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The Hunt for Red October

1990 · directed by John McTiernan · 135 min
25,655 feet · Prominence
310th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw71

Lifetime worldwide gross $201m, re-releases included; about $506m in 2026 money.

Rank602 of 11,051In 199011 of 147

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise77

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics73 baseAwards29 signal → +4 lift

Oscars1 won Sound Editing2 nominated Film Editing, Sound
BAFTAs1 nominated Actor
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy70

Judged directly: Defining submarine thriller, still referenced.

Verdict70 of 100IMDb7.5 from 228kWikipedia54k views a monthAge36 years

Scored beside it · 306 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 71 praise 77 legacy 70averages 73, placing it at25,655 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Sean Connery▲ Alec Baldwin

In these careers — elevation for this film

Sean Connery20,568 ftAlec Baldwin19,885 ftSam Neill18,758 ftJames Earl Jones18,403 ftScott Glenn18,398 ftRichard Jordan18,076 ftJoss Ackland17,940 ftPeter Firth17,891 ftStellan Skarsgård17,665 ftTim Curry17,661 ftJeffrey Jones17,654 ftCourtney B. Vance17,647 ft