Manhunter (1986)
FBI Agent Will Graham (Petersen) has captured the diabolical Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Cox), nearly losing more than just his mind in the process. But when Graham is called out of retirement to hunt the psychopath known as "The Tooth Fairy" (Noonan) he must once again confront the horrors of "Hannibal The Cannibal". If Will Graham enters the mind of the serial killer, can he ever come back? (Anchor Bay Entertainment)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Michael Mann
Written By: Michael Mann, Thomas Harris
Starring: Brian Cox, Stephen Lang, Frankie Faison, Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan, Marshall Bell, Joan Allen, Bill Smitrovich, Chris Elliott, William Petersen, Kim Greist, David Seaman
Genres: Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Horror, Mystery
Franchise: Hannibal Lecter
Country: USA
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Manhunter belongs to 44 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 234 stars)
2. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
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4. Based on a Book (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 21 stars)
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6. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)
7. Serial Killer (collaborative: moderated by td888 - 14 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 6 |  |
Kojiless | 74 79th |
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Talk about less-than-subtle product placement. During the scene where Graham takes his son shopping, I had the urge to buy all sorts of 80s staples such as Life cereal, Jell-o, Folger's coffee, Quaker Dipps, Fruit & Fiber, Super Golden Crisp, Apple Jacks, Honey Smacks, Nestle's Morsels, Crispy Wheat & Raisins, Total, Carnation skim milk, and Del Monte pineapple chunks. The best part is that during the scene, they magically warp to a different part of the store in order to plug more tasty treats!
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| 5 | Dustyd | 85 94th |
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A bit dated, with a few bad supporting roles, but this is still a hell of a thriller.
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| 4 |  |
Shmendrek | 4 83rd |
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I honestly think it's better than Silence of the Lambs in some respects, although Silence is a more complete work. It certainly blows away Red Dragon in terms of its handling of the subject matter.
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| 4 |  |
Paxton | 82 90th |
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One decade after "Is it safe?" came "Do you see?"
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| 3 |  |
BillyShears | 95 96th |
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Folgers commercial out of nowhere. "Say dad what's that coffee that gives the FBI ..."
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| 3 |  |
spleen | 82 77th |
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Ladies, if you're not quite sure, just for the sake of argument, assume that Tom Noonan will kill you and William Peterson will be the most self-absorbed lunch date ever.
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| 3 |  |
Bunken | 70 71st |
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A lost gem... The synthesizer of the 80's oozes of psycopathic killer in Mann's take on the Red Dragon novel. Mann is an artist!
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| 2 |  |
twincinema | 85 85th |
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There is a subplot with a blind woman that feels like a weird digression until it reveals itself to be crucial to the film. But, man, there was, like, 15 minutes there where I was thinking, "why is this a part of the film?" Actually, I was saying it out loud, too.
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| 2 |  |
caiman | 83 72nd |
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Let this film stand on its own, and it's quite good. Noonan's character is absolutely chilling. Cox also does an admirable job, despite his limited screen time. He gives Lector a very realistic feel. The move does feel a bit dated, mostly due to the music, but the direction is superb; there are some striking shot compositions that help add weight and dimension to the events and to the characters. A sold film that should not be overlooked.
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| 2 |  |
nilkynarfy | 50 34th |
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Better than Red Dragon, but so are lots of movies.
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| 2 |  |
TonythePony | 76 68th |
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Synthesises the book quite well, maintaining the focus on investigator as he plumbs the killers mind. Petersen's solid as an energetic Graham, conveying his intensity between monologues. Noonan should have made "The Dragon" more distinct and menacing, but otherwise was good. Lecter is suitably minor, but effective. The low-key tone works and the pacing keeps things interesting, though they really copped out on the ending. Btw 80's music sucks. Oh, one more thing... FUCK 80's MUSIC!
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| 2 |  |
CosmicMonkey | 80 68th |
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This is the most 80s movie I've ever seen. Perms! Pastels! Glass Bricks! A brooding synth score! A sharply angular mise en scene! Short shorts! Moustaches! VHS tapes! More pastels! Mann takes a fairly mediocre by-the-numbers procedural and through an abundance of stylistic flourishes elevates it into both a thoughtful art film and a cinematic time capsule. Far superior to its remake Red Dragon, and possibly even better than Silence of the Lambs, even if Noonan can't hold a candle to Hopkins.
