X
- 1986
- R
- De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
- 2 h
- 1986
- R
- De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
- 2 h
Summary FBI Agent Will Graham (Petersen) has captured the diabolical Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Cox), nearly losing more than just his mind in the process. But when Graham is called out of retirement to hunt the psychopath known as "The Tooth Fairy" (Noonan) he must once again confront the horrors of "Hannibal The Cannibal". If Will Graham enters the ...
Directed By: Michael Mann
Written By: Thomas Harris, Michael Mann
- 1986
- R
- De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
- 2 h
- 1986
- R
- De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
- 2 h
Manhunter
75
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary FBI Agent Will Graham (Petersen) has captured the diabolical Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Cox), nearly losing more than just his mind in the process. But when Graham is called out of retirement to hunt the psychopath known as "The Tooth Fairy" (Noonan) he must once again confront the horrors of "Hannibal The Cannibal". If Will Graham enters the ...
Directed By: Michael Mann
Written By: Thomas Harris, Michael Mann
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
75
82% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
9% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
9% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
75
82% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
9% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
9% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
A gory and gorgeous cop thriller -- you'll forgive it almost anything, so full is your eye with the beauties of its design and photography, and your ear with its supercool electronic music. For all its faults, it's one of the most sensually thrilling movies of the year.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 93 User Ratings
7.7
77% Positive
72 Ratings
72 Ratings
19% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 93 User Ratings
7.7
77% Positive
72 Ratings
72 Ratings
19% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
The best movie relating to the character Hannibal Lecter, and the best movie based on the novels by Thomas Harris. This isn't the over-the-top and overrated Silence of the Lambs, and if you're expecting that kind of film you probably won't like this.
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"Manhunter" is a very exciting and well-made film. There are many twists and turns that keep the audience guessing, and some very intense and suspenseful scenes. The film's main character, Will Graham, is very complex and likable, and the movie has some great acting. I think this is even better than "The Silence of the Lambs", and I highly recommend it.
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As with all of Mann's films, Manhunter is an intense experience. All of the actors, including even legendary goofball Chris Elliott, give brooding, serious performances.
Mann, the executive producer of "Miami Vice," can be too stylish for his own good, but the movie holds the viewer all the way to the predictably explosive end. [25 Aug 1986, p.63]
What matters in movies like this is that, with only hours, then minutes, then seconds to go as the murderer waves a knife in the vicinity of the blind woman's throat, the good guys are closing in, and Mr. Mann builds to his climax with considerable force.
Thanks largely to Petersen, Manhunter does occasionally evoke the
peculiar pleasures of Harris's novel, and it does get under the skin, but
only because the picture amounts to an aural mugging: the soundtrack,
credited to The Reds & Michael Rubini, is Tangerine-Dream-styled
electronic offal cranked up to rock concert decibels. [15 Aug 1986, p.D11]
Without a compelling - and convincingly compelled - character at its center, the details in this film lack an agonizing drop-by-drop tension. The various pieces fall apart like the shattered mirrors that figure in the crimes. [15 Aug 1986]
Alongside with "Heat" and "The Last of the Mohicans" - one of the best Mann's movies. Unlike 2002 "Red Dragon", "Manhunter" is an extremely talented and deep adaptation of Harris' brilliant novel. It is in no way your regular maniac thriller, in which terrifing murders shown and tension grows high every minute. And it's not a Lecter movie. Instead, it concentrates on psychological deepness of the main character, FBI special agent Will Graham, whose ability to identify himself with wanted murderers puts him to the edge of the sanity. William Petersen did a superb job of creating one of the deepest movie characters of all time, and it's a pity that he never became a huge star (in 80's he also was great in Fridkin's "To live and die in L.A.")
Movie is unforgettable not only because of it's detailed, psychological storyline and wonderful acting, but also vivid visuals and extraterrestial soundtrack. The way Mann and his team use colors and music creates a very special, unrepeatable atmosphere and eve helps in character development. All in all, "Manhunter" is a true masterpiece, both entertaining and thoughtful, and i deeply regret that it is so unpopular nowadays. Everyone should watch it.
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There's always going to be inevitable comparisons between Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs. To keep comparisons brief, to me Silence of the Lambs is the superior film, but Manhunter is almost as good and a great film in its own right.
