Manhunter (DVD)

What’s it about? -------------------- Will Graham, the man who put the notorious Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter behind bars, is persuaded to take up one last case, pursuing serial killer “The Tooth Fairy”. Who’s in it? ---------------- The principal actor is William L Petersen as Will Graham. Petersen is brilliant, giving a thoughtful, intense and powerful performance. He is in virtually every scene in the film, so carries a large burden on his shoulders. Thankfully, it’s a burden he carries lightly with a career best performance. What makes it so powerful is that it is underplayed. Graham is a man of few words, quietly spoken and limited ...  Read the complete review

1991 and Silence Of The Lambs is released, slowly etching it's way into success and classic territory. Yet the majority of audiences were unaware that a few years earlier Dr Hannibal Lecter had graced the screen in Manhunter, an adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon. In fact out of the three films to feature Hannibal purists say this is the best one. The film has dated somewhat largely due to some of the synthesizer score and some very eighties visuals. But perhaps this is more due to the fact that the 80's were crap and the music just reminds us. Otherwise this is a very solid film filled with great performances, assured direction and style as ...  Read the complete review

What with Hannibal about to open at the cinema worldwide and the Criterion DVD of Silence of the Lambs going out of print, what better time could there be for Anchor Bay to release their DVD version of Manhunter. Anchor Bay have released two version of Manhunter on is only the theatrical with all the extras the other comes with a second disk containing the directors cut of the film, I am reviewing the two disk set which was also limited to only 100,000 copies. Manhunter is the first time we get to Hannibal Lecter on the big screen as Manhunter is based on the Thomas Harris book Red Dragon. Manhunter was released in 1986 but features Lector as Lecktor and is played by ...  Read the complete review

Background Originally released in 1986, manhunter is a film that is not widely known to the 'masses' yet to die hard movie fans this film is a far more acknowledged film, and while opinions are split upon its impact and realism, it certainly is a landmark film, forming the first in a sequel of highly popular films, with the sequels going on to become infinitely more successful. The film Directed by the excellent Michael Mann (what a great name BTW), director perhaps more famously known for titles such as Heat and last of the Mohicans, and produced by Richard Roth (what is it with good names and this film?) Manhunter tells ...  Read the complete review

Many people may not be aware that before Silence of the Lambs, its sequel, Hannibal and its prequel, Red Dragon and the whole Hannibal Lector phenomena, there was a film that started the ball rolling. Manhunter is the film that brought Lector (then spelt Lecktor) to the film worlds attention, and although later remade as Red Dragon, its is this original version that deserves a lot of the accolades that were later to be bestowed on the film versions of novelist Thomas Harris’s creations. Even if you have seen the remake, this film stands as a worthy revisit to the story and although it obviously covers a lot of the same ground, it is a darker and more menacing adaptation, ...  Read the complete review