| Hannibal | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ridley Scott |
| Produced by | Ridley Scott Dino De Laurentiis |
| Written by | Screenplay: David Mamet Steven Zaillian Novel: Thomas Harris |
| Starring | Anthony Hopkins Julianne Moore Gary Oldman Ray Liotta Giancarlo Giannini Zeljko Ivanek Frankie Faison Francesca Neri |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | John Mathieson |
| Editing by | Pietro Scalia |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | February 9, 2001 |
| Running time | 131 min. |
| Country | UK USA |
| Language | English Italian Japanese |
| Budget | $87 million |
| Gross revenue | $351,692,268 |
| Preceded by | The Silence of the Lambs |
| Followed by | Red Dragon |
Hannibal is a 2001 thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. Set ten years after The Silence of the Lambs, the premise is that one of Hannibal Lecter's surviving victims, the extremely wealthy Mason Verger, is determined to capture, torture, and kill him. The film's locations alternate between Italy and the United States.
According to Steffen Hantke, author of "Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear", Hannibal the film was an "eagerly anticipated auteur and star-driven event movie, with emphasis on a distinctive visual appearance and deliberate flamboyant performances."[1]
Hannibal was the highly anticipated sequel to 1991's Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs which introduced Hannibal Lecter to mainstream moviegoing audiences (though the character was first portrayed by Brian Cox in the 1986 film, Manhunter, based on Harris' novel, Red Dragon).[2] The Silence of the Lambs became only the third film in history to receive Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and screenplay adaptation.[3] The character of Hannibal Lecter became a "household name",[4] and part of popular culture.[5] The "bumpy" development of Hannibal drew a large amount of attention, with Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme, screenwriter Ted Tally and actress Jodie Foster all eventually declining involvement.[6] Upon release, Hannibal broke box-office records in the United States, Australia, Canada and the UK in February 2001.[7]
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The film takes place ten years after the events depicted in The Silence of the Lambs. FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) is disgraced after a botched drug raid resulting in the deaths of five people, including HIV-positive drug dealer Evelda Drumgo (Hazelle Goodman), who was shot by Starling while holding a baby — and threatening Starling with a machine pistol. Though Starling had tried to abort the raid before a violent situation developed, another officer charged ahead and precipitated the gun battle with Drumgo and her bodyguards, and Starling is unjustly given the blame for the mess by Justice Department official Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta), whose romantic advances Starling had rejected years earlier.
As a result of the publicity surrounding the drug raid, Starling and her past connection to escaped serial killer Hannibal Lecter come to the attention of one of Lecter's victims, Mason Verger, the heir to a meatpacking fortune. Verger, who was horrifically mutilated and paralyzed by his encounter with Lecter, still seeks revenge for what occurred. He uses his political influence to have Starling assigned to the Lecter case once again in the hope that this will draw Lecter out of hiding.
Verger claims to have new information about Lecter (an X-ray) which he is willing to disclose only to Starling, and she is sent to his estate to collect it and interview him. Upon her arrival, Verger tells Starling about his history with Lecter. They met when Lecter was assigned by a court as Verger's therapist after Verger's conviction on multiple counts of child molestation. Verger, the only one of Lecter's victims to survive, is now bedridden and confined to his secluded mansion, but with the assistance of his personal physician Cordell Doemling and other minions he is pursuing an elaborate scheme to capture, torture and kill Lecter.
In Florence, Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi of the Questura (Giancarlo Giannini) is investigating the disappearance of the curator of the Capponi Library, a Renaissance palace that serves as a repository of rare books, historical documents and art treasures. In the course of his investigation, Pazzi meets the new curator: Dr. "Fell" -- whom we immediately recognize as Hannibal Lecter.
As Verger surmised, Lecter soon learns of Starling's public disgrace and of her reassignment to his case, and sends her a letter that is at once sympathetic and mocking. The letter contains no apparent clue to Lecter's whereabouts, but Starling detects a strange fragrance on it. She takes it to a perfume company, where the experts inform her that the writer used a skin cream that could have been made by only a few shops in the world, one of which is in Florence.
Starling contacts the police departments of the cities where the shops are located, including Pazzi's department, asking for copies of any surveillance tapes made by cameras installed in the shops. When Pazzi sees one of his men making a copy of such a tape for Starling, he recognizes "Fell" in the tape and decides to find out why the FBI is interested in him. Pazzi accesses the FBI's database of fugitive criminals and learns that "Fell" is Hannibal Lecter. He also learns that Verger is offering a reward of $3 million to anyone who assists him in capturing Lecter rather than turning Lecter over to the police. Hoping to get the reward, Pazzi makes contact with Verger's people and agrees to help them kidnap Lecter. Starling, meanwhile, has received the surveillance tape from Florence, recognized Lecter, and learned that Pazzi has been using the FBI's database to check on Lecter. She calls Pazzi and warns him against trying to capture Lecter himself, but Pazzi ignores her warning.
