Patriot Games - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Patriot Games or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Patriot Games

[brent]

The original ending had Jack Ryan and Sean Miller fighting on large rocks in the middle of the stormy sea and Miller eventually drowning. Test audiences were not excited by this conclusion, so the new ending with the speedboat fight was filmed.

[nora]

When Kevin O'Donnell (Patrick Bergin) frees Sean Miller (Sean Bean) from police custody, he says "Conas ata tú?" This is an Irish phrase meaning "How are you?"

[kylie]

Tom Clancy objected to some of the changes made to his novel in the screenplay. In the novel, the noble that Ryan saves is in fact Prince Charles, and the tabloid reports of trouble in his marriage to Princess Diana is portrayed largely as the fabrication of a biased media. Subsequently, such reports would prove to be correct. The novel ends not with Miller's death, but with his capture by American authorities. He was captured originally in England, which has no death penalty, but finally captured in the United States, which does (and in Clancy's subsequent novel "The Sum of All Fears", Miller and his fellow associates are executed by the State of Maryland for their crimes). Clancy felt that having him die in action robbed the story of this contrast.

[ronnie]

Hugh Fraser (Watkins) and Polly Walker (Annette) had earlier appeared in the Agatha Christie's Poirot episode 'Peril at End House' (1990)

[ivan]

Tom Watt claims that he got his part because it amused director Phillip Noyce that an actor named "Watt" was auditioning for the role of an electrician.

[melinda]

The film takes place from January to March 1992.

[albert]

In The Hunt for Red October (1990), during the initial briefing with the Joint Chiefs, doctor Ryan exclaims, "You son of a bitch!" after a moment of thoughtfulness. He does the same thing in this movie, during the discussion after he joins the Terror Assessment team. In addition, with a dash of subtle humor, both scenes have someone saying, "What?" after Ryan's exclamation. This "Ryan catchphrase" was abandoned in the subsequent Jack Ryan movies.

[stephanie]

Alec Baldwin and director John McTiernan had expressed interest in adapting Clear and Present Danger (1994) immediately after The Hunt for Red October (1990), but a producer had already obtained the rights to Patriot Games (1992).

[charlie]

Though they were in the first three Star Wars films, this is the first time Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones have worked together. In Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Ford worked on set with David Prowse, while Jones recorded all his lines in post-production.

[riley]

The cadence being sung at the beginning of the Annapolis scenes is a common Marine Corps cadence with slight modification: Mission Top Secret, Destination Unknown.

[sylvia]

When Ryan and the CIA analysts are analyzing satellite imagery, the analysis program is very similar to the ESPER system in Blade Runner (1982).

[ivan]

The dual-beeping sound effect of Jack Ryan's EKG was also used in The Hunt for Red October (1990), as the sound of the USS Dallas' sonar tracking the Red October.

[caroline]

The line "There's never been a terrorist attack on American soil" was included in trailers for the movie. However, it was left out of theatrical release because it sounded too much like an invitation or dare.

[sandra]

John McTiernan was initially attached to direct, but departed when Alec Baldwin dropped out. He moved on to Medicine Man (1992), which reunited him with Sean Connery, the star of the franchise's prior film, The Hunt for Red October (1990).

[bernice]

The scene where Miller is rescued by the IRA was heavily criticized. There is no way a convicted high-profile IRA terrorist would be taken to prison without an armed escort. In reality he would have been flown to prison by armored helicopter, with an escort of police officers armed with sub-machine guns.

[linda]

The satellite attack-watching sequence features rather emotional, thinly scored music by James Horner, but the music is, in fact, taken quite directly from the slow movement of Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. It's only for about half a minute that Horner does this, and he blends it into his own stuff, but that one little part is a very direct, uncredited grab.

[sandra]

During the shooting of the climactic fight scene between Ryan and Miller on the boat, Harrison Ford accidentally injured Sean Bean by a blow with the boat hook, leaving a bleeding cut. The resulting scar was later used for Bean's title character in Sharpe (1993), enhanced by makeup.

[claude]

Although this film is a sequel to The Hunt for Red October (1990), the action of the original novels was in the opposite order: the novel was a prequel. Presumably the change was made because Harrison Ford is older than Alec Baldwin.

[melinda]

Sylvester McCoy was considered for the role of Cooley.