Manhunter is a 1986 thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it features Brian Cox as the popular character Hannibal Lecter (although the character's name is spelled "Lecktor" in this film) and stars William Petersen, Joan Allen, Kim Greist, Dennis Farina and Tom Noonan. The cinematographer was Dante Spinotti, who also served as the director of photography on Red Dragon.

Synopsis

Petersen plays Will Graham, a former FBI agent who captured the infamous Dr. Hannibal Lecktor and was almost killed in the process; he is so traumatized by the event that he retires from the FBI. His former boss, Jack Crawford, calls him out of retirement to help find a killer called "The Tooth Fairy" who is murdering entire families. Graham is a profiler who has an uncanny ability to enter the mind of a killer and think and feel as he does. Some would say that what Graham really does is to insert the serial killer into his own mind at a much greater risk to his own mental health. Doctor Lecktor confronts him about this knack during a trolling visit from Graham and points out something that Will already knows but doesn't like to admit: The reason Graham caught Lecktor is that they are just alike. "If you want to get the old scent back", Lecktor says, "Smell yourself!"

There is a subplot about the Tooth Fairy himself, a tortured soul named Francis Dollarhyde (Dolarhyde in the novel), played by Noonan, falling in love with a blind coworker named Reba McClane. This ecstatically novel experience for Dollarhyde temporarily quells his murderous urges. It is then through a simple tragic misunderstanding that his rage returns and he reverts to his old psychotic self. The tragedy here is brought out more fully in the novel when Graham tells Reba that she fell in love not with a freak but rather with an unfortunate man who happened to have a "freak on his back".

Cast

• William Petersen ... Will Graham
• Kim Greist ... Molly Graham
• Dennis Farina ... Jack Crawford
• Brian Cox ... Hannibal Lecktor
• Stephen Lang ... Freddy Lounds
• Joan Allen ... Reba McClane
• Tom Noonan ... Francis Dollarhyde
• Frankie Faison ... Lt. Fisk
• Bill Smitrovich ... Lloyd Bowman

Production

John Lithgow, Mandy Patinkin, and Brian Dennehy were all considered for the role of Hannibal Lecktor before Brian Cox was cast. Cox based his portrayal on Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel, whom he stated "didn't have a sense of right and wrong."

The movie has a distinctive 1980s, "Miami Vice" feel: There is heavy emphasis on washed-out pastels, the homes feature white minimalist decor, and the soundtrack features synthesizers as well as acoustic tracks. The director, Michael Mann, also produced the Miami Vice series. The song "Heartbeat," performed by Red 7, which plays over the closing credits, also features in an episode of Miami Vice that also featured star Kim Greist. The film is also famous for its use of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," as well as contributions from Shriekback and The Prime Movers' "Strong As I Am."

The film was originally going to use the novel's title, Red Dragon. When Year of the Dragon (1985) bombed at the box office, writer/director Michael Mann decided to change the title. William Petersen has commented that the title was also changed to avoid being confused for a karate movie.

During principal photography, Tom Noonan asked that no one in the cast, either people who are after him or whom he is after, be allowed to see him. The first time Noonan met William Petersen was when they filmed the scene where Graham crashes through the window of Dollarhyde's home. Noonan admits that, because of his request, the atmosphere on set became so tense, people actually became afraid of him. Noonan was lying in the corn syrup used for blood at the end of the film for so long that he became stuck to the floor.

Because William Petersen's role was so emotionally exhausting, he did everything he could to rid himself of Will Graham after principal photography wrapped. Petersen shaved off his beard, cut his hair and dyed it blonde.

Frankie Faison, who appears as Lt. Fisk, is the only actor to appear in the first four Hannibal Lecter films. Faison later had a significant role as Barney, the orderly, in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), and Red Dragon (2002).

When the film was first broadcast on TV, the title was changed to Red Dragon: The Pursuit of Hannibal Lecter. This was done to capitalize on the success of The Silence of the Lambs; however, the changing of the title did not accurately reflect the movie's story, since when Manhunter begins, Lecter has already been captured and incarcerated.

After the film's completion, Dennis Farina, Bill Smitrovich, and Stephen Lang were all cast in Michael Mann's TV series Crime Story. That series also featured Ted Levine, who played serial killer Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. Levine and Noonan also worked with Michael Mann again in the 1995 crime thriller Heat.

Soundtrack

The Reds, along with Michel Rubini, provided the background score for Manhunter. Only two of their cues were included on the soundtrack album. A third, commonly referred to as "The Jogger" was omitted although the band promises its inclusion on an upcoming album. Other pieces in the film but not found on the limited soundtrack were by Kitaro and Klaus Schulze.

The soundtrack album was released in limited quantities on MCA records in 1986. However, the film's failure at the box office prevented a release on the then new compact disc format. Soon afterwards, the 12" record and audio cassette were deleted making them highly sought after by fans of the film.

Recently, a 2-CD set entitled, Music from the Films of Michael Mann was release that features four tracks from Manhunter - Prime Movers' "Strong As I Am", Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", Shriekback's "This Big Hush" and Red 7's "Heartbeat".

Track listing

1. Prime Movers - "Strong as I Am"
2. Shriekback - "Coelocanth"
3. Shriekback - "This Big Hush"
4. Michel Rubini - "Graham's Theme"
5. Shriekback - "Evaporation"
6. Red 7 - "Heartbeat"
7. The Reds - "Lector's Cell"
8. The Reds - "Leed's House"
9. Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Box office performance

Despite generally positive critical reviews, the film was a box office flop. After The Silence of the Lambs (which was never approached by Orion as a sequel to Manhunter due to said poor box office performance) was released in 1991, it experienced something of a revival on video and later as a DVD release. In 2002, another adaptation of the book, titled Red Dragon, was released. The reinterpretation was largely given a mixed critical response. Salon.com has said that Mann's original is the best of the Lecter series. The film has now become a cult classic. The film has a 94% rating of "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. The remake, Red Dragon, currently has a 68% rating.

Manhunter was listed at #41 on Film 4's 50 Films To See Before You Die.

DVD availability

Manhunter has been available in various versions on DVD. Anchor Bay released a Limited Edition 2-DVD set in 2000 that featured an erroneously labeled "Theatrical Cut" (it actually omits some footage from the theatrical version and features some material from the "Director's Cut") and Mann's "Director's Cut" along with some retrospective featurettes. A standard edition (an individual release for the first disc of the 2-disc set) was also released at the same time. In 2003, Anchor Bay released the "Restored Director's Cut" which is very close to the "Director's Cut" on the 2000 disc but omits one scene. It does, however, feature a commentary track by Mann. In 2004, MGM (current holders of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal) released a pan and scanned version of the movie that was the one seen in theaters. Finally, in 2007 MGM released the theatrical cut in widescreen on DVD for the first time as part of "The Hannibal Lecter Collection" alongside The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. It was also released by itself on September 11, 2007.

References

External links

• Manhunter - a Michael Mann Film from 1986
• Manhunter - Complete Resource Site
• The Hannibal Lecter Studiolo