Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent low-budget adaptation
Review: "Manhunter", directed by Michael Mann, who later went on to make "Heat" and "The Insider", is the film that features the enigmatic psychaitrist-cum-serial murderer, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector. The role is played by Brian Cox, who succeeds in being no less charismatic in the role than his successor, Anthony Hopkins, who transferred Hannibal into a pop culture icon. This modestly budgeted installment, (an adaptation of the bestselling novel, "Red Dragon", by Thomas Harris) is actually the best of the three big-screen adaptations of Harris's works, "The Silence of the Lambs" and the recent "Hannibal". It is a slick, glossy and understated suspense thriller, whose treatment is contrary to the cartoonish mannerism of the other two, and which succeeds in generating some chillingly tense situations. What recommends it is its realism and its refusal to pander to the baser instincts of the audience, in excising the gory details of the murders. Peterson is convincing as Will Graham, the manhunter/interrogator figure equipped with the psychic ability of tapping into the killer's consciousness and reconstructing his thought patterns. The soft-spoken Tom Noonan manages to portray one of the eeriest onscreen serial madmen, the harelipped Francis Dolarhyde. Expertly-crafted, this is a thinking man's serial killer film, even though the ending is rather overblown, and the chief aspect in which the film deviates from the original.
Rating: 
Summary: Mann is a highly underrated director...
Review: This is a GOOD film. Not great, and by no means as jaw-dropping as SILENCE, but nevertheless it did introduce us to a certain doctor.The cinematography in this film is beautiful. Framing and cutting are as close to perfect as possibly. And William Peterson! What happened to him?!! His performance here is one of understatement, and has lived in my mind as long (if not longer) than Hopkins' Lecter. This is a truly different beast to it's successor.. it was the mid eighties. Everything is clean and clinical, not a gothic prison, or monotonous Hopkins in sight. Not a classic but far, far better than average.
Rating: 
Summary: ummmm........
Review: i rented this movie and i thought it was horrible. nothing grossed me out or anything, but the movie just was not entertaining. and there were too many stupid things (esp.) in the ending that were way way way unrealistic.
Rating:
Summary: The Toothfairy rules all
Review: Manhunter,Forgotten for so many years, is now back with a vengeance. One of my all time favorite films! I believe it to be superior to Silence of the Lambs in many ways: 1. The sound track rocks- this is the type of movie you crank up, especialy during the finale. 2. The characters are deeper- this movie is about the man who caught Hannibal Lecter. Graham (the investigator) has the ability to think like Serial Killers do(with great damage to his psyche.... Couldn't be more highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: **now there are THREE versions**
Review: I reviewed the VHS of this movie a long time ago (see review in this section), but the versions in this 2-disc set are different still. One version, the one I've always considered the definitive version, is the one on LaserDisc and also for rent on VHS in video stores. Version 2 is the crappy-transfer copy in this DVD set. It looks like the opening titles were time-compressed into the first scene, and the picture quality is shoddy at best. Version 3 is the Director's Cut. The picture is clear and beautiful, but some interesting dialog sequences were cut out. And Version 3 has added a scene with Graham and his wife about 2/3 into the film that interrupts the tempo of the film. Skip Version 2 except for the fact that it offers some alternate takes and alternate scenes. The picture quality is so bad it is insulting. Version 3 looks GREAT, but Version 1, the version long available on VHS and LaserDisc, is the best version narratively. I'm glad I own the DVD set, but when I want to watch this movie again I will always view the splendid LaserDisc version instead of the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Rent it before you buy it
Review: This film was entertainig with credible performances from the cast howevever it neglects to capture the viewers undivided attention such as "The Silence Of the Lambs" and "Hannibal". The story itself is definately more intriguing than the proceeding two films but the movie fails to deliver much insight into the villians character compared to the novel it was adapted from. I could also do without the cheesy 80's music soundtrack blaring in the backround. This is not a must for your DVD collection. I recommend renting it before you buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Forget the rest, this one's the best!
Review: This is the first and by far the best of the films with Hannibal. The relationship between Clarise Starling is nothing compared to the tension between Lector and Grahm (the one who caught him). The direction is great, very 80's but in a good way. It's very much a Michael Mann film and that's a good thing. If you ask anyone who has seen this film or read Red Dragon, they will tell you it's far better than Silience of the Lambs and Hannibal.
Rating:
Summary: VHS or DVD? Two different movies
Review: For those of you who disliked 'Manhunter' but only saw the VHS version, you were correct. The movie is only barely watchable compared to 'Silence'. However, when you see the DVD Director's cut, it's a whole new movie. The tone of the film is changed, making it more malevolent and brooding. You can better understand what the main character is feeling by seeing the scenes that were cut. So much information was edited out that William Peterson's character turned into a shallow, mechanical robot instead of the troubled, marginally insane investigator who nearly becomes a killer himself. As for Lecktor, Brian Cox's was first and is so manipulative that you can see the evil oozing from him. Hopkin's Lector is obviously insane and so campy that he doesn't terrify nearly as much. There are no high budget sets here, just as there are no cheap, gory, slasher-type thrills. This is a thinking person's film. If you need the constant action and gore you'll find in both subsequent films, then you just won't enjoy 'Manhunter'. But if you like to be on the edge of your seat with a mind-rending plot, you couldn't do better.
Rating:
Summary: Meet the Real Hannibal Lecter
Review: This movie by "Miami Vice" creator Michael Mann is way ahead of its time, which can now work to its benefit. Its hero, FBI criminal profiler Will Graham, is brought out of retirement to track a serial killer of entire families, cruelly nicknamed the Tooth Fairy by the tabloid press; like the hero of TV's "Millennium," a good ten years later, Graham has an uncanny ability to enter the mindset of his quarry. This gift, or curse, has already led to one nervous breakdown, and now threatens to ruin his marriage and happy home life, even as he returns to a life-threatening pursuit of one killer, aided by another, the imprisoned Hannibal Lecter. Mann's direction of the film is self-assured and relentless, driving ever onward without a pause, and while the violence is horrific, the triumph of good over evil is never seriously in question. William Peterson, who plays Graham here, portrays a similar, but substantially toned-down character on the TV show "CSI"---Dennis Farina plays his ex-ex-FBI boss. Brian Cox, a British character actor, plays Hannibal Lecter; he is perhaps less attractive than Anthony Hopkins, but this makes his Lecter even more chilling and repulsive---and the fact that he doesn't shamelessly ham up every line reading helps, too! The climax of the movie, as Graham takes the fight right to the killer in a secluded woodland home, is incredibly suspenseful, even though you suspect that Graham will prevail; the use of dim lighting, and a thunderous refrain of Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" makes it one of the more memorable endings in recent film history. "Manhunter" isn't as famous a film as "The Silence of the Lambs"--but is is a better film! Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: This film has a brain behind it unlikeThe Silence of the Lam
Review: This film has a brain behind it unlike (The Silence of the Lambs). Buy it you will not be disappointed.A Low budget film but solid all the way...Be witness to the birth of good and evil in man as the two main characters (the red dragon and Will Graham)build to a stunning conclusion! What Silence of the lambs should have been rather than the stumble-bum conclusion it had.
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