DVD Review: Manhunter

The hunt is on again as MGM releases yet another version of the Michael Mann classic film that introduced us to Hannibal Lecktor (although played by someone other than Sir Anthony Hopkins).

Will Graham (William Petersen) is a retired FBI agent. His retirement was brought on by the fact that he captured the notorious serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox) and nearly lost his life in the process. His former boss Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina) calls on Will to come in on a case that he’s having trouble with because Will was an expert profiler before his fall. A serial killer dubbed the “Tooth Fairy” is killing entire families and does it by the cycle of the moon and it’s only days to the next full one so Crawford is running out of time. Graham reluctantly gets in on the case, but pays a visit to his old nemesis Dr. Lecktor to get his assistance on the case. The “Tooth Fairy” is Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan) and he’s developing a relationship with a blind coworker (Joan Allen) and she doesn’t know about his killer instincts, but their budding relationship may help the demon find his lighter side. Meanwhile, Graham is trying to put the clues together to find out who the next family is set to be visited by the “Tooth Fairy” but his visit to Lecktor has unintended consequences for his own family since the “Tooth Fairy” is a correspondent of Lecktors (and he knows Will’s home address). I guess most everyone now knows who Hannibal Lecktor is. “Quid pro quo, Clarice.” However what you might not know is that he appeared before in a movie before Silence of the Lambs. Manhunter is based on Thomas Harris’ book Red Dragon but has a “Miami Vice” feel to the film since Mann produced that series. Manhunter was different in several ways from Harris’ novel but was still a compelling film. Sir Anthony’s Lector (spelling changed between the films) dominates the public perception of the urbane cannibal, but it was Brian Cox who got to play the not so good doctor on the screen for the first time.

He’s just as chilling, but the popular culture has embraced Hopkins (not too closely for he bites). Manhunter is a fine film however and really doesn’t deserve to be overshadowed by Silence. The “Miami Vice” flavoring (pastels, modern architecture, synthesizer score) gives it a slight 80s feel, but it still holds up rather well. William Petersen plays a role that’s remarkably close to the role that he plays on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation today on television – odd turn of events that. Up till this release, the only way to get the widescreen version of Manhunter was to buy the “Hannibal Lector Collection” boxset. They did release it separately in 2004 but it was only in fullscreen. MGM/Fox remedies this conundrum by releasing Manhunter separately in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. This version is the original theatrical cut. The “theatrical cut” that Anchor Bay released years ago had some edits to it; this is the one you would’ve seen in the theaters on original release. It’s good that Manhunter fans will now not have to buy a boxset to get the widescreen version of the film. Beware the fullscreen version (has a picture of Tom Noonan on the front, this one has a pic of Brian Cox on it) because you’ll not be getting the whole picture.