Pazzi and Verger's men try to kidnap Lecter after his scheduled evening lecture on the poetry of Dante to a group of scholars at the Palazzo Vecchio, but their plan goes badly awry. Instead, Lecter murders Pazzi in a gruesome manner and escapes, deciding to return to the United States to renew his acquaintance with Starling.
Frustrated by the failed attempt to kidnap Lecter, Verger tries to draw him out of hiding once again by getting Starling into more trouble. He bribes Starling's enemy, Paul Krendler, to accuse her of withholding a note she received from Lecter. The ploy works, and Starling is suspended from duty. Verger's men keep her under surveillance in the hope that Lecter will contact her. Lecter, meanwhile, has been watching her and also watching Krendler. We see Lecter buying china and crystal for an elaborate meal -- and also stealing surgical equipment from a hospital. He takes everything to a secluded lakefront house that he has learned belongs to Krendler.
Lecter then contacts Starling, luring her to Washington's Union Station for a meeting. Verger's men follow her there. As Starling looks for Lecter among the crowd of travelers and shoppers at the station, she and Lecter converse by cellphone. He expresses his admiration for her and sympathy for the shabby treatment she has received from the FBI, at one point suggesting that he might force the people who have disrespected her to "scream apologies."
Having spotted Lecter, Verger's men capture him in the station's parking lot despite Starling's efforts to stop them. Starling makes a fruitless attempt to expose Verger's scheme to the FBI. Meanwhile, Verger's men transport Lecter to the Verger estate. Verger plans to watch Lecter being eaten alive by a herd of vicious wild pigs that Verger, an expert at swine breeding from his days in the family meatpacking business, has prepared especially for the purpose.
When the FBI refuses to act on her report that Verger has kidnapped Lecter, Starling goes alone to Verger's estate. She intervenes as Verger's henchmen are about to unleash the pigs on Lecter, shooting the men and freeing him -- but she is shot and wounded in the process. Lecter then rescues her from the animals. When a furious Verger orders his physician Cordell to shoot Lecter, Lecter persuades Cordell to throw Verger into the pen with the pigs instead, and Verger is killed in the very manner in which he had hoped to kill Lecter.
Lecter takes Starling to Krendler's lakefront house and treats her bullet wound. She awakens in an upstairs bedroom, dressed for a formal occasion. On her way downstairs, she finds a phone and calls the police. Instead of taking their advice and leaving the house to wait for their arrival, she tries to find Lecter downstairs. She finds him in the dining room where he has set the table as if for an elegant dinner party, watched by the seated Krendler, who has been drugged. As Starling looks on, horrified, Lecter removes the top of Krendler's skull, cuts out part of his brain, sautees it in a pan by the table, and persuades Krendler to eat it.
When Lecter wheels Krendler back to the kitchen to clear up after the "meal," Starling attacks him with a silver candlestick but is quickly overpowered. Just as Lecter thinks he has won the struggle, he hears a click and sees that Starling has handcuffed his wrist to hers. When she refuses to provide the key, Lecter pins her wrist to a table and brandishes a meat cleaver. We hear a blow.
Next we see Starling outside the house, waving down the approaching police cars. Both her hands are intact.
Lecter, having escaped, is on a plane. One arm is in a sling, suggesting that he freed himself by cutting off his own hand rather than Starling's. When he unpacks a gourmet meal he has brought with him, one of the items looks like cooked brain tissue. A little boy seated next to Lecter notices it and asks to have some. At first hesitant, Lecter then agrees, mentioning that his mother "always used to say, it's important to try new things."
