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Manhunter [VHS] [1989] starring: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina

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Rating: - EXTREMELY OVERRATED!!!

Having enjoyed all of the proper Hannibal Lecter movies, I was expecting big things from MANHUNTER. How disappointed was I?!

1. Brian Cox's performance as the so-called Hannibal "Lecktor" was atrocious, he wasn't creepy at all! He's a disgrace compared to the much superior portrayal by Anthony Hopkins.

2. There were definetely some frames missing in this film.

3. The music was awful for this film, it sounded like they'd stolen it from SCARFACE.

Overall wasn't very impressed, although it's still worthwile for Hannibal LECTER fans!

Rating: - Proper Leckter

The film is the best serial killer movie ever. Possibly Michae Mann's best film (along with "Heat")

Brian Cox as Lecter is superb, genuinely scary. Hopkins' latter interpretation lacks the menace of Cox in full flow.

Great use of mood music throughout. Not something I am normally a fan of.

Two critiscisms however. On this DVD the sound is appalling. Some characters lines are barely audible, whilst background noise is too loud.
Secondly the music being played by the killer in his home, towards the end of the film, which is used like a soundtrack has been changed from the original 1986 film. WHY? The original was more atmospheric.

Rating: - Step aside Anthony Hopkins..

With Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor, this is the finest of the Lecktor series. In this fine cameo Cox captures the character of the twisted Doctor much more realistically than Hopkins. He is more natural and portrays an incredible seductive charm, as opposed to Hopkins never blinking and rattling on about lambs etc. Both actors projected the danger of the man but, for me, Cox is the more sinister. Why? Because he is more real. I like Hopkins but Cox is indeed brilliant.

William Peterson, of CSI fame, is also on top form. He carries every scene with believable dedication and vulnerability. Aided by Michael Mann's skill at adding perfect music to perfect scenes, Peterson sucks the viewer into his performance. Excellent supporting cast makes this an unmissable movie.

It has dated however. The clothes, styling and soundtrack are all very eighties but, hey, it bloody works.

You'll never watch Silence of the lambs again after seeing this..

Rating: - Silence of the Mann

Released to box-office indifference, Mann's Manhunter introduced Hannibal Lecter and established the rules of the modern race-to-find-the-serial-killer thriller years before The Silence of the Lambs. This first adaptation of a Thomas Harris novel is by far the best, yes, superior even to "The Silence of the Lambs". Most of the actors were unfamiliar to audiences at the time, which just enhances the entire experience, giving the film an immediacy and lack of predictability that one misses when Big Stars are onscreen. There will be only one Hannibal Lecter, and it is the exquisitely understated malevolence by Scottish actor Brian Cox, not Anthony Hopkins (over the top).


The final sequence is an inversion of the film's opening home invasion, only this time Graham breaks into Dollarhyde's house and stops him from killing again. This shoot-out is a spectacle of vibrant colours, extreme angles, staggered jump-cuts, and blurred movement with Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" underlining the action.

Rating: - A Fantastic Classic - The Influence for 'Cracker' and 'CSI' !

'Manhunter' is a product of the marvellous director Michael Mann (Thief, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Collateral), who applies his usual array of cinematic, artistic and musical application talents to make a film which is my all-time favourite.

It has all the ingredients you could wish for: a stylistic production, excellent acting, realistic characters, a thrilling tempo, mystery, terror, drama, human emotions and (above all) a fantastic accompanying soundtrack.

The film is based on the Thomas Harris book 'Red Dragon' from his Hannibal Lecter series; this story being the 'prequel' to 'The Silence of the Lambs'. The book has more recently been remade into a film with the 'correct' title, but whilst it follows the novel storyline more accurately it does not compare to 'Manhunter' as a cinematic experience...

Dating from the mid-80's, the plot and film are most certainly the stimulus for such programmes as 'Cracker' and 'CSI' (and latterly series like 'Criminal Minds'), due to the forensically detailed nature of the investigation, but especially the criminal psychology aspect depicted superbly by the character Will Graham (it is probably no coincidence that he is played by the subsequently famous star of CSI, William Petersen !).

The way the film shows the tracking down of the serial killer, and the fact that he is revealed to the viewer before the detectives have found him, helps to build a multi-layered storyline as well as being unusual (until copied by the later programmes mentioned above). Although obviously covering extreme violence, the film rarely depicts it in any other way than by implication, description and/or aftermath imagery. This does not detract from the horror theme and, in my opinion, enhances the chilling nature of the subject !

Various matters that I have already alluded to mean that first-time viewers of Manhunter should avoid perhaps being slightly 'under whelmed', by remembering that any similarities to other films they have seen are because they copied it ! Also, to avoid any perception of it being dated, it is essential to watch the restored version as that brings the picture quality and soundtrack up to modern standards...There is also some rather 'clunky' dialogue at the beginning between Graham and his detective friend Jack Crawford which might make some stop watching there and then, but things improve dramatically from then on...

Despite the viewer already knowing who the murderer is, the 'revelation' of him being detected is stunningly portrayed by Peterson as he speaks his thought processes out loud. Whilst the key clue is there all along, I doubt any viewer will have figured it out before he does !

William Petersen portrays his disturbed and gradually fixated/overwhelmed character extremely well, Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) is played beautifully as a chillingly reserved monster, and the serial killer (Tom Noonan) shows all the character 'flaws' required of someone who feels killing is a solution to their issues with great skill; the book obviously covers those aspects more fully than the film....

Finally, a few words about the soundtrack. Mann is well-known for his talent to apply suitable music to his productions and this is no exception (which is why the best sound quality DVD issue is worth getting !). The original music blends beautifully with the plot progression but, more significantly, the addition of existing commercial tracks from talented groups such as 'Shriekback' and 'Iron Butterfly' make the production quite outstanding (they prompted me to explore the music of those groups more and buy their albums).

The background of Shriekbacks 'Evaporation' to Graham's back yard detection scene is enthralling, 'This Big Hush' provides a marvellous backdrop to the serial killer 'love' scene. However, the true highlights are the use of 'Coelocanth' to support the 'Tiger in the vet's' scene and the climax of the film relying on 'In A Gadda Da Vida' by Iron Butterfly.

It is noteworthy that the artistic nature of Mann's direction is especially evident in the climax, as the film is edited to fit in with that 10 minute-long music track, rather than the music being applied to the film.

SEE THIS FILM !!!

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One point worth bearing in mind that a definitive DVD edition does not really exist as the various issues all have flaws and varying 'cuts' (variations even exist between those issues labelled 'Theatrical Cut' and 'Director's Cut' !).

I own the Region 1 Limited Edition Anchor Bay 2-disc effort (as it was the 1st special re-issue), the Restored Region 2 UK Directors Cut (for the commentary and other extras) and lately have acquired the Region 2 issue originating from Japan which has DTS, a good image transfer and has the 'definitive' Theatrical cut !

All these newer issues have a very good picture quality and soundtrack, so you can't really go wrong with any of them.

However, various tweaks (mostly detrimental) have been made to later issues, including the omission of crucial exchanges between Graham and the police and latterly between Graham and Crawford. Whilst the addition of some scenes is welcome, I cannot fathom why some scenes have been 'cut' like this when they are so important to the overall plot...

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