Manhunter (1986)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel)
Michael Mann (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

(reissue) Hannibal Lecter's legacy of evil begins here.

Plot:

An FBI specialist tracks a serial killer who appears to select his victims at random. |

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Serial Killer | Washington D.C. | Slide Show | Car Accident

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

William Petersen	...	Will Graham
Kim Greist	...	Molly Graham
Joan Allen	...	Reba McClane
Brian Cox	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
Dennis Farina	...	Jack Crawford
Tom Noonan	...	Francis Dollarhyde
Stephen Lang	...	Freddy Lounds
David Seaman	...	Kevin Graham
Benjamin Hendrickson	...	Dr. Frederick Chilton
Michael Talbott	...	Geehan
Dan Butler	...	Jimmy Price (as Dan E. Butler)
Michele Shay	...	Beverly Katz
Robin Moseley	...	Sarah
Paul Perri	...	Dr. Sidney Bloom
Patricia Charbonneau	...	Mrs. Sherman

Also Known As:

Red Dragon (USA) (original script title)
Red Dragon: The Curse of Hannibal Lecter (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

119 min | USA:124 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (re-rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) (original rating) | France:-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

During the filming of this movie, Anthony Hopkins was playing King Lear at the National Theatre. During the filming of The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Brian Cox was playing King Lear at the National Theatre.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: FBI man Will Graham attempts (sucessfully) to play a 3/4-inch video tape in a VHS machine.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Crawford: We should have talked at the boatyard. You don't wanna talk about it here.
Will Graham: I'm not fallin' all over myself to talk about much anywhere, Jack.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chasing the Dragon: Academy Group Inc. (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

GRAHAM'S THEME

Pretty Good!

I have a problem with a lot of people's review of "Manhunter". Every single bad review that criticizes Cox or Noonan invariably mentions the movie "Red Dragon" in the same breath. How about being a little objective?

On its own as the original Hannibal Lecter movie, Manhunter is a good movie. Cox plays Lecter convincingly, and you can read from other reviewers who praised his work shows that with a little objectivity we can see an alternative representation of Lecter. It is true, as one other reviewer says, Hopkins acts Lecter, Cox *IS* Lecter. Cox never seems to be acting, he really plays the part with mystery and ambiguity not like the distinctly maniacal Lecter that Hopkins portrays.

Cox plays a true psychopath - one devoid of feelings, and yet a consummate actor. Some of the world's best actors are in fact psychopaths. A psychopath is not necessarily a killer - a psychopath is simply someone who does not feel for other human beings, which is often why the psychopath killers of this world were in fact convincing actors - for example Geoffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson.

So when we analyze the profiles of true psychopathic serial killers, we can quite clearly see that Cox plays the better Lecter than Hopkins. We can see Cox is devoid of compassion, and yet acts like a normal person. Hopkins on the other hand, never passes the creepy stage - he is too creepy and doesn't have the "acting" ability of a true psychopath to mask that image from the public eye. Cox shows that he could blend into normality without being caught.

And therein lies the problem with the negative reviews. We read countless negative reviews of this movie bemoaning the fact that Cox is not as creepy as Hopkins - but my dears, that is exactly why Cox plays the better Lecter!