The Silence of the Lambs director, Jonathan Demme was asked in 1994 about a possible sequel in Rolling Stone magazine. Demme said that Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs had been working on the follow-up for "seven or eight years." Demme had an idea even at that time that it would not be a straight follow up. Harris told Demme: "I imagine Doctor Lecter going somewhere in Europe…strolling round the streets of Florence or Munich, gazing in the windows of watchmakers…"[8] Demme would state his intention to be involved in the cinematic adaptation of Hannibal in 1998, less than a year before the novel was published.[9]
Dino De Laurentiis produced the film Manhunter in 1986, featuring the first appearance of Hannibal Lecter, played by Brian Cox. The film was directed by Michael Mann. It was based on the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon. De Laurentiis did not like Mann’s version of Manhunter: "Manhunter was no good…it was not Red Dragon," he said. De Laurentiis and his wife Martha (also his co-producer) would have no direct involvement in the film The Silence of the Lambs, a decision De Laurentiis came to regret. They did, however, own the rights to the "Lecter character" and reportedly allowed Orion Pictures, which produced Silence of the Lambs to use the character of Lecter for free, not wishing to be "greedy." When Silence of the Lambs became a commercial and critical success in 1991, winning five Academy Awards, both Dino and Martha De Laurentiis would find themselves sitting on a valuable asset and eager for a follow-up novel they could adapt. After a lengthy wait, De Laurentiis finally received a call from Thomas Harris telling him he had finished the sequel to Silence of the Lambs and De Laurentiis would purchase the rights for a record $10 million.[10]
The Los Angeles Times reported in April 1999, that the budget for an adaptation of Hannibal could cost as much as $100 million. It speculated that both Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins would receive $15 million each to reprise their roles and “$5 million to $19 million for director Jonathan Demme." The newspaper further reported that although Silence of the Lambs cost only $22 million - this would not deter the studio from going ahead with Hannibal. Mort Janklow, Thomas Harris’s agent at the time, told the Los Angeles Times that Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Demme would soon receive manuscripts of the novel, claiming it would make an unbelievable movie.[11]
The book sold out of its initial 1.6 million print run in the summer of 1999.[12] Hannibal, would go on to sell millions of copies following its release in mid-1999.[13]
Jonathan Demme would inform (via fax) the producers of Hannibal that he would pass on directing Hannibal.[9] It has been claimed Demme turned down the project because he found the material "lurid"[14] and was averse to the book's "gore".[15] Dino De Laurentiis said on Demme’s decision to decline: “When the pope dies, we create a new pope. Good luck to Jonathan Demme. Good-bye.”[10] He has since added that Demme felt he could not make a sequel as good as The Silence of the Lambs.[16] David Fincher was originally considered to direct the film due to his successful movie Fight Club but dropped out for unknown reasons [2].
Producer Dino De Laurentiis visited Director Ridley Scott on the set of Gladiator and suggested to Ridley he read the novel he had bought the rights to.[16] Scott was in the third week before principal photography was due to finish on Gladiator.[9] Gladiator would become a commercial and critical success — gaining 12 Academy Award nominations.[13] De Laurentiis asked Scott if he would like to direct the film version of Hannibal. Scott misunderstood which Hannibal he meant, thinking De Laurentiis was speaking of the brilliant general and historical figure from Carthage who nearly brought down the empire of Rome back around 200 B.C., so he replied: "Basically Dino, I’m doing a Roman epic right now. I don’t wanna do elephants coming over the Alps next, old boy."[9] Scott would read the manuscript in four sittings within a week, believing it to be a "symphony" and expressed his desire to do it.[9] Scott further explains how he got involved: “I was shooting Gladiator in Malta and one day, for the hell of it, I went for a walk for half a mile down the road to the Malta Film Studio to see my old buddy Dino. I had not seen him since I’d worked on a version of Dune – this was pre Blade Runner. Dino had pursued me to direct Dune and another film. He’s always enthusiastic and aggressive and came after me when I did both Blade Runner and Alien, but I couldn’t do the films. Anyway, we had an espresso together and a few days later, he called me to ask if he could visit the Gladiator set. He arrived with a manuscript of Hannibal, about a month before it was published in book form. He said: ‘Lets make this one.’ I haven’t read anything so fast since The Godfather. It was so rich in all kind of ways.”[12]
Although Scott had accepted the job Jonathan Demme had rejected, he said: "My first question was: ‘What about Jonathan?’ and they said: ‘The original team said it’s too violent.’ I said, 'Okay. I’ll do it.'" Scott did, himself, have some uncertainty with the source material. He had difficulties with the ending of the novel in particular — "I couldn’t take that quantum leap emotionally on behalf of Starling. Certainly, on behalf of Hannibal – I’m sure that’s been in the back of his mind for a number of years. But for Starling, no. I think one of the attractions about Starling to Hannibal is what a straight arrow she is." (In the novel Lecter and Starling end up an actual couple on the run together.) He also, "didn’t buy the book from the opera scene onwards, which became like a vampire movie." He asked author Thomas Harris if he was "married to his ending". Harris said no, so he changed it.[12]
| “ | "I always imagined Hannibal likes cannabis, marijuana, opium....to explore his mind palace....needless to say I don’t do either, they are too much for me. I'd rather just have a cigar." | ” |