It's very stylishly made, with use of colour and lighting that is beautiful and gritty and photography that is both luminous and unnerving, while Michael Mann's directing is top-notch and some of his tightest ever. A clever and incredibly thought-provoking script helps as does the strong characterisation(Dollarhyde is particularly well realised here). The story, which does a credible job compressing an in some ways unfilmable book in two hours(even if you wish there was more detail sometimes), in Manhunter is very arresting, with a particularly suspenseful first half and an atmosphere that gives one chills. It begins grippingly, setting up what's to follow very well indeed, and ends excitingly if slightly anti-climatically. Pacing is deliberate but never dull.
When it comes to individual scenes, three really stood out, both as three of the best of all the Lecter films and also as an example of how great a director Mann is. One is the Tooth Fairy Letter analysis, two is the Dollarhyde and Rena encounter and three is Graham's nail-bitingly dream-like visit to Lecter. Nothing to complain about the acting, coming off particularly strongly is Tom Noonan who is truly frightening as Dollarhyde while also giving room for pity. Brian Cox's Lecter is very different to the more iconic performance of Anthony Hopkins, it's more ambiguous and more understated but no less creepy or entertaining(in fact because Cox acts like a killer-acting-completely-normal-to-the-outside-world it's somewhat more realistic and unsuspecting). It may not be as well known a performance but it's a great one in its own way and shouldn't be overlooked just because of it being different. William Petersen's lead performance is fine too, at times appropriately haunting.
My only complaint actually is the music, a couple of the song choices come off well and fit, especially In a Gadda Da Vida, but most of them come over as cheesy and misplaced, Heartbeat being the biggest offender. The electronic score is also at times too intrusive, often really doesn't fit the tone of the film at all and has a really dated sound to it, even for a film made in the 80s. Overall though, Manhunter is great, arresting stuff and not to be missed. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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A blasphemous statement to most Lecter fans, but I found this to be the best film based on a Thomas Harris work. It's style and visuals give it a unique look to the 1980's thrillers, as well as having tense yet subtle performances by the cast. The whole film is more terrifying than 'Red Dragon' or 'Silence on the Lambs', because it terrifies and gives suspense not with blood or gore, but with quality cinema.
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I really liked The Silence of the Lambs, so when I heard about this movie, I thought I'd give it a shot. Probably after the success of the aforementioned sequel I saw earlier, Manhunter didn't interest me as much. I was bored most of the time. I wasn't enjoying it. It didn't appeal. Not very interested. I don't know how else to describe it. I liked it now and then, but rarely. For me, it was just not very good. Mostly it was the 80's vibe that pulled it for me, which I love. It wasn't bad. The killer pulled it off too and overall it was an okay movie, I just wasn't into the journey to the killer. For me, an above average movie that I don't recommend.
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Deux bonnes choses à retenir de ce "Dragon Rouge" (bizarrement appelé Le Sixième Sens) : la mise en scène soignée de Michael Mann, presque élégante, et la musique électro bien agréable ma foi. A part ça, il est quand même étonnant de constater que les deux adaptations (1986 et 2002) du bouquin de Thomas Harris n'ont débouché que sur des produits médiocres ou moyens (sans compter les autres) alors que la base est là pour construire un polar de qualité.
Je n'ai pas lu le bouquin et n'ai pas l'intention de le lire mais il est clair que seul le Silence des Agneaux est réussi parmi les portages des oeuvres psychopathiques de l'auteur, sans doute un heureux accident de parcours qui restera inégalé.
Ce "Sixième sens" est très long, très lymphatique et malheureusement, le sémillant et diabolique Anthony Hopkins n'est pas là pour nous aider à faire passer la pillule, décidément très amère et trop dure à avaler ici. J'étais si détaché de ce prétendu thriller que j'ai failli m'endormir plusieurs fois.
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Production Company
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG),
Red Dragon Productions S.A.
Release Date Aug 22, 1986
Duration 2 h
Rating R
Tagline (reissue) Hannibal Lecter's legacy of evil begins here.
Website
https://youtu.be/5zl6IxPJSVc?t=1
Awards
Cognac Festival du Film Policier
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
• 1 Nomination
