Hannibal (2001)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Thomas Harris (novel)
David Mamet (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 February 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Break The Silence

Plot:

Hannibal returns to America and attempts to make contact with disgraced Agent Starling and survive a vengeful victim's plan.

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Hannibal Lecter | FBI | Revenge | Disfigurement

Awards:

5 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Hannibal Lecter
Julianne Moore	...	Clarice Starling
Gary Oldman	...	Mason Verger
Ray Liotta	...	Paul Krendler
Frankie Faison	...	Nurse Barney (as Frankie R. Faison)
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Insp. Renaldo Pazzi
Francesca Neri	...	Allegra Pazzi
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Dr. Cordell Doemling
Hazelle Goodman	...	Evelda Drumgo
David Andrews	...	FBI Agent Pearsall
Francis Guinan	...	FBI Asst. Director Noonan
James Opher	...	DEA Agent John Eldridge
Enrico Lo Verso	...	Gnocco
Ivano Marescotti	...	Carlo
Fabrizio Gifuni	...	Matteo

Also Known As:

The Silence of the Lambs 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong gruesome violence, some nudity and language.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Italian | Japanese

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Mexico:C | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Malaysia:18SG | USA:R (certificate #38000) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Philippines:R-18 | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Poland:18 | Austria:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R (re-rating) | Brazil:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) (special edition) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:18 (w) | Hong Kong:III | Hungary:18 | India:A | Ireland:18 (widescreen edition) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

When Jodie Foster declined to reprise the role of Clarice Starling, Julianne Moore beat Gillian Anderson, Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Heather Locklear, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Kristin Davis, Bridget Fonda, Calista Flockhart, Helen Hunt, Sandra Bullock, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Connelly, Meg Ryan, Shannen Doherty, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Eggert and Teri Hatcher for the role. Anderson fell out of the running early on when it was discovered her contract to "The X Files" (1993) prohibited her from playing another FBI agent. Davis and Parker both turned down the part due to their contract to HBO's "Sex and the City" (1998). Flockhart declined due to her contract to "Ally McBeal" (1997).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the letter is being read by Starling and there is a voiceover by Lecter, we see Lecter playing Bach's Goldberg Variations on piano. The keys struck by Lecter and the notes we hear do not match exactly, suggesting Anthony Hopkins mimicked playing the piano for the camera.

Quotes:

[apparently about to cut Starling's hand off with a cleaver]
Hannibal Lecter: This is really gonna hurt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Let the Church Say, Amen (2004)

Soundtrack:

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

Doesn't come close to the quality of the original, but Anthony Hopkins's performance saves the movie. *** (out of four)

HANNIBAL / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

Some movies are born to inspire sequels but "The Silence of The Lambs" is a movie that does not need a sequel. The Academy Award winning thriller earned ubiquitous critical acclaim, therefore a continuation is nearly incapable of living up to its standards. To make things worse for the highly anticipated sequel "Hannibal," the original film's director and main star bailed out, leaving Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and Julianne Moore ("Magnolia") filling their places in the credits. It is hard to imagine how this movie could possibly succeed. But the exceptionally beautiful filmmaking, strong performances, intriguing story, and moody atmosphere provoke more nail-biting moments than most thrillers these days.

The story of "Hannibal" does not compare with "The Silence of the Lambs." It replaces tension-filled sequences of psychological terror with scenes featuring some of the most grotesque images and realistic gore to ever make its mark on the big screen. This film relies heavily on the shock factor of such extreme graphic violence, although such content is never excessive or relentless. It has perfect timing. The sheer presence of Anthony Hopkins, in another horrific and career defining performance, often creates enough terror for several movies. "Hannibal" knows that and frequently gives the character more freedom than he had in he first film. But I am not so sure that is a good thing; is it more terrifying listening to Hannibal Lecter discuss his disgusting actions or to actually see him perform such disturbing behaviors?

The film takes place ten years after FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster then, Julianne Moore now) interviewed convicted mass murdering cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) while searching for another disturbed killer. Present day: Clarice is involved with a drug bust shoot-out that leaves many dead. Justice Dept. Official Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta), is about to punish her when she gets a call from a the unrecognizably deformed surviving victim of an attack by Lecter. His name is Mason Verge (Gary Oldman), a wealthy recluse who asks that Starling be placed back on the case of the Cannibal, who has been on the loose for ten years.

The movie investigates a lot more than Clarice's experiences with Hannibal Lecter. The script actually consists of two separate stories, one detailing the revenge scheme of Mason, whom is still angry with Lecter after he caused the removal of his face and partial paralysis. The other takes place in Italy, where an inspector named Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini) is out to claim a multimillion dollar reward for providing authorities with proper evidence leading to the arrest of a local, who turns out to be none other than Lecter himself. Obviously this man does not know what he is in for, and ends up losing his cuts for the money…literally.

Parallel stories are always interesting, but are easily sidetracked with certain characters and or events. What keeps this movie intriguing is the consistent focus on Lector; everything in the story seems to revolve around him. Then again, "Hannibal" is also quite pointless because it solves nothing. Without giving away the ending, I will say that we are once again left pondering about Lecter. Most any movie that provokes thoughts is worth seeing, but "Hannibal" forgets the first film, takes a stand on its own, and once again sets us up for another unnecessary follow-up.

The most apparent conflict many audiences with have with "Hannibal" is the absence of Jodie Foster. Julianne Moore is most definitely a capable and challenging actress, and plays the role of Starling with exuberance and clarity. But Foster is simply better in the role and we miss her dearly. Anthony Hopkins saves the movie; the actor is so intense and grisly in his subtle and classy manner, he once again qualifies as an award nominee. Thank goodness he returned for the role; without Hopkins, "Hannibal" would be nothing but underdone carnage.