Review of Red Dragon (1965) by Michael W — 06 Jun 2011

This was the third time I've watched this film. The first time was at a free advanced screening at San Francisco State University when I was a student there. The sound was horrible, but it was still a decent experience. Then I watched it with some friends when it came out on DVD - another decent viewing experience. But last night I watched it alone, in the dark, in the middle of the night, and I think I got a better feel for the intended effect. But I also watched it immediately after watching "Manhunter" for the first time so as to easily compare and contrast the two. And here's what I got out of it:

Red Dragon is a dark and brooding film, but in a very traditional sense. If anything, director Brett Ratner was simply trying to make this prequel to Silence Of The Lambs fit in - in style and mood - with the other two films that starred Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Michael Mann's "Manhunter", however, is a true adaptation that takes Thomas Harris's novel in a new direction as a visual medium. There are very definite moments that belong only to Mann, not to Harris. Not so in Ratner's version. Red Dragon seems to strive to be more faithful to the source material while also matching up visually and tonally with "Silence" and 2000's "Hannibal".

Both the opening and the ending of Red Dragon, however, have been tweeked to add a little something extra for avid fans of the novels, which was a nice touch. Other than that, the two films can be compared quite a bit. Some scenes - like the first appearance of Hannibal Lecter in his cell, conversing with Special Agent Graham for this first time since his capture - seem to be a shot-for-shot remake of Mann's version. And, in a way, it only makes sense: ever since Silence of the Lambs, fans have wondered what it would be like to see Hopkins perform the lines that only the less-creepy-but-still-wonderful Brian Cox had spoken as Lecter in 1986. Red Dragon simply covers that territory in scenes such as this. But the variations make Red Dragon its own film, with Edward Norton playing a much more believable Agent Graham and a bigger focus on Lecter's character than Mann ever thought was necessary for his film.

On the whole, the film is the least impressive of the "Hopkins As Hannibal" trilogy, but not by much - it fits in well and entertains thoroughly. Danny Elfman's score is perfectly invisible, serving the drama as it should. Ralph Finnes brings a new kind of creep-factor to psycho-killer Frances Dollarhyde and Emma Watson matches, if not exceeds, Joan Allen's sweetness as the blind Reba.