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Overrated

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Sure, Silence of the Lambs is a great movie. But you're reading my words right now, so I want you to know that Manhunter is a way better movie. In fact, it's nearly a perfect film, one whose perfect union of light, color, tone and sound nearly moves me to tears.Dino De Laurentiis was involved in this, changing the title from Red Dragon, and being his usual hamfisted self, but Michael Mann was coming in hot from TV's Miami Vice (he'd previously directed Thief and The Keep before that show caught fire).William Petersen (who would go on to star in CSI) is phenomenal as Will Graham, a former FBI profiler who has to come out of retirement to help solve a murder. Working on his character with the Chicago and FBI Violent Crimes Units, he learned that profilers often had to compartmentalize their personal lives, because it was near impossible to turn off the things they'd seen. In fact, at the conclusion of the film, Petersen found it near impossible to shake the character.Tom Noonan (Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad) researched serial killers, but found himself sickened by what he learned. Instead, he tried to become a man who saw that he was doing good for his victims instead of harming them. He was doing it out of love. Improvising during his audition, he noticed that he was frightening one of the casting agents, so he pushed hard to frighten her even more. He claims that this is what secured the role for him. But the real star of the show is Michael Mann's eye and his work with director of photography Dante Spinotti. There are color tints throughout the film, ala Bava, with cool blue representing love and green with purple and magenta to denote the violent moments. Petersen has said that Mann wanted a visual aura for the film, so the story could work on an emotional level.Even the framing of the shots - watch how close Petersen is with other characters in the film, particularly how Dennis Farina (whose acting career began in Mann's Thief) nearly collapses before coming near him at the end of the film, where once they could sit side by side.Let's get into the story: Will Graham (Petersen) is a retired FBI profiler who had a mental breakdown after being attacked by the serial killer Dr. Hannical Lecktor (yes, that's the correct spelling and Brian Cox (Zodiac) is commanding in this role). His old boss Jack Crawford (Farina) needs him to come back and enter the mind of the Tooth Fairy (Noonan), a killer who preys on families. Graham and Crawford both promise his family - Molly (Kim Greist, C.H.U.D.) and Kevin - that he will only look at the evidence and not get involved.What follows is a cat and mouse game of trying to find the Tooth Fairy while Graham must return to confront the man who nearly cost him his life and sanity, Dr. Lecktor. Everything the police try backfires, including using a tabloid journalist to draw out the killer, which puts Graham's family in direct danger when Lecktor gives the killer their home address.There's a great scene here where Graham and his son shop. In what would be a throw away scene in any other film, the true humanity of Mann's work, in contrast to his meticulous editing and color theory, shine through. You can tell that Kevin has been forced to grow up and become the man of the house while his father was destroyed by Lecktor. And now, his father has to prove that he can protect his family again.Meanwhile, the Tooth Fairy has found love with Reba (Joan Allen, Room), a blind co-worker. She cannot see his hairlip. She isn't aware that he's watching his victims while they enjoy a romantic dinner. His love for her and her acceptance has suppressed his bloodlust. Yet just as Graham's profile discovers just how important that acceptance is, he sees her go home with another employee. It's simply a ride home, but the killer goes wild, killing the man and abducting Reba. She calls him by his name and he replies, "Frances is gone. Forever."What follows is my favorite scene in the film, where we visually see how Graham's mind works, as he figures out the connection between the murders where families were killed and their eyes replaced with mirrors. He figures out that all of the films came from the same lab. As he looks out the window, sure that he is right and ready to be confirmed, even when the lab says they have different labels, he confidently looks out the window and asks them to peel the label back. His hand against the window, the moon bright, he is proved correct and the chase is on.As they determine the Tooth Fairy's identity on the plane, leaving police cars barely enough time to meet them as they land, you know that Graham will not wait for backup. He is back, in his element, no longer a beaten man. As they make their way to the Kansas City riverfront (a bravurra scene with a house that was made just for the film), Graham and Crawford race through the woods as teh Tooth Fairy begins shotgunning cops.During the final encounter, Mann shot multiple speeds, so that cameras were recording the same scene at 24, 36, 72 and 90 frames per second. This gives the shootout a feel that Spinotti said was off tempo and staccato. I found it disconcerting, the violence, not Hollywood glamour but messy real life.Even more intriguing is that the climax was shot after principal photography and when the union crew had run out of hours. There wasn't even an effects crew on hand, so the skeleton crew that remained blew ketchup across the set through hoses to simulate blood spray. The home of the Tooth Fairy is an otherworldly place, blasting Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Via," lunar landscapes blocking rooms, before Graham busts through the window, breaking the Tooth Fairy's carefully created world. Despite this act of heroism, the killer simply drops him to the floor and continues killing cops. yet Graham rises and defeats the man and confronts his victim. When he asks him who he is, he replies, "Graham. Will Graham." He has left the other demons in his mind behind. He is himself again, ready to leave this world behind and return to his family.So how is this film a giallo? Simple. Where it has no connection to the fashion and female protagonist that are hallmarks of the genre, the color choices, driven hero and psychosexual motives of the killer are pure giallo. So is the devotion to symetry in the shots, echoing the work of Argento. However, this is a film stripped of the camp that is at the heart of so much giallo. Yet there it is, inside the DNA of this film.