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| 2 |  |
Sweekoden | 50 34th |
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First Mann movie I've seen. Doesn't seem like he's particularly adept at this film-making thing. Poorly edited, inconsistent in its music choices, and even combines both flaws by showing incompetence in determining when to start the music and when to fade it out. Ultimately butchers the novel by paying lip service to some of its elements in such a throwaway manner that omitting them would've been the more merciful choice. Fine if unspectacular crime drama until the poorly-done dud ending.
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| 2 |  |
guy piranha | 70 69th |
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I give this the "80s-bonus". Movies back then have this omnipresent trash factor when watched today. This is in huge part due to bad fonts, synthesizers and extremely clichéd pop-music. Combined with Mann's brooding character shots, the images created are often unintentionally comical. Petersen monologuing stuff like "yeah, now I will get you!" isn't helping. But those were the 80s, an era so weird and flashy, it was near impossible to make the dark, disturbing thrillers we are used to now.
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| 2 |  |
Gnalkhere | 70 46th |
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Like a shit pilot that was properly rebooted years after. Also, Synth Hannibal
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| 1 |  |
doctor7 | 81 74th |
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Enjoyable thriller that is a dated in a few areas. The clothing and some of the soundtrack but the majority of it still holds up well. While it's not Mann's best work it's certainly worth seeing if you're a fan. I'm not quite sure if comparing Brian Cox to Anthony Hopkins is fair due to the latter having a lot more screen time than the former to build up a character. Cox does do a lot with the amount of screen time he has however.
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| 1 |  |
Pickpocket | 8 82nd |
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Looks shitty compared to Silence of the Lambs but actually a decent film. Love how they went all 80's at the end, hilarious.
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| 1 | lonercm | 75 35th |
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Too deeply flawed to be the masterpiece some would have you believe - most of the dialog is dated and badly written, and the direction, while stylish is off - the whole climax is so shoddy and ineptly directed (despite the memorable use of music) that I can't believe Mann was actually directing. Still, Petersen, Cox, Noonan and Farina are all suitably intense in thier respective roles.
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| 1 |  |
ozymandius10 | 78 69th |
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The soundtrack is terrible, some of the cuts are abrupt and awkward, and the ending wraps up far too quickly. Other than those few gripes, I really enjoyed it. Peterson, Farina, Cox, and Noonan are all great. The Dollarhyde character is unbelievably creepy. Very effective stuff.
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| 1 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
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80s as fuck, right down to the closing song, but behind the flamboyant style is a compelling tale of obsession and duality. It also works as a very interesting meta-commentary on filmmaking, with its repeated motifs of eyes and mirrors, and the desire of both Graham and the "Tooth Fairy" to be in control. (Not to mention the explicit homage to Peeping Tom.) What's most surprising is to what extent Dolarhyde is humanized, particularly in that great "Strong As I Am" scene. Great movie.
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| 1 |  |
Tripwyre | 79 75th |
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The overlooked origin of Hannibal Lecter. Mann's film focuses more on Agent Will Graham than the remake -- by the time 2004 rolled around, Lambs had made Lecter a star, while Will Graham was just a character. Otherwise the films are very similar, sharing much of the same dialog. This one rings truer, however. Petersen shines as a man tortured by his gift, and Brian Cox is quite good as Lecter -- the movie just gives him little to do. Mann is king of syncing film with soundtrack.
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| 1 |  |
Mentaculus | 73 59th |
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Mann's visual delivery is somehow arresting at the time, but easily forgotten afterward - probably because it rarely serves the story. The best moment is the Peeping-Tom-esque opening, followed by a brilliant dreamscape montage at the midpoint. The film's faults lie in a badly dated soundtrack and the Red Dragon himself, who is unfortunately less menacing than Cox.
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| 1 |  |
aarona1c | 90 81st |
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Better than any of the Hopkins "Hannibal" movies except for Silence of the Lambs.
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| 1 |  |
Jeb | 80 64th |
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Underrated and very good. How this was not a huge success is beyond me. Still not as good as Lambs though
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| 1 |  |
chemical404 | 67 75th |
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If you ever wondered how Silence of The Lambs would have looked if it was made in the 80's, just watch this film and you'll find out. It also could be used to show filmmakers why generally it is not a good idea to use pop songs in the film, if you want it to be taken seriously after 20 years. All that said, it's very enjoyable and entertaining (and cheesy) thriller.
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| 1 |  |
begoniabol | 70 60th |
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Has some really good shots and directing, however the story never gets super thrilling and that ending is just shit.
