Manhunter [DVD]

Manhunter is directed by Michael Mann who also adapts the screenplay from the Thomas Harris novel, Red Dragon. It stars William Petersen, Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen, Kim Greist, Brian Cox and Stephen Lang. Music is by Michel Rubini and The Reds, and cinematography is by Dante Spinotti. Retired FBI specialist Will Graham is lured back into action to track a serial killer who is killing families, seemingly linked into the lunar cycle. In the process it opens up some old mental wounds that were born out during his last action out in the field........ Before the gargantuan success of Silence of the Lambs, where the name Hannibal the Cannibal moved into pop culture, and before director Michael Mann became a name auteur, often referenced with relish by hungry film students; there was Manhunter, Michael Mann's brilliant adaptation of Thomas Harris' equally brilliant psychological thriller, Red Dragon. It feels a bit redundant now, years later, writing about Mann's use of styles to bear out mood and psychological states, his framing devices, his commitment to his craft, but after revisiting the film on Blu-ray, I find myself once again simultaneously invigorated and unnerved by the magnificence of Manhunter. Visually, thematically and narratively it remains a clinical piece of cinema, a probing study of madness that dares to put a serial killer and the man hunting him in the same psychological body, asking us, as well as William Petersen's FBI agent Will Graham, to empathise with Tom Noonan's troubled Tooth Fairy killer. Here's a thing, too, Francis Dolarhyde (The Tooth Fairy) is a functioning member of society, he is quite frankly a man who could be working in a shop near you! This is no reclusive psychopath such as, well, Buffalo Bill, Dolarhyde is presented to us in such a way as we are given insight into this damaged mind, he is fleshed out as a person, we get to know him and his motivational problems. Dream much, Will? Mann and his team are not about over the top or camp performances, gore is kept to a premium, the real horror is shown in aftermath sequences, conversations and harmless photographs, but still it's a nightmarish world. Suspense is wrung out slowly by way of the characterisations. Will has to become the killer, and it's dangerous, he knows so because he has done it before, when capturing Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. Needing to pick up the scent again, to recover the mindset, Will has to go see the good doctor who has a penchant for fine wines and human offal. These scenes showcase Mann at his deadliest, a bright white cell filmed off kilter, each frame switch showing either Lecktor or Graham behind bars, they are one. When Lecktor taunts Will about them being alike, Mann understands this and visually brings it out. Dolarhyde's living abode is murky in colour tones and furnished garishly, and with mirrors, paintings and a lunar landscape, yet when Dolarhyde is accompanied by Joan Allen's blind Reba, where he feels he is finally finding acceptance, this house is seen at ease because of the characterisations. Switch to the finale and it's a walled monstrosity matching that of a killer tipped back over the edge. Brilliant stuff. If one does what God does enough times, one will become as God is. Lecktor, soon to be back as the source material Lecter in the film versions that follow, is actually not in the film that much. Brian Cox (chilling, calculating, frightening and intelligent) as Lecktor gets under ten minutes of screen time, but that's enough, the character's presence is felt throughout the picture in a number of ways. The Lecktor angle is very relative to film's success, but very much it's one strand of a compelling whole, I realise now that Mann has deliberately kept us wanting more of him visually. Noonan is truly scary, he lived away from the rest of the cast during filming, with Mann's joyous encouragement, the end result is one of the best and most complex serial killer characterisations ever. Lang scores high as weasel paparazzi, Allen is heart achingly effective without patronising blind people and Farina is a huge presence as Jack Crawford, Will's friend and boss who coaxes Will back into the fray knowing full well that Will's mind might not make it back with him. But it's Petersen's movie all the way. His subsequent non film career has given ammunition to his knockers that he is no great actor. Rubbish, with this and To Live and Die in L.A. he gave two of the best crime film portrayals of the 80s. He immerses himself in Will Graham, so much so he wasn't able to shake the character off long after filming had wrapped. There's a scene in a supermarket where Will is explaining to his son about his dark place, where "the ugliest thoughts in the world" live, a stunning sequence of acting and a showcase for Petersen's undoubted talents. Newcomers to the film and Mann's work in general, could do no worse than spend the ten minutes it takes to watch the Dante Spinotti feature on the disc. Apart from saving me the time to write about Mann's visual flourishes, it gives one an idea of just how key a director and cinematographer partnership is in a film such as this. The audio is crisp, which keeps alive the perfect in tone soundtrack and eerie scoring strains of Rubini and The Reds. Some say that the music of Manhunter is dated? I say that if it sits at one with the tonal shifts and thematics of a story then that surely can never be viewed as dated. And that's the case here in Manhunter. The director's cut is included as part of the package but the transfer is appalling, and for the sake of one cut scene that happens post the Dolarhyde/Graham face off, there's really not much to the DC version anyway. The theatrical cut is perfect, brilliantly realised on Blu-ray to birth a true visual neo noir masterpiece. 10/10

