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At the time of this writing, the new film Hannibal, depicting the further of adventures of the man-eating movie icon Dr. Hannibal Lecter, has grossed close to 100 million dollars in just two weeks. It is poised to be a monster hit and will no doubt spawn a follow-up. Does this financial success mean the film is good? No. It's not. It's gory, sadistic, and ultimately pointless. And it reduces once great characters into one-dimensional ciphers of their former selves. I have now just violated my own rule against this column not being about negative criticism, so I will refrain from commenting further on Hannibal. Go judge for yourself, if you can stomach it. But if you really want a Hannibal Lecter fix, I submit that your time and money would be better spent checking out 1986's Manhunter, a little known, unconventional thriller that features the good doctor in a small role. After that, make a double feature of the evening and visit (or revisit, as is more likely the case) the movie that made Lecter a household name, 1991's Oscar-winning masterpiece, The Silence of the Lambs. The two films couldn't be more different in style and tone, yet they share the common strengths of character and suspense. These are scary movies but they're not full of cheap tricks and gore. Instead, they create their atmosphere of fear through expert craftsmanship and strong characters. Manhunter, the lesser known of the two films, was adapted by Michael Mann from Thomas Harris' bestseller Red Dragon. It is the story of Will Graham (played by William Petersen) a brilliant FBI agent whose capturing of the serial-killer Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter, nearly cost him his life and his sanity. He comes out of retirement to catch "The Tooth Fairy" a psychopath who brutally murders entire families. Petersen is very effective as Graham, a man with the unfortunate "gift" of being capable to think like a murderer. Some of the best scenes in the film involve him simply talking aloud to himself, trying to see what the killer sees and feel what the killer feels. That killer is played terrifically by Tom Noonan and his skillful performance allows us to see the vulnerable human being underneath the monster, while also being thoroughly terrifying. And the film utilizes his talents well by showing him in a romantic relationship with a blind woman (played by Joan Allen, in one of her earliest film roles) that dares us to empathize with this villainous character. Michael Mann, perhaps more than any other filmmaker working today, is a brilliant manipulator of color. In this and subsequent films (such as The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and The Insider) he bathes his characters and sequences in rich colors that deepen the impact of the scene. One example from Manhunter (photographed by Dante Spinotti) is when Graham visits an inmate at the insane asylum. The walls, bars, floors, and furniture of the prison are white, which evokes a stark, bright contrast to the sinister prisoner held within. This prisoner is, of course, Hannibal Lecter and the Scottish actor Brian Cox plays him with an oily yet charming creepiness. While not as hypnotic or terrifying as Anthony Hopkins' later portrayal of the character, Cox's Lecter still gets under your skin and his brief appearance in this film leaves the viewer wanting more. Manhunter, due to its lack of big-name stars, its cheesy title, and bad marketing was a financial failure when released, although it earned respectable critical notices. It has developed a strong cult following since then and deserves to be seen by more people. Though marred somewhat by its 80's pop soundtrack (after all, Michael Mann was the creator and producer of Miami Vice), the film holds up really well as a stylish, intelligent thriller. It's interesting to compare this fine film to its follow-up, The Silence of the Lambs. Directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally (who both won Oscars for their work) it's a textbook example of a perfect thriller. I've seen it more times than I can remember and it still freaks me out. And as with Manhunter, we care about its characters. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a FBI agent trainee assigned to interrogate the imprisoned Lecter (now played by Hopkins) in the hopes of receiving information on the serial killer "Buffalo Bill" a maniac preying on young women. The picture is so expertly plotted and paced that the audience feels the danger of Buffalo Bill and the need to catch him before he kills again. Ted Levine fearlessly plays Bill with manic wild abandon, alternately frightening and pathetic. And like Michael Mann, director Demme creates a specific atmosphere for his story. In contrast to Manhunter's beautiful, bright, blues and greens, this film is photographed with grainy browns and grays, the skies overcast, the mood ominous and foreboding, all the more enhanced by Howard Shore's sinister musical score. But the heart of The Silence of the Lambs and what has made it one of the most popular thrillers ever, is the relationship between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. The scenes between the two are among the most captivating in movie history thanks to the lyrical, honest writing and the masterful Oscar-winning performances by Foster and Hopkins. In the course of these scenes, Lecter is so frightening because he exudes immense power even while imprisoned. And Hopkins manages with a single gesture or modulation in his voice to send chills up our spines. He is a caged animal and Hopkins conveys his impassioned desire to be free, balanced with a calm reserve as he toys with Starling's mind. Foster is the perfect protagonist, an underdog determined to come to grips with her troubled past, who is forced to look into the face of evil to achieve her goal. The fact that Lecter ultimately becomes a perverse ally to Starling only further shows the complexity of their relationship and this film. So if you're prepared to journey into the dark recesses of the criminal mind, look no further than these two movies, which capture the imagination and are guaranteed to thrill. And while Hannibal may prove to be a bigger financial success than both of them combined, it will live in peoples' memories for the wrong reasons. Sure, it's got plenty of blood, guts and shock-value but emotionally, it's empty. Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs are great thrillers because during the course of them, you forget you're watching a movie. It all seems horribly real. MANHUNTER (1986) Directed by Michael Mann. Screenplay by Michael Mann.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) Directed by Jonathan Demme. Screenplay by Ted Tally.
If you liked these movies, you may like…… M (1931) Directed by Fritz Lang.
Starring Peter Lorre
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