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—Ridley Scott on his thoughts of the character "Hannibal Lecter".[17] |
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Ted Tally, the screenwriter for The Silence of the Lambs, was another key member of the original team to decline involvement in Hannibal (he won an Oscar for his Silence adaptation). Tally, like Demme, had problems with the novel's "excesses".[14]
Steve Zaillian (writer of (Schindler's List) was offered the chance to write the adaptation after Tally passed - he too would also decline. He explains why: “I was busy. And I wasn’t sure I was interested. You can almost never win when you do a sequel.”[10] David Mamet would be the first screenwriter to produce a draft, which, according to Ridley Scott and the producers, needed major revisions.[10] Stacey Snider, co-chairman of Universal Pictures (a co-production deal was struck between Universal and MGM) said on the rejection of Mamet’s screenplay: "There’s no way David was going to read 15 pages of our notes and then be available to work on the script day-to-day."[11] Mamet was preparing to direct his own film.[10] A script review at ScreenwritersUtopia.com describes the Mamet draft as "stunningly bad" but found Zaillian's rewrite to be "gripping entertainment".[18] Zaillian, who had already passed, would reconsider and become involved in the project, saying: "It’s hard to say no to Dino once and it’s almost impossible to say no to him twice."[10]
This question (regarding the script development) was put to Ridley Scott by Total Film magazine: “There were lots of rewrites on 'Hannibal' – what was the main problem with the original material?” Scott replied: “That’s inaccurate, because there were very few rewrites once I brought in Steve Zaillian. If you were to ask who were the best three screenwriters in the business, Steve Zaillian would be one of them. We discussed Hannibal endlessly.”[12] Asked if he had read Mamet’s draft, he said: "Yes. He is very fast, very efficient, but he was off doing a film. 'Hannibal' was green lit and his first draft only took about a month. But I was scared that he would not be able to give me enough attention, because that draft needed a lot of work. So I moved on basically.”[12] Scott has said there were writing and "structural problems" as to what they would do with parts of the movie.[17] A key objective of Zaillian, an Academy Award winner, was to revise the script by David Mamet until it pleased all parties - meaning the "love" story would need to be done by suggestion instead of by "assault".[19] Scott would work through the script with Zaillian for 28 days making Scott “sweat through it with him and discuss every inch of the way with him." After 25 days Scott suddenly realized that Zaillian was "exorcising the 600 pages of the book. He was distilling through discussion what he was gonna finally do...Frankly I could have just made it."[9]
It was unclear if Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling) and Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Hannibal Lecter) would reprise their respective roles in which they also won Academy Awards for in The Silence of the Lambs (best actress/actor).[11] It would become apparent that the producers and studio could do without one of the original "stars" (and would go on to find a replacement). The withdrawal of both - Foster and Hopkins, could possibly have been terminal for the project, however. Producer De Laurentiis confirmed this after the films release: "First and foremost, I knew we had no movie without Anthony Hopkins."[16]
Jodie Foster confirmed to Larry King (on her potential involvement in Hannibal), in 1997, that she “would definitely be part of it”.[12] She told Entertainment Weekly in 1997 that "Anthony Hopkins always talks about it. I mean, everybody wants to do it. Every time I see him, it's like: 'When is it going to happen? When is it going to happen?'"[2] Producer Dino De Laurentiis thought Foster would decline once she read the book (Hannibal), even believing the final movie was better for it.[9] Anthony Hopkins also had doubts Foster would be involved, saying he had a "hunch" she would not be.[9] Foster did turn it down, confirming this in late December 1999.[20] This would cause problems for the studio, Universal and partner MGM.[10][2] “The studio is just back from the holiday and is regrouping based on the news, and has no cohesive game plan at the moment.” Said Kevin Misher, Universal’s president of production.[10] Misher added that, “It was one of those moments when you sit down and think, ‘Can Clarice be looked upon as James Bond for instance? A character who is replaceable?' Or was Jodie Foster Clarice Starling, and the audience will not accept anyone else?"[10] Foster said in December 1999 that the part of Clarice Starling in Hannibal had "negative attributes" and "betrayed" the original character.[20] Yet there is still uncertainty as to why Foster declined. Some say she had "sequel-itis". Others contended that she didn’t want to do it without Demme or was slated herself to direct another film.[10] Her spokeswoman said the reason was because Claire Danes had become available in Foster's own project Flora Plum.[21] Salary demands may also have played a part in Foster’s non-participation. Dino De Laurentiis said: “I call the agent of Judy Foster. He say to me ‘I have instruction. She no want to read the script if you no give her an offer of $20m and 15% of the gross.’ And I say, ‘Give my love to Judy Foster, goodbye.’”[10] (The article makes clear that “Dino comically mispronounces the actress’s name”)[10] Entertainment Weekly described the project as becoming "a bloody mess, hemorrhaging talent and money" even despite Hopkins being on-board.[2] Jodie Foster talked about Hannibal in an interview with Total Film magazine in late 2005. She said: "The official reason I didn’t do Hannibal is I was doing another movie, Flora Plum. So I get to say, in a nice dignified way, that I wasn’t available when that movie was being shot...Clarice meant so much to Jonathan and I, she really did, and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her."[22]
