Released in 1986, and written and directed by Michael Mann ( the creative force
behind the TV series Miami Vice, as well as the movies Heat, The Insider and Ali) Manhunter is the first and best
version of the Thomas Harris novel, "Red Dragon". William Petersen, who is
perhaps best known today for the TV series CSI, stars in Manhunter as retired
FBI profiler Will Graham. After a harrowing incident where he caught the
infamous Dr. Hannibal Lecter--and damn near got killed in the process--Graham
moved his wife and young son to Florida, where he lives the good life. At least
until his friend and former boss Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina, who plays the
role as a street-wise cop turned FBI agent) shows up with a new serial killer
case in hand. A particularly nasty killer, nick-named the Tooth Fairy, is on the
loose. He already slaughtered two whole families in two different states, both
on nights with a full moon, and the FBI and local authorities are at their wit's
end.
With a new full moon days away, Graham reluctantly joins the investigation,
swearing to his wife that he will not put himself in any danger. However, after
working the case for a while, Graham senses that his knack for getting into the
mind of a serial killer might have gotten a little rusty. And so he visits Dr.
Hannibal Lecter in prison, in an effort to get back the mind-set. But Graham
winds up getting more than he bargains for, because it turns out that Dr. Lecter
has secretly been in contact with the Tooth Fairy all along. As things spiral
out of control, Graham's promise to his wife is broken as he and his family
become targets of a psychopath.
Brian Cox, a superb character actor who has appeared in Rob Roy, and X-Men 2,
among many other films, plays Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter. His performance is
just as creepy and unnerving as Anthony Hopkins' in "Silence Of The Lambs", and
is not without it's share of sly wit, as well. Tom Noonan also does a great job
at playing the Tooth Fairy, a hulking figure of a man who is awkward and shy in
normal social situations, yet is still terrifyingly fearsome when he is in full
psycho mode. Joan Allen shines as the blind coworker who falls in love with this
man, not knowing--until too late--the beast that dwells within.
One interesting fact that I've noticed about the DVD release of Manhunter is
that it has two new scenes that were not in the theatrical release of the film.
The first is when a real estate agent shows Graham one of the victims' homes,
then bitches about how the constant police presence keeps scaring away his
potential customers. The second added scene is an intimate one between Graham
and his wife (Kim Greist) in a Washington D.C. hotel room. One wonders why these
scenes were originally cut, because their presence--especially the hotel room
scene--only adds greatly to film.
The DVD comes with two mini-feature documentaries. The first is a look back at
the visual style of the film with Cinematographer Dante Spinotti. The second is
an entertaining review of the filming by the cast of Manhunter, who all have
nothing but good things to say about the production, and pass on some
interesting tidbits (such as the fact that actor Noonan stayed in character by
keeping his distance off-camera from Petersen and the other actors who played
his pursuers).
Manhunter was recently remade as Red Dragon a few years ago. And while the
remake has its merits, I still consider the first film to be the superior
version. --SF