Way better than silence of the lambs, much more psychological and atmospheric without the gore, really good watch

I must admit I was not sure what to expect sitting down to watch this movie for the first time,I had seen the three Anthony Hopkins Hannibal Lecter movies before this and it looked very different so I was skeptical at first.I finaly sat down to watch it and based on both versions in this special edition (I have heard there are a few different versions of this movie), this has become one of my favourite Lecter movies.William Petersen brings a wonderful intensity to the role of Will Graham, I particularly like his performance in the scene where he is telling his son how he caught Lecter and starts to tear up when he tells him that Lecters thoughts are "the ugliest thoughts in the world".Tom Noonan is a great Francis Dolerhyde effectively inspiring fear in his scene with Freddie Lounds and sympathy in his scenes with Reba.Now as for Brian Cox as Hannibal Lektor I would say that of all 4 actors to have played this role at this point I think Cox's potrayal is the most like someone you are likely to actually know,he seems the most realistic version, an abnoxious, smug, fast talking jerk who seems the most like somebody you could probably have met, which is quite disturbing when you think about Lektors crimes.In conclusion I really like this movie.

I wanted a hard copy of this movie, couldn't find it on streaming.

An underrated masterpiece,far superior to the succeeding Dr Lecter films in my opinion.

Personally one the 3 best films by Michael Mann (with Insider and Heat). And the best film about serial killers since the Eighties (even better than Silence of the Lambs and Seven) along with Seven and Zodiac (so we won't mention some great stuff from the past like Peeping Tom, M, Psycho, The Boston Strangler). Manhunter is an upgrade of morbid and deadly atmosphere and subjects, looking almost like a horror. It's a film that relies a lot on Eighties cold and metallic look and feel and even gives a contribution to define it and push it forward. Rarely we've seen a film where you can almost breathe that sense of aseptic and bleak apocalypse, through an innovative use of music, photography, design, editing, actin and dialogues. This is the film that showed Mann's personal and distinctive touch and his idea of storytelling, always swinging between an almost invasive and intimate focus on the leading character on one hand and a lot of substories and setting details on the other, that contribute to create not just the atmosphere of the scenes but also to expand the experience and perception of the viewer (Heat will be the best example of it). And so, by entering the killer's mind (or hardly trying to understand it) we also enter the detective one, where fear and animal instinct struggle against rationality and "normality". Manhunter is a breathtaking film that makes you feel unsettled and feverish, makes you cold sweat and watch out of darkness. The blu ray is quite good but it the master does not seem so clean and that's too bad, because Dante Spinotti's photography plays a central role in the success of the film. Last but not least, this film introduces some great actors we'll be hear about afterwards: Wolfgang Petersen who, with this film and To live and die in LA, played in 2 of the most disturbing and unusual cult movies of the Eighties, and Brian Cox, an excellent Dr Lechter, even better than Anthony Hopkin's.

If you love the silence of the lambs films you have to have this prequel, although it has different actors it's still shines...recommend

Arrived ahead of schedule and in great condition....great movie too, hard to find at a good price. Thanks!

Tourné par le grand Michael Mann en 1986 (titré "Le sixième sens", mais ressorti sous le titre "Manhunter", sans doute pour éviter l'amalgame avec le célèbre film fantastique mettant en scène Bruce Willis, et qui n'a rien à voir), d'après le roman Dragon Rouge de Thomas Harris, ce film brille de sobriété, d'une esthétique du mystère et d'une force de narration qui n'ont pas à jalouser la trilogie tournée avec Anthony Hopkins des années plus tard. Mann joue sur une mise en scène par moments onirique, creusant dans la psychologie du psychopathe (joué par Tom Noonan) tout autant que dans celle de l'enquêteur (incarné par William L. Petersen). Le film tourne autour du tueur Francis Dollarhyde, sur lequel Will Graham enquête, une investigation qui l'amènera, en qualité de profileur à une époque où le profilage en était encore à ses premiers balbutiements, à consulter Hannibal le cannibale afin de l'aider à pénétrer le cerveau de Dollarhyde pour pouvoir devancer ses plans et l'arrêter dans son parcours criminel. Excellent scénario, excellent casting, excellente mise en scène, très stylisée, excellente B.O.... Bref, un chef d'oeuvre oublié, à redécouvrir absolument, enfin disponible ici en director's cut. Quand on connaît le perfectionnisme de Michael Mann, on ne peut que se précipiter sur une telle édition. La grande classe, monsieur Mann !