When it became clear that Jodie Foster would skip Hannibal, the production team would consider several different actresses.[9] These included: Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson, Hilary Swank, Ashley Judd, Helen Hunt and Julianne Moore.[10] Anthony Hopkins asked his agent if he had any "power" over casting. He informed De Laurentiis that he knew Julianne Moore, with whom he had worked on Surviving Picasso. Hopkins thought her a "terrific actress".[9] Although Hopkins' agent told him he had no contractual influence on casting, Ridley Scott thought it correct to discuss who would be Hopkins' "leading lady".[9] Scott said he was “really surprised to find that I had five of the top actresses in Hollywood wanting it.”[12] Julianne Moore would eventually secure the sought after part of Clarice Starling. Scott said his decision was swayed in favor of Moore because: “She is a true chameleon. She can be a lunatic in Magnolia, a vamp in An Ideal Husband, a porn star in Boogie Nights and a romantic in The End of the Affair ”[12] “Julianne Moore, once Jodie decided to pass was always top of my list.” said Scott on his female lead.[17] Moore talked about stepping into a role made famous by another actress: "The new Clarice would be very different. Of course people are going to compare my interpretation with that of Jodie Foster's...but this film is going to be very different."[23]
Hopkins was generally expected to reprise his Academy Award-winning role. Hopkins did say in June 1999 that he would only be interested if the script was "really good".[11] Hopkins says on the making-of feature on DVD that he couldn’t make up his mind to commit. "I was kind of surprised by this book, Hannibal. I thought it was really overreaching and so bizarre. So I couldn’t make up my mind about it all. Some of it I found intriguing, some I was a little doubtful about."[9] When the producers confirmed that they were going to film Harris' novel, Hopkins told them yes, but added: “It needs some condensing.”[9] The Hollywood Reporter would confirm that Hopkins had agreed to reprise his role in late December 1999, saying he had approved the latest draft of the script by Steven Zaillian.[24] Hopkins said he had no difficulty moving back into "Lecter’s mind". "I just learned the lines and showed up and walked around as Hannibal Lecter. I thought, 'Do I repeat that same performance, or do I vary it?' Ten years had passed so I changed a bit."[10] In the book, Lecter has had plastic surgery in an attempt to disguise himself. This was left out of the film because Scott and Hopkins agreed to leave the face alone.[25] Hopkins explains why: "It's as if he's making a statement - 'catch me if you can'. With his big hat, he's so obvious that nobody thinks he's Hannibal Lecter. I've always thought he's a very elegant man, a renaissance man."[25] In the film, Lecter is first seen in Florence "as the classical Lecter, lecturing and being smooth", according to Hopkins.[26] When the film moves to the US, Hopkins changed his appearance by building up muscle and cropping his hair short "to make him like a mercenary, that he would be so fit and so strong that he could just snap somebody in two if they got... in his way".[26]
| “ | He's still the sort of Robin Hood of killers. He kills the - what do they call them? The terminally rude. | ” |
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— Anthony Hopkins on Hannibal Lecter.[26] |
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Other stars subsequently cast included Ray Liotta as corrupt Justice Department official Paul Krendler (a character that appeared in Silence of the Lambs, though original actor Ron Vawter died before the production of Hannibal) and Italian screen legend Giancarlo Giannini as the opportunistic Detective Rinaldo Pazzi. Francesca Neri won the role of Pazzi’s wife, Allegra. Frankie R. Faison signed on to reprise his role as former hospital orderly Barney. (The actor had appeared in Silence of the Lambs in the same role. He also appeared in the film, Manhunter as another character, Lt. Fisk).
Gary Oldman was cast as Mason Verger, one of Lecter's two surviving victims. Co-producer Martha De Laurentiis said they had a "funny situation" with Oldman wanting a prominent "credit".[10] She said: "Now how can you have a prominent credit with Hannibal? The characters are Hannibal and Clarice Starling. So we really couldn’t work something out (at first)."[10] Oldman was apparently "out" of the movie for while, but then came back in, asking to go "unbilled".[10] Oldman would become transformed and "unrecognizable as himself" to play the part of Verger. He would have no lips, cheeks or eyelids. Make-up artist Greg Cannom said: “It's really disgusting… I’ve been showing people pictures [of Oldman as Verger], and they all just say ‘Oh my God,’ and walk away, which makes me very happy.”[10]
Scott recruited key production crew whom he had worked with previously. Production designer Norris Spencer had worked on Thelma & Louise, Black Rain and 1492 Conquest of Paradise. Cinematographer John Mathieson, editor Pietro Scalia and composer Hans Zimmer had all worked on Scott’s previous film Gladiator.[27]
Hannibal was filmed in 83 working days over 16 weeks.[28] The film began production on May 8, 2000 in Florence.[28] A press conference was also held before shooting began in Florence to promote the movie.[9] The film visited key locations in Florence, (Italy) and various locations around the US in Washington D.C., Richmond, Virginia and North Carolina.[27] Martha De Laurentiis said the movie has almost a hundred locations and that is was a: “constant pain of moving and dressing sets. But the locations were beautiful. Who could complain about being allowed to shoot in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence? Or President James Madison’s farm in Montpelier or the amazing Biltmore Estate in Asheville?”[27] Eighty million dollars and a year and a half in production were spent before director Ridley Scott got his first look at Hannibal in the editing room.[29]
