Red Dragon (2002)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers (WGA):

Thomas Harris (novel)
Ted Tally (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet Hannibal Lecter For The First Time

Plot:

A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer; aiding him is imprisoned criminal genius Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Hannibal Lecter | Serial Killer | Cannibal | Forensic Psychiatrist

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Edward Norton	...	Will Graham
Ralph Fiennes	...	Francis Dolarhyde
Harvey Keitel	...	Jack Crawford
Emily Watson	...	Reba McClane
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Molly Graham
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Freddy Lounds
Anthony Heald	...	Dr. Frederick Chilton
Ken Leung	...	Lloyd Bowman
Frankie Faison	...	Barney Matthews
Tyler Patrick Jones	...	Josh Graham
Lalo Schifrin	...	Conductor
Tim Wheater	...	Flautist
John Rubinstein	...	Dinner Guest
David Doty	...	Dinner Guest

Also Known As:

Roter Drache (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, grisly images, language, some nudity and sexuality.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Austria:14 (Niederösterreich) | Austria:16 (Steiermark) | Belgium:KNT | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

4160 Country Club Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

In William Blake's "Great Red Dragon" series of paintings, there are two with very similar names. The novel "Red Dragon," by Thomas Harris, uses the title of one painting ("The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun"), but in describing the image, gives a description of another ("The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun"). Due to the muddled reference, the first adaptation of the the novel, Manhunter (1986) (dir: Michael Mann), Francis Dolarhyde is obsessed with the painting that Harris cites by name, while this film features the painting as described by Harris, which is a back view of the dragon with his tail wrapped around the woman.

Goofs:

Continuity: The slash mark across Graham's chest disappears before he is shot.

Quotes:

Hannibal Lecter: Have you seen blood in the moonlight? It appears quite black.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead by Dawn (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Scherzo

Great prequel.

Red Dragon takes place just before the events of The Silence of the Lambs. In this movie, a deranged serial killer is killing entire families every month on the night of the full moon. Jack Crawford of the FBI calls in retired agent Will Graham to help catch the killer. Graham left the FBI after being critically wounded while capturing the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter. Now, Graham must interview Hannibal, to see if he can shed any knowledge on the case. Meanwhile, the killer struggles with himself when he begins to fall in love with a fellow employee. This movie is closer to Silence of the Lambs than Hannibal in quality and style, and therefore is more entertaining.

This movie is basically a reworking of the film Manhunter, except with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal, so it connects better with the others. This movie sticks closer to the book than Manhunter did, which will please fans, except that it ads way more Hannibal Lecter interview scenes than were in the book, most likely to bank on Anthony Hopkins' name. The movie has the same suspenseful style as Silence of the Lambs, making up for the fact that Hannibal hardly had any suspense at all. The dialogue and overall fast paced style of the movie made it really worth watching, and if this movie had been released a year before Silence rather than a year after Hannibal, they would be great together. The characters are great and engaging. They seem more realistic than they were in Manhunter. I'm glad this movie managed to be far more successful than Manhunter, because I don't think I could deal with two bad Red Dragon adaptations.

The acting is superb. I was kind of annoyed with Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, because he played the role way too differently than the way he played it in Silence. Now, in this movie, he gets back to basics. Edward Norton is great as Will Graham. The role of the Red Dragon/Francis Dolarhyde was made for Ralph Fiennes. He takes the role and makes it his own. Whenever I think Ralph Fiennes now, I think Red Dragon.

Overall, this is an awesome psychological thriller, and any fan of Silence of the Lambs should definitely see this movie.

7/10