only Irish actors to appear in the film.
contains musical references to works by Aram Khachaturian
(Adagio from "Gayane" Suite) and Dmitri Shostakovich
(Symphony No. 5, 3rd mvt.).
A music video is shown in an early scene featuring Clannad's song "Theme from Harry's Game
", originally made for an ITV
drama about The Troubles
in 1982.
Phillip Noyce
Phillip Noyce is an Australian film director.-Life and career:Noyce was born in Griffith, New South Wales, attended Barker College, Sydney, and began making short films at the age of 18, starting with Better to Reign in Hell, using his friends as the cast...
and based on Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
's the novel of the same name
Patriot Games
Patriot Games is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is chronologically the first book focusing on CIA analyst Jack Ryan, the main character in almost all of Clancy's novels. It is the indirect sequel to Without Remorse...
. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
. In the movie, Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, Jack's surgeon-wife, Dr. Cathy Muller Ryan, by Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
, and the vengeful Irish Republican volunteer, Sean Miller, is played by Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
.
Plot
Jack Ryan (Ford) is on a "working vacation" in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his family. He has retired from the CIA and is a professor at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. They witness an attack on Lord William Holmes (James Fox), British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
and a distant cousin of the Queen Mother. Ryan intervenes and kills one of the attackers, Patrick Miller, while his older brother Sean (Bean) looks on. Ryan is badly wounded.
The remaining attackers flee and leave Miller to be apprehended by the police. Whilst recovering, Ryan is called to testify in court against Miller, who is part of a fictional breakaway group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
. Ryan is awarded a knighthood and eventually returns to the United States.
While being transferred to Albany Prison
Albany (HM Prison)
HMP Isle of Wight - Albany Barracks is a Category B men's prison, situated on the outskirts of Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, Miller's escort convoy is ambushed by his comrades, including Kevin O'Donnell (Bergin), who kill the police officers, and he escapes. Miller and his companions flee to North Africa to plan their next attempt on Lord Holmes. Miller however, cannot shake his anger towards Ryan for killing his younger brother and persuades several members of the group to accompany him to the United States to murder Ryan and his family.
Ryan survives an attack outside the Naval Academy. Simultaneously, Miller and an accomplice attack Ryan's wife and daughter on a busy highway. They crash and both are severely injured. Enraged over the attack on his family, Ryan decides to go back to work for the CIA, having earlier rejected the appeal of his former superior, Vice Admiral James Greer (Jones).
Ryan's work leads him to conclude that Miller has taken refuge in a training camp in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. A Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
team attacks and kills everyone in the camp while Ryan looks on through a live satellite feed. Unbeknownst to Ryan, Miller and his companions had already fled the camp and were on their way to the US to stage their next attack.
Lord Holmes decides to visit Ryan at his home to formally present his KCVO. With the aid of Lord Holmes' traitorous assistant, Miller's group tracks Holmes to Ryan's home, kill the Diplomatic Security Service
Diplomatic Security Service
The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique...
agents and Maryland state troopers guarding the house, and attempt to kidnap Lord Holmes. Ryan leads Holmes and his family to safety while he attempts to lure Miller and his companions away from his home.
The FBI Hostage Rescue Team
Hostage Rescue Team
The FBI Hostage Rescue Team is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's counter-terrorism paramilitary tactical team. The HRT is trained to rescue U.S. citizens and allies who are held by a hostile force, either terrorist or criminal...
scrambles to pick up Holmes. Upon realizing that Ryan is leading them away from Holmes, Miller's companions try to persuade Miller to turn around, but an enraged Miller kills O'Donnell and the rest of the group and continues his pursuit of Ryan. Ryan and Miller fight hand to hand; Miller is killed, and his body is obliterated in the subsequent explosion of the craft.
Cast
- Harrison FordHarrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
as Jack Ryan - Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
as Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan - Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
as Kevin O'Donnell - Sean BeanSean BeanShaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
as Sean Miller - Thora BirchThora BirchThora Birch is an American actress. She was a child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Now and Then , and Alaska . She came to prominence in 1999 after earning worldwide attention and praise for her performance in American Beauty...
as Sally Ryan - James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
as Lord William Holmes - Ellen GeerEllen GeerEllen Ware Geer is an American actress, professor, screenwriter, film director and theatre director.-Personal life:Geer was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and Will Geer. She is currently married to children's musician Peter Alsop, and was previously married to...
as Rose - Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
as Lieutenant Commander Robby Jackson - Polly WalkerPolly WalkerPolly Walker is an English actress.- Early life :Walker was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England. Her first school was Silverdale Preparatory West Acton, London. At 16, Walker graduated from Ballet Rambert School in Twickenham, began her career as a dancer, but had to abandon dancing after a leg...
as Annette - J. E. FreemanJ. E. FreemanJ.E. Freeman is an American actor, often cast in tough guy roles.His first movie appearance was in the early 80s actioner An Eye for an Eye in which he plays a tow truck driver who minces words with Chuck Norris....
as Marty Cantor - James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
as Vice Admiral Jim Greer - Richard HarrisRichard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
as Paddy O'Neil - Alex NortonAlex NortonAlexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
as Dennis Cooley - Hugh FraserHugh Fraser (actor)Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
as Geoffrey Watkins - Alun ArmstrongAlun Armstrong (actor)Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as Sgt. Owens - David ThrelfallDavid ThrelfallDavid Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
as Inspector Robert Highland
Production
The movie was filmed at Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, on location in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area including Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
.
The numerous changes between the film and the novel caused Clancy to distance himself from the film production.
Harrison Ford accidentally hit Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
with a boat hook while shooting the final scene; Bean has a scar over his eye as a result. (In Bean's subsequent Sharpe
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
series, this would be emphasized with makeup to add credibility to his character.)
Casting
The actors who played Jack and Caroline Ryan in The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
and Gates McFadden
Gates McFadden
Cheryl Gates McFadden usually credited as Gates McFadden, is an American actress and choreographer. She is best known for portraying the character of Dr...
, were unavailable. At the time, Baldwin was performing A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. In 2011, Baldwin says he did not appear because of "sleazy Hollywood tools." McFadden, who appeared in Red October only for a moment, didn't accept Patriot Games greatly expanded screen role for Cathy Ryan due to her regular role as Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. Despite the film's plot and setting, Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
, Patrick Bergin
Patrick Bergin
Patrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
and Jonathan Ryan
Jonathan Ryan (Actor)
-Biography:As a pupil at CBC Monkstown in 1963, Jonathan performed rhythm guitar and vocals in a covers band known as Rootzgroop, whose lineup later included Paul Brady....
, are the only Irish actors to appear in the film.
Music
The score by James HornerJames Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
contains musical references to works by Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
(Adagio from "Gayane" Suite) and Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
(Symphony No. 5, 3rd mvt.).
A music video is shown in an early scene featuring Clannad's song "Theme from Harry's Game
Theme from Harry's Game
"Theme from Harry's Game" or just "Harry's Game" is a BAFTA-nominated hit song by Irish group Clannad, written by Pól Brennan. It was released in 1982 and served as the main track from their album Magical Ring...
", originally made for an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama about The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
in 1982.