Manhunter (film)

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Manhunter
Directed by Michael Mann
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Richard A. Roth
Written by Novel:
Thomas Harris
Screenplay:
Michael Mann
Starring William L. Petersen
Kim Greist
Joan Allen
Brian Cox
Dennis Farina
Tom Noonan
Music by Michel Rubini
The Reds
Cinematography Dante Spinotti
Distributed by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
Release date(s) August 15, 1986 (U.S. release)
Running time 119 min.
Country USA USA
Language English
IMDb profile

Manhunter is a 1986 thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it features Brian Cox as the popular character Hannibal Lecter (spelled "Lecktor" in the film, the only time in the series), and stars William Petersen, Joan Allen, Kim Greist, Dennis Farina and Tom Noonan. The cinematographer/director of photography was Dante Spinotti.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Petersen plays Will Graham, a former FBI agent who captured the infamous Lecktor and was almost killed in the process; he is so traumatized by the event that he retires from the FBI. His former partner, Jack Crawford, calls him out of retirement to help find a killer called "The Tooth Fairy" who is murdering entire families. Graham is a profiler who has an uncanny ability to get into the mind of a killer and think as he does. Graham visits Lecktor in prison in order to help get back in the state of mind necessary to empathize with a psychopath.

There is a subplot about the Tooth Fairy himself, a tortured soul named Francis Dollarhyde (Dolarhyde in the novel), played by Noonan in a critically acclaimed[citation needed] performance, falling in love with a blind coworker named Reba McClane, interfering with his killing spree.

[edit] Production

The movie has a distinctive 1980s, "Miami Vice" feel to it: There is heavy emphasis on washed-out pastels, the homes feature white minimalist decor, and the soundtrack features synthesizers as well as acoustic tracks. The director, Michael Mann, also produced the Miami Vice series. The song "Heartbeat," performed by Red 7, which plays over the closing credits, also features in an episode of Miami Vice which also featured star Kim Greist. The film is also famous for its use of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," as well as contributions from Shriekback and The Prime Movers' "Strong As I Am."

The film was originally going to use the novel's title, Red Dragon. When Year of the Dragon (1985) bombed at the box office, writer/director Michael Mann decided to change the title.[1] William Petersen has commented that the title was also changed to avoid being confused for a karate movie.[2]

John Lithgow, Mandy Patinkin, and Brian Dennehy were all considered for the role of Hannibal Lecktor before Brian Cox was cast.[3] Cox based his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter on Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel.

Frankie Faison, who appears as Lt. Fisk, is the only actor to appear in the first four Hannibal Lecter films. Faison later had a significant role as Barney, the orderly, in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), and Red Dragon (2002).

During principal photography, Tom Noonan asked that no one in the cast, either people who are after him or whom he is after, be allowed to see him. The first time Noonan met William Petersen is when Graham crashes through the window of Dollarhyde's home. Noonan admits that, because of his request, the atmosphere on set became so tense, people actually became afraid of him.

When the film was first broadcast on TV, the title was changed to Red Dragon: The Pursuit of Hannibal Lecter. This was done to capitalize on the success of The Silence of the Lambs; however, the title change was misleading, since when Manhunter begins, Lecktor has already been captured and incarcerated. The title change also misspells "Lecktor," which itself is also misspelled.

Because William Petersen's role was so emotionally exhausting, he did everything he could to rid himself of Will Graham after principal photography wrapped. Petersen shaved off his beard, cut his hair and dyed it blonde.[4]

After the film's completion, Dennis Farina, Bill Smitrovich and Stephen Lang were all cast in Michael Mann's TV series Crime Story. That series also featured Ted Levine, who played serial killer Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

[edit] Box office performance

Despite generally positive critical reviews[5][6], the film was a box office failure. After The Silence of the Lambs (which was never approached by Orion as a sequel to Manhunter due to said box office failure) was released in 1991, it experienced something of a revival on video and later as a DVD release. In 2002, another adaptation of the book, titled Red Dragon, was released. It was more faithful to the novel. The reinterpretation was largely given a mixed critical response, though it could be rather difficult to compare the critical response of the two films as of the 31 reviews of Manhunter, some are rather recent reviews on Rotten Tomatoes whereas most of the 182 Red Dragon reviews date back to the film's initial release. [1] Salon.com has said that Mann's original is the best of the Lecter series. [2] The film has now become a cult classic. The film has a 94% rating of "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. The remake, Red Dragon, currently has a 68% rating. Manhunter also has a 100% Cream of the Crop rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[edit] Cast

[edit] DVD availability

Anchor Bay Divimax DVD release.
Anchor Bay Divimax DVD release.

Manhunter has been available in various versions on DVD. Anchor Bay released a Limited Edition 2-DVD set in 2000 that featured an erroneously labelled "Theatrical Cut" (it actually omits some footage from the theatrical version and features some material from the "Director's Cut") and Mann's "Director's Cut" along with some retrospective featurettes. A standard edition (an individual release for the first disc of the 2-disc set) was also released at the same time. In 2003, Anchor Bay released the "Restored Director's Cut" which is very close to the "Director's Cut" on the 2000 disc but omits one scene. It does, however, feature a commentary track by Mann. In 2004, MGM released a pan and scanned version of the movie that was the one seen in theaters. Finally, in 2007 MGM released the theatrical cut in widescreen on DVD for the first time, though it is only available as part of "The Hannibal Lecter Collection" alongside "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal".

Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor.
Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] References

  1. ^ Trivia for Manhunter
  2. ^ Inside Manhunter: Interviews with Stars William Petersen, Brian Cox, Joan Allen and Tom Noonan
  3. ^ Inside Manhunter: Interviews with Stars William Petersen, Brian Cox, Joan Allen and Tom Noonan
  4. ^ Inside Manhunter: Interviews with Stars William Petersen, Brian Cox, Joan Allen and Tom Noonan
  5. ^ http://www.sover.net/~ozus/manhunter.htm
  6. ^ Film Critic

[edit] External links


Films directed by Michael Mann
Thief • The Keep • Manhunter • L.A. Takedown •The Last of the Mohicans • Heat • The Insider • Ali • Collateral • Miami Vice
 v • d • e The Hannibal Tetralogy

By Thomas Harris

The Books
Red Dragon • The Silence of the Lambs • Hannibal • Hannibal Rising

The Films
Manhunter • The Silence of the Lambs • Hannibal • Red Dragon • Hannibal Rising

Main Characters
Will Graham • Hannibal Lecter • Clarice Starling

Secondary Characters
Buffalo Bill • Frederick Chilton • Jack Crawford • Francis Dolarhyde • Paul Krendler • Mischa Lecter • Freddy Lounds • Ardelia Mapp • Reba McClane • Lady Murasaki • Margot Verger • Mason Verger
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