Absolutely the worst movie.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The acting in this movie is really good.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Michael Mann is a stylish filmmaker and his take on the Hannibal Lector saga has his stamp of authority. It is a pity that in the deluge of praise for Silence of the Lambs(which is a great film indeed) this film is almost forgotten. Because it contains some great qualities. The acting is uniformly excellent- Brian Cox infuses Lectar with a different approach than what Hopkins brought later and Will Graham is expertly played by William Peterson. The scenes between the two are really good. Pacing is excellent and the soundtrack is one of the finest mixtures of sound and visuals in all cinema. Is this as good or better than Silence of the Lambs? Some think so. You be the judge.

I love this movie. I was hesitant about seeing it, as I had seen the 2000s version. Frankly, they don't compare one bit. While Ratner's movie wasn't bad at all, it completely pails in comparison. There's an attention to detail with Mann that goes way beyond Ratner's ability. Could Ratner ever direct the Insider with the precision and audacity that Mann brings? I doubt it. Not to mention that the cinematography by Spinotti is stellar. The whole movie, Manhunter, crackles--where as, Red Dragon smolders. Even the synthpop music in Manhunter, somehow, works masterfully. The whole adventure had me captivated for the entire time. And, I'm not even getting into the acting.Frankly, Brian Cox is superior, in my mind, to Hopkins who I love. But, Hopkins is Campy. There's something off with his portrayal of Lector/Lecktor. It's a tad bit contrived, while Cox seems like he's in his own element. Don't get me wrong, I think both portrayals are very good, and, frankly, I could get hypnotized listening to both. With that said, there's something truly disturbing with Cox in this movie that goes beyond Hopkins. Anyway, watch this movie. I think you'll like it. I only watched because I love The Insider so much, and I'm glad that I popped this on one day last year. Spellbinding might be a good way of saying what I think about this movie; it, utterly, reminds me of Argento and Suspiria--not to mention Inferno.

A killer, dubbed the 'Tooth Fairy' by the police has murdered two apparently unconnected families; one on Atlanta, the other in Birmingham, Alabama. He strikes each month on the night of the full moon so the race is on to catch him. With no other leads the FBI call in Will Graham, a former profiler, who retired after a particularly traumatic, high-profile case. In order to get his mind back in the game he goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lecktor, the infamous killer he put behind bars. This meeting gets reported in the gutter press and ultimately puts his family in danger. As he reviews the crime scenes Will starts to get into the head of the killer; working out how he operates and ultimately how he selects the families he intends to kill.This is a gripping thriller with Nietzschean undertones. Will Graham is an interesting central character; a man who as looked into the abyss before and felt it looking back and now he is being asked to do it again. We don't see the killer until a scene where he is clearly identified; this isn't about the viewer figuring out who did it ahead of the detective it is about seeing how the detective closes in on the killer. Director Michael Mann keeps everything very stylish; not surprising that he'd previously given us the TV series 'Miami Vice'; the epitome of '80s cool. William Petersen does a really fine job as Will Graham; an interesting character with a history. Brian Cox may only have a small part as Dr Lecktor but he manages to be menacing in a subtle manner. Tom Noonan is suitably menacing as the killer, especially in the scenes where he takes a blind colleague on a date and later gets jealous when he sees her talking to another man. The supporting cast is pretty solid too. Given the subject matter there could be plenty of disturbing content; thankfully it is more restrained and apart from a brief shot of crime scene photographs and blood stains in a house there is little in the way of disturbing material; it is described but not shown. Overall this is a really solid thriller that I'd certainly recommend.

Although THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is the film that everyone remembers for Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of the cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lector, I find that in most cases the general public don't realise that Hopkins was not the first actor to play Lector. No, that dubious honour goes to Brian Cox, whose brief but powerful turn as Lector in MANHUNTER is just one of the film's many highlights. I didn't really know what to expect when I watched this film; I'd heard that it was good, but little did I realise just HOW good it was. MANHUNTER is one of the very best films about a serial killer I've seen; this is an intelligent, exciting and thought-provoking story which I actually preferred to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in some respects.This is a disturbing film too, although without the grossness of the film that followed it. Here, the violence is left to the imagination, which makes it all the more effective. Usually the police investigations in these films are dry and boring, but here, as the characters doing the investigating are very human, it becomes interesting and watchable. The cast is first rate; especially good is Peterson as the slightly disturbed FBI man haunted by his previous encounters with Cox. He is equalled by the underrated Tom Noonan, who is simply brilliant as the killer, Francis Dollarhyde. Noonan would forever be typecast as a baddie after this performance, but his work here is excellent as he creates a childish, sympathetic man who cannot control the urges or what he does.The strong supporting cast includes Joan Allen (very good) as a blind victim; Dennis Farina as a fellow cop (wait, doesn't he always play that role?), and Stephen Lang as a nerdy reporter who meets a fate worse than death. Michael Mann's assured direction keeps the film believable and interesting at all times; MANHUNTER is exciting when it needs to be and very disturbing at other times (especially that scene with Dollarhyde with the stocking over his head... an image guaranteed to give you nightmares). Odd scenes like the burning wheelchair victim are unexpected and help to keep you on your toes. A rare film that doesn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, MANHUNTER is a perfectly-made film that should be rewatched in the days of populist stuff like SEVEN and THE BONE COLLECTOR just to remember how good it is.