This is the lesser known Hannibal Lector film(to Silence of the lambs) but some consider it as good or even better than that film. I happen to feel that both have their plus points and this Michael Mann film has many strong points including an amazing soundtrack and great performance by William Peterson as Det. Will Graham. Brian Cox is chilling in his own way as Lector and his interactions with Peterson just show the kind of magnitude two capable and talented actors can bring to a scene. This is a must watch film.

This is a great movie. Suspence and thrill is ever present and intensified by the selection of music, eerie personna of the protagonist Will Graham (William Petersen), Hannibal Lector and others. Acting is overall pretty good, although not the best, because i find some moments over-racted. For example, i don't find that convincing that Will uncovers everything during his investigations and speaks it out loud for everybody to hear. Maybe it's just me, but it is a minor annoyance i have with the film. However i absolutely love and feel the conversations he has with Hannibal, some very deep meanings are uncovered though those and you get to understand the very well written characters. Michael Mann's direction is brilliant though. This is an intellectual/psychological movie, don't think that it's going to have huge criminal takedowns and the like. Mann directs the actors to discuss amongst themselves so meticulously all the key details before an important scene. I love that about Mann. Cinematography is beautiful, further enhancing the dramatic feel of the movie. The plot is very well laid out. I analyzed it a bit, and i don't think there are any loopholes, it's solid. The 2h duration of the movie is good, but a second viewing will probably be required in order to understand everything. Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor delivers, he's spot on (not as iconic as Hopkins in the Silence of the Lambs though, but just 2nd only to him). The tooth Ferry (Tom Noonan) acting is disturbing, as is the character's role. I really enjoyed it. I loved this movie. Rating: 8/10 - Great

The novel 'Red Dragon' (1981) refers to 'The Great Red Dragon' paintings by William Blake, which depict scenes from the Book of Revelation. These allegorically describe an ongoing struggle between good and evil. The novel spawned the Michael Mann film 'Manhunter' (1986).Simpson in his book 'Psycho Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer through Contemporary American Film,' refers to 'Manhunter' as a 'profoundly ambiguous and destabilizing film' with 'uncomfortable affinities between protagonist and antagonist.' Conard in 'The Philosophy of Film Noir' is more to the point; "what it takes to catch a serial killer is tantamount to being one."Mann and cinematographer Dante Spinotti (who funnily enough also shot the 2002 remake 'Red Dragon'), make strong use of colour tints using cool blues in the scenes featuring Will Graham and his wife Molly, green for searching and discovery, and purple or magenta in the unsettling scenes involving Dollarhyde (the 'Tooth Fairy') and Doctor Hannibal Lecter. The foregrounding of glass, steel and concrete walls illustrates Mann's concern with estrangement and 'mirror images.' Graham is capable of apprehending Dollarhyde because he can get into his mindset and share similar psychological instincts, resulting in him struggling to regain his values. Dr Lector whom Graham visits in prison in order to gather a profile of Dollarhyde, recognises this.Both visually, and in regards to the feeling of alienation Mann is reminiscent of Michelangelo Antonioni. Mann borrows from Antonioni the concern for capturing the space that people inhabit. An early perfectly composed symmetrical shot illustrates the relationship between Graham and Agent Crawford, with the clear positioning of the characters on opposite ends of the frame as Crawford attempts to coerce Graham back to the FBI. The final shot of this sequence is of Crawford and Molly, and the physical distance between them is far greater than in the shot that opens the sequence.Towards the end of the chase, Graham (talking about Dollarhyde) could be discussing the key themes of Dario Argento's work, a director also influenced by Antonioni's visual asthetic "… because everything with you is seeing isn't it. Your primary sensory intake, the thing that makes your dream live is seeing. Reflections. Mirrors. Images…"The song by Iron Butterfly 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' (a mondegreen for 'In The Garden Of Evil'), is memorably used in the climax, and reminds one of the thumping 'Goblin' scores employed by Argento, particularly in 'Deep Red' and 'Tenebre'.Argento has said he didn't like the film, disliking how the novel's ending was changed for the film. Argento's 'Opera' would incorporate the end of the novel 'Red Dragon.'

Plot In A Paragraph: Former FBI profiler Will Graham (William Prterson) returns to service to pursue a deranged serial murderer named "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.Giving much bigger roles to William Peterson and Dennis Farina, both actors he had used in his first movie Thief, Mann is back on more familiar and solid ground following his misstep with The Keep. Hands down Manhunter is my favourite movie featuring the character Hannibal Lector. I actually rented this movie on video the same day I rented Twins. I'm not too sure if there was a delayed release or if the video case was just placed back in the wrong place but I didn't see it years later. This is a brilliantly directed, excellently acted, intense movie that sucks you in and drags you along with it. As with Thief, we get a nice Beach shots, with lots of shots of the ocean early on as we see Graham enjoying his retirement. Similar to how Caan was shown enjoying his life after his supposed last job in Thief. Once again we get another other great score too. Mann sure does know how to pick his composers. As for Petersen, he stars in two of my favourite mid 80's movies, this and To Live & Die In LA, yet other than those, Young Guns 2 and a remake of 12 Angry Men I down recall seeing him in anything agin till the CSI shows. I'm surprised as he is handsome, in good shape and he could act.With an $8 million domestic gross Manhunter finished the year the 76th highest grossing movie of 1986.