Hannibal Rising (DVD)

During the Second World War the Lector family are forced to flee their luxurious castle before the Nazi forces arrive. Having fled to the woods to a secluded retreat the Lector's get a few short moments to celebrate their good fortune in escaping safely. But this is short lived luck as a Russian tank stumbles upon their home and in a fight between the tank and a stream of fighter planes most of the Lector family are wiped out. The only two that remain are young Hannibal and his baby sister Mischa. Hannibal Rising tells the story of how Hannibal changed from a young innocent child, to a bitter and hate filled serial killer. At last the story is finally ...  Read the complete review

It is 1944. As German troops patrol through the Lithuanian countryside, the Lecter family hurriedly evacuates the family home to take refuge in a woodland lodge. When Russian troops surround the house, they intend the family no harm, requiring only a short time to refill vital water from the family’s well. But the Russian troops are spotted by the nearby Germans, who mount an aerial assault, killing all but the two Lecter children, Hannibal and Mischa. But worse is yet to come. As the Germans are beaten into submission by the Russians, a small party of Lithuanian collaborators happens across the woodland lodge, where Hannibal cares alone for his younger ...  Read the complete review

What’s it about? ---------------------- A glimpse into the past of the world’s most famous cannibal. Who’s in it? --------------- New face Gaspard Ulliel spectacularly fails to convince as the young Hannibal Lecter, which pretty much dooms the whole film to failure from the start. He’s admittedly not helped by a clunky script, but his attempts at emotion are laughably bad. Need to be portray sadness? Curl your upper lip a bit. Need to be happy? Curl that upper lip again. Need to be really, really angry? Oops! There goes that upper lip! Frankly, Ulliel is about as scary as a fluffy cushion – not exactly an asset when it comes to playing a ...  Read the complete review

I watched this when it was on TV recently; being a fan of horror and loving the original DVD, I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately it didn't live upto my expectations and lacked the edge I was hoping for, but, nonetheless, it may be worth a watch for horror fans. Hannibal Rising is based on the Thomas Harris Novel, first of the trilogy, and was released in 2007. It's directed by Peter Webber (who has worked on other films such as The Girl With The Pearl Earring) and so has a quality feel to it, rather than a rushed job just to jump on the Hannibal bandwagon. This film takes us back to the beginning, so we go backwards from the other two ...  Read the complete review

I have recently watched Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal, three films starring Anthony Hopkins as serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter. These three films, based on the books by Thomas Harris, follow Lecter from his first capture and imprisonment at the beginning of Red Dragon, through his interaction with FBI agents and his eventual escape. However at no point during these films is it explained why Lecter became a killer and a cannibal, and he remains an enigma as his calm, sociable and upper class exterior contrasts with his monstrous killing side. In 2006, though, Harris had his new novel Hannibal Rising published, and it was immediately ...  Read the complete review