Make-up artist Greg Cannom was pleased to be involved in Hannibal as it offered him the chance to produce "incredible and original make-ups".[9] For Mason Verger the make-up team would initially produce 20 different "heads" which looked like "zombies" and did not reflect the vision director Ridley Scott had of the character - Scott wanted Verger to look real with hideous scarring, and not something from the "House of Wax".[9] Scott himself would actually call up the help of expert doctors in an effort to get the look of the character as realistic as possible.[9] Scott showed the make-up team pictures of "foetal things", which he thought “touching” – he wanted to make Mason Verger more "touching" than "monstrous", as he thought the character of Verger as being "someone who hadn’t lost his sense of humour...almost sympathetic."[9] Oldman would spend six hours a day in make-up to prepare for the role.[9]
For one of the final and infamous scenes of the movie an exact "duplicate" was created of the character Paul Krendler, played by Ray Liotta, a scene which blended make-up, puppet work and CGI in a way which director Ridley Scott called "seamless".[9]
The main titles were designed by Nick Livese a graduate of the Royal College of Art who worked for one of Scott’s production companies in London. The sequence, shot in Florence by Livesey himself was intended as the second promotional trailer for the film.[9] The studio thought it not "quite right" however, but it remained on Scott’s mind and would eventually end up as the main title sequence.[9] Livesey would gather footage of pigeons in an empty square in Florence early one morning which, in the final cut, would morph into the face of Hannibal Lecter.[9] Scott believed it a good idea as it fundamentally asked the question: Where is Hannibal Lecter? Scott explains: “And of course this story tells it, with pigeons in the cobblestones of somewhere, where you wonder where that is...and there he is his face appears.”[9] The titles have said to have been influenced by the film Se7en.[30]
Ridley Scott worked very closely with composer Hans Zimmer, during post-production on Hannibal.[9] Scott believes the music to a film is as important as dialogue – “It is the final adjustment to the screenplay, being able to also adjust the performance of the actors in fact.”[9] Zimmer and Scott sat in during the editing process with editor Pietro Scalia to discuss scenes in the film and "not music".[9] Zimmer used a symphony orchestra for the opera sequence, but would mostly use what he described as a "very odd orchestra…only cellos and basses all playing at the extreme ends of their range.” This was done to emphasise the character of Hannibal Lecter. He explains: "Anthony’s character is for me somebody at the extreme range of whatever is humanly imaginable somehow." Zimmer also did not want the score to sound like a "modern day orchestra".[9] The character of Mason Verger, had his own "theme", which become more “perverted” as the movie progressed according to Zimmer.[9] Dante's sonnet was put to music by Zimmer and Patrick Cassidy for the opera scene in Florence.[5] Tracksounds.com wrote positively of Zimmer's score. "Zimmer truly crafts a score worthy of most fans' full attention…the classical elements, and yes, even the monologue combine to make this an intense listening experience.”[18] In a poll by Classic FM (UK) listeners to find the greatest movie soundtrack of all-time, Hannibal ranked at 59.[31]
Romance:
Allegra DePazi: "Dr. Fell, do you believe that a man can become so obsessed with a woman from a single encounter?"
Hannibal: "Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for her and find nourishment in the very sight of her? I think so. But would she see through the bars of his plight and ache for him?"'
Scott has said he believes the underlying emotion of the film Hannibal is "affection". "In some instances, you might even wonder or certainly from one direction – is it more than affection?"[9] “It is dark, because the story is of course essentially dark, but it’s kind of romantic at the same time.” He added.[9] Scott openly admits to a “romantic thematic” running though the film.[9] He told CNN that: "Hannibal was quite a different target, essentially a study between two individuals. Funny enough, it’s rather romantic and also quite humorous, but also there’s some quite bad behaviour as well."[13] During the opera scene in Florence, the wife of “Pazzi” asks Hannibal (upon Hannibal giving her “Dante’s first sonnet”): "Do you believe a man could become so obsessed by a woman after a single encounter…" Hannibal replies: “Yes I believe they could…" This scene, in the movie, is one which Scott claims most people "missed” the meaning of. It was in reference to “Clarice” - to their encounter in The Silence of the Lambs[17] The New York Times in its review of the film, said Hannibal, "toys" with the idea of: "love that dare not speak Its name"[30] Composer, Hans Zimmer believes there to be "many" messages and subtext in each scene of the film.[9] He says "I can score this movie truly as a Freudian archetypal beauty and the beast fairy tale, as a horror movie, as the most elegant piece, on corruption in the American police force, as the loneliest woman on earth, the beauty in renaissance..."[9] Zimmer ultimately believes it to be a dark love story, centering on two people who should never be together – a modern day Romeo and Juliet.[9] During post-production of the film, Scott, Zimmer and the editor passionately argued about what a single shot meant, where a tear slides down Starling's cheek during a confrontation with Lecter. They could not agree if it was a tear of "anguish", "loneliness" or "disgust".[9] Scott told the New York Post that, the affair of the heart between Lecter and Starling is "metaphorical".[32] Rolling Stone even said in their review: "Scott offers a sly parody of relationships - think "When Hannibal met Sally."[19] Hopkins said: "It's not exactly a romance there is that element. There's that erotic element in the story. I'm told. Ridley says it comes across very clearly."