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| 1 |  |
astrakhan | 82 85th |
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An impressive and under-appreciated entry in the Lecter series. While the plot is all rather formulaic and linear, it's a combination of the moody intensity of the atmosphere, and the psychological places it goes with its character, that make it stand out. Mann pulls off a brilliant piece of auteur cinema, using editing and sound mixing to make many ordinary scenes of a detective puzzling over clues into a captivating exercise in style. Will Petersen brought all the right qualities to his role.
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| 1 |  |
JacoIII | 40 54th |
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80s music tarnishes this otherwise great film. Noonan plays the "Tooth Fairy" with the measured creepiness the character demands. It may not be as flashy as Hannibal in "Silence of the Lambs" but the performance's strength is in it's understatement. I was taken aback by it's effectiveness.
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| 1 |  |
Noblet | 79 67th |
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It's a great story with some damn good (if not subtle) use of color. I liked Noonan and Cox in their roles, but Petersen as Graham was pretty hit or miss. There are some scenes where he perfectly brings out the intensity and disturbed nature of Graham, and other scenes where he just blurts out something really stupid. That and the awful 80s music kinda prevented me from really loving this film. However, it's still really good.
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| 1 |  |
closedmouth | 60 20th |
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Mann's direction is mostly good, but the '80s cheese is almost overwhelming. The music is distractingly awful, the ending ludicrous and Petersen's performance verging on comical (that scene in the tree where he starts yelling at nobody, ugh). The remake is no masterpiece, but at least it doesn't have a power ballad playing over Francis Dolarhyde having sex. Really disappointing.
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| 1 | damil | 30 7th |
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There are people out there who like this? The direction is very poor. The score and soundtrack are horrendous and inappropriate, which you could just attribute to being made in the '80s, but even the editing of them is abysmal. Also, all the performances are terrible. I was honestly ready to just disregard the whole thing as some bland '80s film and mediocre adaptation until that ending. They completely screwed it up. Goddamn, that infuriated me. I do not recommend this at all.
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| 1 |  |
DesertPunk | 88 94th |
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Lovely, lovely, lovely. Manhunter combines two of my favorite things in movies: Moody serial killer dramas and surreal 1980's neon hellscapes. Totally a see-it-to-believe-it sorta thing, but you're going to get to experience some awesome direction while you're at it.
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| 1 |  |
VengefulKBM | 85 85th |
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The eighties cheese is awesome, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Rockin soundtrack notwithstanding, though, this is actually a terrific thriller, as long as you can muscle through the too-long, kind of dull setup for the first half hour or so. Tom Noonan is utterly terrifying, and his scenes with Joan Allen are masterful. Cox is also a great Lecter, despite Anthony Hopkins' legacy and the character's very limited screen time - he still manages to cast a shadow over the proceedings.
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| 1 |  |
karamazov. | 17 18th |
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Superficially artsty-fartsty but grossly conventional psycho-thriller, with very high production value and hilariously awful acting by the lead. Visuals were consistently even better than "Thief," but there was more boring shit to make up for. Mann's economical, but he's not quite Bresson, is he?
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| 1 |  |
JSchlansky | 83 83rd |
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First rewatch since reading the Red Dragon novel. Mann really nails the procedural and technical aspects of the book, and every actor is a great fit for their part. Brian Cox doesn't get as much love as Hopkins but he's a great movie Hannibal, albeit far less showy. I actually dislike the big shootout at the end (and flat out hate how it's edited), which feels weird to say about a Michael Mann film. I want more thrillers where the FBI guy refers to the fucked up serial killer as "my man".
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| 1 |  |
Groovy_Souls | 80 73rd |
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Overall, I feel that this movie contains generally better acting than 2002's Red Dragon, minus Hannibal Lector who is barely featured. The lack of the best character is definitely interesting. With that however, the story and pacing are great, and the soundtrack is dated, yet kind of nice. Pretty Great movie.
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| 1 |  |
Yoshinaruto | 50 24th |
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Personally, it’s my least favorite of the Hannibal franchise (haven’t seen Rising), but it’s not bad. Really liked Petersen as Graham, wasn’t sold on Cox as Hannibal. Although that was more an issue of casting rather than acting. The score felt really out of place for me at times, and the pacing varies throughout the movie. I can see some liking it more than Red Dragon, although I preferred the latter.
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| 1 |  |
JonnyHalftab | 86 61st |
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What was up with the editing during the climax? I actually really liked Petersen here. He looks like a mix between H3H3 and... Jude Law? Michael Cera?
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| Average Percentile 61.01% from 1929 Ratings |  |