<P> Baldwin was approached in December 1988, but was not told for what role . Klaus Maria Brandauer was cast as Soviet sub commander Marko Ramius but two weeks into filming he quit due to a prior commitment . The producers faxed the script to Sean Connery who, at first, declined because the script seemed implausible in portraying the Soviet Union as an ambitious naval power . He was missing the first page which set the story before Gorbachev's coming to power, when the events of the book would have seemed more plausible . He arrived in L.A. on a Friday and was supposed to start filming on Monday but he requested a day to rehearse . Principal photography began on April 3, 1989 with a $30 million budget . The Navy lent the film crew Houston, Enterprise, two frigates (Wadsworth and Reuben James), helicopters, and a dry - dock crew . </P> <P> Filmmaker John Milius revised some of the film's script, writing a few speeches for Sean Connery and all of his Russian dialogue . He was asked to rewrite the whole film but was only required to do the Russian sequences . Rather than choosing between the realism of Russian dialog with subtitles, or the audience - friendly use of English (with or without Russian accents), the filmmakers compromised with a deliberate conceit . The film begins with the actors speaking Russian with English subtitles . But in an early scene, actor Peter Firth casually switches in mid-sentence to speaking in English on the word "Armageddon", which is the same spoken word in both languages . After that point, all the Soviets' dialogue is communicated in English . Connery continued using the Russian accent for the rest of the motion picture . Only towards the end of the film, at the beginning of the scene in which the Soviet and American submariners meet, do some of the actors speak in Russian again . </P> <P> Filming in submarines was impractical . Instead, five soundstages on the Paramount backlot were used . Two 50 - foot square platforms housing mock - ups of Red October and Dallas were built, standing on hydraulic gimbals that simulated the sub's movements . Connery recalled, "It was very claustrophobic . There were 62 people in a very confined space, 45 feet above the stage floor . It got very hot on the sets, and I'm also prone to sea sickness . The set would tilt to 45 degrees . Very disturbing ." The veteran actor shot for four weeks and the rest of the production shot for additional months on location in Port Angeles, Washington and the waters off Los Angeles . </P> <P> Made before sophisticated CGI became the norm in filmmaking, the film's opening sequence featured a long pull - out reveal of the immense titular Typhoon - class sub . It included a nearly full - scale, above - the - water - line mockup of the sub, constructed from two barges welded together . Each country's submarine had its own background color: Soviet submarines, such as Red October and Konovalov, had interiors in black with silver trim . American ships, such as Dallas and Enterprise, had grey interiors . However, during one scene when Dallas goes to a higher alert status it was flooded with red light . Early filming was aboard USS Reuben James in the area of the Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound in March 1989 . The ship operated out of U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Angeles . The SH - 60B detachment from the Battlecats of HSL - 43 operated out of NAS Whidbey Island, after being displaced by the filmcrew . Most underwater scenes were filmed using smoke with a model sub connected to 12 cables, giving precise, smooth control for turns . Computer effects, in their infancy, created bubbles and other effects such as particulates in the water . </P>

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