満月の夜に連続家族皆殺し事件を繰り返すフランシス・ダラハイド。 連続食人殺人犯、レクター博士の逮捕と引き換えに精神の均衡を乱し、引退していた犯人の感情と同調する他に真似が出来ない捜査で知られるカリスマFBI捜査官、ウィル・グレアム。 陰陽、殺人鬼と捜査官の互いの存在を掛けた戦いが始まる…。 推理小説界に連続殺人事件に対するFBIの心理分析官を本格的に持ち込んだ、トマス・ハリスの「レッド・ドラゴン」の初映画化。 同時期にマイケル・チミノの「イヤー・オブ・ドラゴン」が発表された為、プロデューサー判断で「Manhunter」名で封切られました。 わが国では「刑事グラハム 凍りついた欲望」名で公開。 血生臭い連続殺人事件をスタイリッシュに描いた異色の捜査物で、FBIの科学捜査の様子は迫真ですが、冒頭に描かれるマイアミの海岸の風景や、ダラハイドの家で一夜を過ごしたリーバが歩む朝焼けのシーン等は美しく、後のレクター物とは違うタイプの作品として接した方が楽しめます。 原作では多くの頁が割かれていた犯人ダラハイドの鬼気迫る悲惨な幼年時代や、原作名の由来となった英国の画家・詩人・思想家ウィリアム・ブレイク作「大いなる赤き竜と日を纏う乙女」に関する場面の大胆な省略は、原作を読んで居ない方にはダラハイドの凶行の理由が少々解りにくくなっていると共に、逆に犯人の抱える闇が、観客の想像に委ねられる作り方がされているとも言えます。 レクター博士（ブライアン・コックス）は原作通りの端役で、常人に見える小太りの人物ながら、目に尋常ならざる光が有り、刑務所内で得た知識を駆使してグレアムの捜査を淡々と攪乱する様子は短い登場シーンながら印象的です。 コックスは後のホプキンスのチャーミングで派手なレクター博士と比べられると地味ですが、彼がヘルマン・ゲーリングを演じたTVムービー「ニュールンベルグ軍事裁判」等では充分カリスマ性がある名優で有る事が解ります。 特筆すべきは一世一代の名演技をこなしたトム・ヌーナン（「ドラキュリアン」「ロボコップ２」「スパイダーパニック」「ウルフェン」）。 長身短頭でシャイな視線と恵まれない容姿がダラハイド役にピッタリです。 ブルース・ダーンをもっとマニアックにし、顔だけでは無く全身のシルエットで個性を出せる禿げ頭の怪優として活躍、自身でも監督を務める才人です。 グレアム役の若きウィリアム・ピーターゼン(CSI：科学捜査班)も冷たい青い目が原作通りで好演。 クロフォード役のデニス・ファリーナもタフなイメージで適役です。 ダラハイドと心を通わせる盲人リーバ役には名女優ジョアン・アレン（「ニクソン」「クルーシブル」「ザ・コンテンダー」「HACHI約束の犬」。 音楽の使い方も、マン監督独特の物で、恋人リーバが浮気したと誤解したダラハイドが「竜」に変身する極めて印象的なシーンに、軽快なアメリカンロック（Prime Moversの「Strong as I am」）が流れる等、非常に個性的です。 最後の凶行に及ぼうとしたダラハイド邸で、大音量で流れるアイアン・バタフライの名曲「ガダ・ダ・ヴィダ(In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida)」」も印象的。 他にも日本の喜多郎や、クラウス・シュルツ、ザ・レッズ、ミシェル・レビーニの音楽が効果的に使われています。 スタイリッシュな映像はラウレンティスがイタリアから招いた名カメラマン、ダンテ・スピノッティが担当。 彼は2002年版「レッド・ドラゴン」の撮影も担当しました。 本作が余りヒットせず、その後の「羊たちの沈黙」が大ヒットした事に悔しさを感じたラウレンティスが、捲土重来を期して再映画化したのは有名なお話です。 ダラハイドの幼〜少年期は扱っているテーマがキワドイ為、過去一度も映像化されていません。 現在、第4シリーズまで予定されているNBC版「ハンニバル(2013〜）」はレッドドラゴン編まで作る予定が有るそうなので、是非とも踏み込んで描いて頂きたい物です。 本Blu-Rayは映像が美しく、聴覚障害者用の英語字幕も付き、満足出来る内容でした。 リージョンAの為、日本のBlu-Rayﾌプレーヤーで視聴可能です。 本作の決定版ソフトとしては、英国版Blu-Ray(英AmazonのASIN: B004EMS0WA)が、出演者のインタビューを含むメイキングや、監督マンのオーディオ・コメンタリー、そしてディレクターズ・カットが含まれた素晴らしい内容でした。 英語に堪能で、ご家庭でリージョンＢのBlu-Rayを視聴出来る環境の方にはお薦めです。

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