Retribution and Punishment: Ridley Scott has said that he believes Lecter, in his own way, to be "pure" - one of the key motivating factors for the character is the search for "retribution and punishment".[17] "There is something very moral about Lecter in this film," said Scott in his audio commentary. "The behaviour of Hannibal is never insane – didn’t want to use that excuse. Is he insane? No, I think he’s as sane as you or I. He just likes it."[17] Scott did say, however, "In our normal terms, he’s truly evil."[17] Scott also brings up the notion of absolution in reference to the Lecter character towards the end of the film.[17] The antagonist character of Mason Verger has one overriding objective in life: to capture Lecter and subject him to a slow, painful death.[33]
Corruption: Part of the story, which involves the character Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini) a Florentine policeman, who becomes corrupted by the prospect of financial gain when he learns "Dr. Fell"'s true identity. His escalating abandonment of morality allows him to countenance and facilitate the death of a gypsy pickpocket, egged on by the desire to have the best for his much younger wife.[17] There is a moment in the film when Pazzi becomes "corrupted", despite being what Scott describes as "very thoughtful…loves his wife".[17] Paul Krendler also succumbs to greed and corruption.
Upon the films release, Hannibal was met with significant media attention,[5][34] with the movie's stars and director making serial appearances on television, newspapers and magazines.[35] CBS News claimed in early February 2001 that "the long-awaited sequel to the grisly 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs is cooking up the hottest Internet and media buzz since the 1999 Star Wars 'prequel'."[35] Stars Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore made the covers of a number of magazines, including Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, Premiere (magazine)[34] and Empire magazine. Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter would be chosen as the "unique selling point" of Hannibal, a choice made by the Marketing Department of the studio as being “extremely exploitable” and a “no-brainer.”[28] The Lecter character was the key pulling factor to make people pay to see the movie.[28] There was no risk in taking this key marketing decision: he had been seen before, millions of copies of a book with his name for a title has been bought and the actor portraying the character on-screen had won an Academy Award for his first time in the role.[28] "Mr Hopkins is the draw here", said The New York Times.[30] “Hannibal” was a household name[4] and a “brand”.[7] The first teaser trailer was released in cinemas and made available via the official website in early May 2000.[36] As the first teaser trailer was released over nine months before the film was released, and the film had only just begun production, footage was used from The Silence of the Lambs. It used the tagline line “Never forget who he is”. The first official art-work was also released at the same time as a "teaser one-sheet".[36] It featured the tagline "Break the silence", a direct reference to The Silence of the Lambs, and would only feature the character of Hannibal Lecter.[36]A further trailer, which featured footage from the new movie, was released in late November 2000.[36] A poster released in the UK to promote Hannibal featured Lecter with a "skin mask" covering the right side of his face – a reference to the escape scene in The Silence of the Lambs. The poster was quickly removed from circulation as it was deemed “too shocking and disturbing for the public."[11] While the film was on location in Washington, D.C., Hopkins visited President Bill Clinton for dinner at the White House.[11] The film was released, by no coincidence, on the 10th anniversary of the release of The Silence of the Lambs.[30] It was released in February 2001 in the US, UK and Australia.[36]
Hannibal grossed $58 million (USA) in its opening weekend (from 3,230 screens). At the time (February 2001) this was the third-biggest debut ever - only 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 1999's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace grossed more in an opening weekend.[37] It was also, when it was released, the biggest opening box office for an R-rated movie ever.[37] Final domestic box office gross (USA) reached $165,091,464 with a worldwide gross of $349,200,000.[38] The film spent three weeks at number one in the US box office chart, and four weeks at number one in the UK.[39] Hannibal was the tenth highest grossing movie of the year worldwide.[40] Hannibal also made over $87,000,000 in US video rentals following release in August 2001.[41]
