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After winning an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs and reprising the character in two sequels, it’s hard to imagine author Thomas Harris’s chilling serial killer Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter being played by anyone other than Sir Anthony Hopkins. However, that overlooks Dr. Lecter’s first cinema appearance, portrayed by Brian Cox in Michael Mann’s stylish and under-appreciated 1986 film, Manhunter.
Adapted from Harris’s novel Red Dragon and remade in 2002 by Brett Ratner under the novel’s title, Manhunter focuses on Will Graham (William Petersen), a former FBI profiler who’s pressed back into service to hunt a serial killer called the Tooth Fairy (Tom Noonan). Graham’s reluctance to return to his profession stems both from the psychological effect that the work has on him and a particularly dangerous encounter with his last quarry, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (the same character Hopkins played, just with a slightly different spelling). While working the forensics side of the investigation, it becomes clear that Graham will not only have to confront the new killer and his own weaknesses, but he’ll also have to come face to face with the man who nearly destroyed him.
When this film first appeared, Mann had already garnered notice as the producer of the slick ‘80s cop drama, Miami Vice, and a similar visual style permeates Manhunter. Some of the fashions and design may be dated, but it’s still a striking film, made more so by Mann’s deliberate and bold use of color. From the deep blue that washes out Graham and his wife in their bedroom to the sickly green of the Tooth Fairy’s lair to the stark, antiseptic white of Dr. Lecktor’s jail cell, Mann creates vivid imagery around his characters.
The characters themselves are also well-drawn. Petersen imparts a haunted quality to Graham, who spends long stretches just speaking his thought process out loud. It’s apparent pretty quickly why he retired early, as these monologues tend to start out reserved, becoming angrier and darker as he goes along. It’s no surprise that Petersen would find great success 14 years later playing another forensic investigation specialist on CSI.
Noonan provides a suitably weird Tooth Fairy, alternating between pathos and gravitas, but, even here, long before Hannibal Lecter became a household name, there’s no question that he’s the most interesting villain in the film. Cox’s Dr. Lecktor is less genteel than Hopkins’s version and more physically imposing. He’s still the erudite gentleman but with more visible metaphorical fangs.
Manhunter is one of those films that didn’t do particularly well on its initial release, but it’s developed a much better reputation in retrospect. Much of that reconsideration is due to Mann’s visual choices, which translate beautifully on high-def Blu-ray disc. As one of those late-comer fans, I wish that they’d included any of the special features that were available on previous DVD releases, but I’m willing to forgive that considering the quality of the main feature.
By this point, nearly everyone knows Hannibal Lecter, but not as many know him in this incarnation. That’s an oversight that should be corrected as soon as possible.