A killer, dubbed the 'Tooth Fairy' by the police has murdered two apparently unconnected families; one on Atlanta, the other in Birmingham, Alabama. He strikes each month on the night of the full moon so the race is on to catch him. With no other leads the FBI call in Will Graham, a former profiler, who retired after a particularly traumatic, high-profile case. In order to get his mind back in the game he goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lecktor, the infamous killer he put behind bars. This meeting gets reported in the gutter press and ultimately puts his family in danger. As he reviews the crime scenes Will starts to get into the head of the killer; working out how he operates and ultimately how he selects the families he intends to kill.This is a gripping thriller with Nietzschean undertones. Will Graham is an interesting central character; a man who as looked into the abyss before and felt it looking back and now he is being asked to do it again. We don't see the killer until a scene where he is clearly identified; this isn't about the viewer figuring out who did it ahead of the detective it is about seeing how the detective closes in on the killer. Director Michael Mann keeps everything very stylish; not surprising that he'd previously given us the TV series 'Miami Vice'; the epitome of '80s cool. William Petersen does a really fine job as Will Graham; an interesting character with a history. Brian Cox may only have a small part as Dr Lecktor but he manages to be menacing in a subtle manner. Tom Noonan is suitably menacing as the killer, especially in the scenes where he takes a blind colleague on a date and later gets jealous when he sees her talking to another man. The supporting cast is pretty solid too. Given the subject matter there could be plenty of disturbing content; thankfully it is more restrained and apart from a brief shot of crime scene photographs and blood stains in a house there is little in the way of disturbing material; it is described but not shown. Overall this is a really solid thriller that I'd certainly recommend.

"Manhunter" is an American crime thriller from 1986, so this one had its 30th anniversary last year. The director is Oscar nominee Michael Mann and he is also the one who adapted Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon" for the screen here. And if you hear that title, you maybe already realize that this film takes place in the universe of Hannibal Lecter. Actually, it is the very first film about this subject, even if not too many remember it today anymore. This certainly also has to do with all the awards and critics recognition for "Silence of the Lambs" that came out 5 years later roughly. But this one here also features a solid cast like William Petersen as the lead actor who is very much known for CSI today or Joan Allen, who has several Oscar nominations or Stephen Lang from "Avatar" or the late Dennis Farina and Americans will perhaps recognize some other names too. This is a relatively long movie at slightly under two hours and this is also one of the main problems here because I felt that it dragged quite a bit, especially in the second half. The film frequently looks like a typical one-man bad-ass routine movie from the 1980s filled with macho moments and stuff like that. But Petersen may not have been the right choice for that. He certainly is no Charles Bronson and his screaming into the open as if his enemy was there also felt a little pathetic at times.Story-wise, the film also did not do too much I guess. The Lecter moments with the criminal mastermind in his cell were probably still among the better, but the general crime story did not work out too well I must say. This is a bit disappointing as the main antagonist had solid moments when he was getting screen time. But he does not get far from enough. Instead it is all about Petersen's character, but he is no Jodie Foster either. I am a bit surprised to see the strong reviews, rating and reception for this one here as I found it utterly bland and uninspired for the most part. The final shooting wasn't bad, but it's certainly not worth sitting through 90 minutes of mediocrity (at best) for that. Maybe it is worth checking out for the very biggest fans of everything Lecter-related, but everybody else can very much skip it. Mann is a filmmaker where I have not seen too much yet, but want to, but I must admit this film here did not get me curious about his body of work at all. It was also a letdown from the atmospheric side. Watch something else instead.

My first stint with Michael Mann's filmography is off to a good start as Manhunter turned out to be a stylishly directed, ingeniously photographed & finely performed thriller that combines the visual aesthetics of its filmmaker & psychological madness of its source material into one riveting cinema and, despite a few shortcomings, achieves what it set out to do.Manhunter tells the story of Will Graham, a retired FBI agent who's called back into service by his former boss, Jack Crawford, to assist him in determining the psychological profile of a serial killer, nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy", who has already murdered two random families on full-moon nights. Hoping to apprehend him before his next endeavour, Will enlists the help of someone who almost drove him insane.Written & directed by Michael Mann, it's difficult to not be impressed by the framing & composition of shots that's on display here as Mann experiments with different colour tints & lighting to evoke the desired response from the viewers, and allows the images to set the tone for any particular scene. Cinematography is no doubt its biggest highlight, as the stylish application of visual components play a key role in enhancing the overall experience.Coming to the performances, the cast comprises of William Peterson, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, Stephen Lang & Tom Noonan, and all of them chip in with fine inputs. Peterson is brilliant as Will Graham for the most part but there are instances when he gets a tad too excited. Allen & Farina play their part convincingly. Noonan does fine as the antagonist but fails to bring an intimidating vibe to his role while Cox as Hannibal "Lecktor" is okay at best.On an overall scale, Manhunter is a perfectly good example of its genre(s) but the level of precision craftsmanship evident in its extravagant camera-work is rather missing in the storytelling section. A number of fine actors are wasted in their roles, the climax is somewhat underwhelming, and although the background score is fitting, the incorporated songs are just not compatible with the moments they tag along with. Nevertheless, the positives do outweigh the negatives, making Manhunter a worthy adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon.