Review of Manhunter (1986) by Sarah E — 06 Dec 2010

I just watched this movie today, and it is still as masterful and thrilling as I remember it over 5 years ago. When I first watched it, I had already seen the film, Silence of the Lambs, and as such had already learned to associate Anthony Hopkins with Hannibal Lector.

To me, they were the same person. I thought, "how can there be any other man to play the part?" This all changed when Brian Cox entered the screen. He seems another incarnation of Hannibal Lector, rather than Hopkins replacement, and after 5 minutes of initial screen time, I hardly noticed the difference.

All that mattered was that he could act, fabulously, and that he was as attractive and as horrific a character. In my opinion, Will Peterson is a far better interpretation of Will Graham than Red Dragon's Edward Norton.

Will does a far better job acting and I can actually see his inner demons reflected in his eyes. As for the Tooth Fairy, Tom Noonan is sensational. He pulls off both the horrifying persona of a serial killer, and the sad frailty of a sick man.

I feel far closer to Noonan's character than to Ralph Fiennes interpretation of the tooth fairy in Red Dragon. Noonan had the good sense to seek both pity and disgust from the audience. Just watch, and you can just start to feel empathy for a man who is as sick as he is depraved.

As you can see where I am going with this, I believe that anyone who advocates Red Dragon over Manhunter is just being prejudice against a change in actors, or is just plain ignorant. I for one like to have an open mind, and as such I saw Red Dragon after watching Manhunter.

What a mistake that was. Red Dragon is inferior, lacking in both good acting and an attractive story. By the time they made Red Dragon, which is the first book of the series, Hopkins was far too ancient, even for a wig to cover up the age discrepancy.

All in all, Manhunter is an excellent film, with a wonderful cast, wonderful script, and awesome directing. If you must watch Red Dragon (to stifle the human condition known as curiosity) then please watch Manhunter beforehand.

You'll thank me when you do. Thank you for listening to my words, and good night.