Manhunter
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- Release Date: August 15, 1986
- Directed by: Michael Mann
- Written by: Michael Mann
- Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute
- Series: Hannibal Lecter
Manhunter was the last of the Hannibal Lecter films that I watched. For a long time, I never felt the urge to watch it because it didn't have Anthony Hopkins in the Lecter role. Looking back, it's a very dumb reason, but I was worried that I would be underwhelmed by another actor taking up the part. On my first viewing, I remember enjoying the movie for what it was, but I found myself disappointed by its pacing and Lecter's lack of screen time. At that point, I decided that I would stick with Red Dragon if I wanted to see this story told. After about four or five years went by, I finally decided to give the movie another watch, and to my surprise, I enjoyed it so much more on a second viewing. There are many things about this movie that just slipped by me on my first watch, and I think I've come to realize why some of my friends prefer this film over its later adaptation.
I think one of the things that helped me enjoy Manhunter more on a rewatch was that I stopped thinking of it as a Hannibal movie. The character of Hannibal Lecter is present, and Brian Cox does a fine job in the role, but he's only in about three scenes' worth of screen time. He's important to the story, but he's never supposed to be the main focus. This is Will Graham's story, and I honestly like his characterization more in this film than I did in Red Dragon. While that film's version of Will obviously had trauma from his earlier encounter with Lecter, he still felt like a mostly put-together person. Manhunter's version of Will is a lot more outwardly damaged. There are many moments where he has emotional outbursts while he is retracing the steps of a crime, as well as scenes where he has moody monologues about how determined he is to catch the killer. There's also a part where his violent streak comes out and he flips a news reporter onto the hood of a car. He comes across like he's always walking the fine line between keeping his sanity and doing what's right or giving into some darker urge. It also makes you wonder what type of person he would have became after the Lecter encounter if he didn't have his family to ground him. William Petersen's performance captures so many of these conflicted feelings, and it feels much more human than Edward Norton's good but slightly one-note version.
I remember thinking that the movie was a little slow-moving on my first watch, but I didn't get that feeling at all the second time around. Having recently rewatched Red Dragon, it feels like Manuhnter is tighter and better-paced. I think a lot of that comes from the improved focus on Will and his actual investigation instead of him going to talk to various side characters for help. I will say that this movie's version of Dollarhyde feels a little less developed than Red Dragon's. He's a gross and disturbing villain, but he lacks the sympathetic angle that the later version had, and his romance with his coworker Reba feels a bit more shallow here. However, the final confrontation between him and Will is still pretty satisfying. While the third act changes the location and circumstances of the ending, this movie's finale is quicker and a bit more brutal than Red Dragon's, which feels a bit padded-out in comparison. Manhunter is the slightly leaner, meaner telling of the tale, and that combined with the emotional performance of Petersen really helps this story hit home.
I also have no idea how I didn't take better notice of this movie's cinematography on my first viewing. Certain scenes are tinted with a vibrant shade of blue, others are green, some have purple highlights, and so on. Some of the characters' wardrobes also play into this, such as Will's maroon shirt and teal tie in one scene. It's like if a Dario Argento movie got mixed with the excesses of 80s neon, and I just love how this thing looks. The soundtrack also includes a lot of moody synthesizers which add a grimy feel to the suspenseful scenes, and they also clash in a fun way with the contemporary 80s music that accompanies others. Some people may feel like this movie is "too 80s", and while I can see that on a surface level, I think it gives the movie an identity all of its own. It's so much more unique than Red Dragon's presentation, which while competent, played it safe and tried to simply replicate the feel of The Silence of the Lambs - which is funny considering that both films had the same cinematographer. I guess when it comes to a director's eye, Michael Mann was making a painting all his own while Brett Ratner was simply painting by numbers.
While I can still say that I enjoy both film adaptations of Thomas Harris' novel, I think Manhunter has replaced Red Dragon as my preferred pick. Michael Mann had a pretty bold vision for how he wanted to tell this story, and because of its strong points, it blows a few of the later Hannibal movies out of the water. My DVD copy features a review quote that deems it to be superior to The Silence of the Lambs. I'm not sure I could go that far, but if Silence takes the #1 spot, this is a very close second place.