The reviews for Hannibal were mixed.[42][23][37] Time Magazine called it: "A banquet of creepy, gory or grotesque incidents is on display in Hannibal. But this superior sequel has romance in its dark heart." Empire Magazine gave it two out of five stars, calling it "...laughable to just plain boring, Hannibal is toothless to the end." David Thomson, writing in the British Film Institute magazine Sight & Sound, praised the film. "It works. It's smart, good-looking, sexy, fun...dirty, naughty and knowing."[42] Thomson does make clear, however, he is a great fan of director Ridley Scott's work.[42] He adds: "It is, literally, that Hannibal Lecter has become such a household joke that he can't be dreadful again. It seems clear that Anthony Hopkins and Scott saw that, and planned accordingly. That's how the movie was saved."[42] Variety in its review said "Hannibal is not as good as "Lambs"... ultimately more shallow and crass at its heart than its predecessor, Hannibal is nevertheless tantalizing, engrossing and occasionally startling."[43] A negative review in The Guardian claimed that what was wrong with Hannibal the film was carried over from Hannibal the book: "The result is an inflated, good-looking bore of a movie. The Silence of the Lambs was a marvelous thing. This, by contrast is barely okey-dokey."[44] Roger Ebert gave the film a "Thumbs Down" rating on the television program Ebert & Roeper and gave the film a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars rating in his print review in which he open with the following: "Ridley Scott's "Hannibal" is a carnival geek show elevated in the direction of art. It never quite gets there, but it tries with every fiber of its craft to redeem its pulp origins, and we must give it credit for the courage of its depravity; if it proves nothing else, it proves that if a man cutting off his face and feeding it to his dogs doesn't get the NC-17 rating for violence, nothing ever will."[45]
Hannibal currently has an overall Metacritic rating of 57 out of 100 from 36 reviews, and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 38 percent, with an average rating of five out of ten from 160 reviews.
Hannibal is available as a one-disc and two-disc DVD. The two disc DVD contains an array of special features including: Commentary by director Ridley Scott, deleted and alternate scenes, five making-of featurettes and a "marketing gallery" which contains trailers, production stills and unused poster concepts.
A special "steel-book" edition of Hannibal was released in 2007. There are no significant changes made to the DVD itself; only the package artwork was changed.
According to Variety the script for Hannibal was: "...for better or worse, quite faithful to the Harris blueprint; fans of the tome may regret the perhaps necessary excision of some characters, most notably Mason Verger's muscle-bound macho sister Margot, as well as the considerable fascinating academic detail, but will basically feel the book has been respected (yes, even the climactic dinner party is served up intact, with the only surprise twists saved for its wake."[43] Time Out in its review of Hannibal noted: "The weight-watchers script sensibly dispenses with several characters to serve a brew that's enjoyably spicy but low on substance. So much story is squeezed into 131 minutes that little time's left for analysis or characterization."[46] Producer Dino De Laurentiis was asked why some characters were left out of the film: "I think if you get a book which is 600 pages, you have to reduce it to a script of 100 pages. In two hours of film, you cannot possibly include all the characters. We set ourselves a limit, and cut characters which weren't so vital."[47]
In the book, Mason Verger runs an orphanage, from which he calls children to verbally abuse as a substitute for his no longer being able to molest them. He also has a sister, Margot, whom he raped when they were children and who is a lesbian. When she disclosed her sexual orientation to her family, their father disowned her. As she herself is sterile due to steroid abuse, Verger exerts some control over her by promising her a semen sample with which to impregnate her lover, who could then inherit the Verger fortune. Also, in the novel, Verger literally has no face and has to be kept in a sterile room at all times to keep bacteria from affecting exposed muscle and tissues. At the end of the book, Margot and Starling both help Lecter escape during a shootout between Starling and Verger's guards. Margot, at Lecter's advice, stimulates her brother to ejaculate with a cattle prod, and then kills him by ramming his pet Moray eel down his throat. Following up on Krendler's fate in the book, the crooked FBI official is killed when Lecter shoots him with an arrow.
The book's controversial ending has Lecter presenting Starling with the exhumed bones of her father, which he "brings to life" by hypnotizing Starling, allowing her to say goodbye. This forges an odd alliance between Starling and Lecter, culminating in their becoming lovers and escaping to Argentina. At the end of the novel, Barney (the hospital orderly) sees them at the Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires.
Also gone from the film were the flashbacks to Lecter's childhood, in which he sees his younger sister eaten by German deserters in 1944. The character of Jack Crawford, while in the book, does not appear in the film.
Hopkins was asked in an interview on the subject of whether or not he believed the idea of Starling and Lecter heading off in to the sunset as lovers (as happens in the book). "Yes, I did. Other people found that preposterous. I suppose there's a moral issue there. I think it would have been a very interesting thing though. I think it would have been very interesting had she gone off, because I suspected that there was that romance, attachment there, that obsession with her. I guessed that a long time ago, at the last phone call to Clarice, at the end of SotL, she said, 'Dr. Lecter, Dr. Lecter…'."[48]
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