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Manhunter - the original Hannibal Lecter film.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:33 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:33 pm
Watched it this past weekend and enjoyed the hell out of it. Vintage 80s (1986) with Michael Mann as writer and director. His source was Red Dragon but they changed the name to not get confused with Bruce Lee type films.
Not sure where to begin, but I will start with the cast. Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford. William Petersen as Will Graham. Brian Cox as Lektor (as it is spelled in the movie). Stephen Lang (Tombstone, Avatar) as the weasle reporter Freddie Lounds. Tom Noonan ( Ripper from Last Action Hero) as Francis Dollarhyde/Tooth Fairy. Many more familiar faces in it as well.
I read/saw Red Dragon a while back, and now having viewed Manhunter… I think I prefer this adaptation. It probably is because it reminds me of Miami Vice in a lot of ways. Not to mention Petersen puts Ed Norton to shame as Graham.
Mann killed it with the colors and symbolism; the soundtrack played a nice role in crucial scenes; and the actors all dove deep into their roles, including and especially Noonan as Dollarhyde.
I read FBI/serial killer profile books when I was younger, so this has been on my radar a long time but just getting around to viewing it. If you’re into psychological profiling of killers and the Lecter universe, this is a good movie to check out. Similar to Silence of the Lambs, Cox has minimal screen time as Lektor but you feel the weight of his character for sure.
Not sure where to begin, but I will start with the cast. Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford. William Petersen as Will Graham. Brian Cox as Lektor (as it is spelled in the movie). Stephen Lang (Tombstone, Avatar) as the weasle reporter Freddie Lounds. Tom Noonan ( Ripper from Last Action Hero) as Francis Dollarhyde/Tooth Fairy. Many more familiar faces in it as well.
I read/saw Red Dragon a while back, and now having viewed Manhunter… I think I prefer this adaptation. It probably is because it reminds me of Miami Vice in a lot of ways. Not to mention Petersen puts Ed Norton to shame as Graham.
Mann killed it with the colors and symbolism; the soundtrack played a nice role in crucial scenes; and the actors all dove deep into their roles, including and especially Noonan as Dollarhyde.
I read FBI/serial killer profile books when I was younger, so this has been on my radar a long time but just getting around to viewing it. If you’re into psychological profiling of killers and the Lecter universe, this is a good movie to check out. Similar to Silence of the Lambs, Cox has minimal screen time as Lektor but you feel the weight of his character for sure.
9
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:41 pm to Honest Tune
It's a damn good film. Cox makes such an impression in such a short amount of time. And as mentioned, Peterson is fantastic as Will Graham
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:43 pm to RLDSC FAN
He did a fantastic job. As a matter of fact, he said he had to dye his hair blonde after that role to convince his own mind that he was no longer Will Graham.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:45 pm to Honest Tune
Just goes to show you how much Red Dragon was a studio eunuch compared to this movie. Bland beyond belief trying to revive nostalgia from a movie a decade prior. A perfect Brett Ratner product that's completely hollow and derivative.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:47 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Just goes to show you how much Red Dragon was a studio eunuch compared to this movie. Bland beyond belief trying to revive nostalgia from a movie a decade prior. A perfect Brett Ratner product that's completely hollow and derivative.
I was in summer school (02) at LSU when I read Red Dragon. You might remember there was a serial killer or two on the loose at that time in BR. Then I saw Red Dragon and I was highly disappointed. Like you said… hollow, bland, wooden. Basically a cash grab it seemed.
Manhunter actually had me caring about a story I already knew the ending to.
This post was edited on 11/3/25 at 3:48 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:52 pm to Honest Tune
Great movie. I prefer Fiennes portrayal of Dollarhyde but other than that Manhunter > Red Dragon
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:55 pm to Madking
quote:
Fiennes portrayal of Dollarhyde
He was more in line with the vibe of Levine in Silence. Very realistic and creepy.
Noonan said he didn’t interact with any of the cast that were to pursue him in the film, as to immerse himself in the character. The first time he met Petersen was when they finally met in the film.
But yea, Fiennes bows down to no man.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:56 pm to Honest Tune
I prefer manhunter, but I do enjoy red dragon as well. I like the additional scenes added with Lecter, and Fiennes is great as the villain
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:59 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
I like the additional scenes added with Lecter, and Fiennes is great as the villain
This was the superb in my opinion as well. They went heavier with the Lecter and Graham backstory, as well as the Tooth Fairy backstory. Manhunter was more of Graham figuring out who Dollarhyde was on the fly, immersing himself into his mindset.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:13 pm to Honest Tune
And I like Tom Noonan, he can be intimidating and creepy but he had some very wooden scenes in Manhunter, particularly the “you owe me awe” scene. He just kind of reads the lines while Fiennes really owned that scene with a the assist from Seymour-Hoffman.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:18 pm to Madking
Yea hard to beat Fiennes and PSH chewing up scenes. Noonan was solid. He said he did pushups between every take to stay in shape. His performance was good enough. The real winner was Petersen. I have liked him ever since he played Pat Garrett in Young Guns 2. He worked with Chicago PD for a while to really dive into the role of a crime scene investigator. Every scene he had in Manhunter was enjoyable, and Mann drove home his brooding and thinking with his own theme song on the soundtrack.
I would venture to say he landed the CSI gig because of this part.
I would venture to say he landed the CSI gig because of this part.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:24 pm to Honest Tune
Yea, he was stringing together some good movies in the 80s but seemed like he should’ve been a bigger star heading into the 90s. Maybe he preferred TV and the working lifestyle? He was really good
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:28 pm to Madking
Allegedly he turned down the role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas. That fallout may have had him questioning career choices haha.
It’s worth noting that he was friends with Ted Levine from their days in Illinois theatre productions. Levine visited him at the production wrap of Manhunter, uninvited. This visit spurred Levine to entertain the part of Buffalo Bill… ya never know where life will take ya…
It’s worth noting that he was friends with Ted Levine from their days in Illinois theatre productions. Levine visited him at the production wrap of Manhunter, uninvited. This visit spurred Levine to entertain the part of Buffalo Bill… ya never know where life will take ya…
This post was edited on 11/3/25 at 4:30 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:35 pm to Honest Tune
Levine also underrated, that’s a cool story btw, he was perfect as Buffalo Bill.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:38 pm to Madking
Also Levine is another actor that dove so deep into a part that it had lasting psychological impact. Playing a crazy arse serial killer has consequences. Like Noonan said in an interview, he originally started reading serial killer profiles to get into character, but it was too disturbing. He decided to play the part somewhat altruistically, as though his victims in the film needed his love.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 4:51 pm to Honest Tune
Levine mixed, menace with creepy with vulnerability with those outbursts like nobody I’ve ever seen. Perfection
Posted on 11/3/25 at 5:01 pm to Madking
Absolutely. Not maybe the best comparison, but Hawke in Black Phone having a victim locked in his basement… did you ever feel that vulnerability mixed with rage? I didn’t.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 5:02 pm to Honest Tune
quote:
Also Levine is another actor that dove so deep into a part that it had lasting psychological impact.
He's one of those actors that's hard to see as anything but Buffalo Bill. It was an incredible role. It likely cost him other parts lol.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 5:03 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
He's one of those actors that's hard to see as anything but Buffalo Bill. It was an incredible role. It likely cost him other parts lol.
Hard to come back from that. I think he has alluded to that role costing him other parts in interviews.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 5:05 pm to Honest Tune
Didn’t see Black Phone but heard it’s good
This post was edited on 11/3/25 at 5:06 pm
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