Manhunter (1986)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel)
Michael Mann (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

(reissue) Hannibal Lecter's legacy of evil begins here.

Plot:

An FBI specialist tracks a serial killer who appears to select his victims at random. |

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | FBI | Florida | Police Station | Reference To Houdini

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 30

1:00 PM

SHOW

Cast

William Petersen	...	Will Graham
Kim Greist	...	Molly Graham
Joan Allen	...	Reba McClane
Brian Cox	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
Dennis Farina	...	Jack Crawford
Tom Noonan	...	Francis Dollarhyde
Stephen Lang	...	Freddy Lounds
David Seaman	...	Kevin Graham
Benjamin Hendrickson	...	Dr. Frederick Chilton
Michael Talbott	...	Geehan
Dan Butler	...	Jimmy Price (as Dan E. Butler)
Michele Shay	...	Beverly Katz
Robin Moseley	...	Sarah
Paul Perri	...	Dr. Sidney Bloom
Patricia Charbonneau	...	Mrs. Sherman

Also Known As:

Red Dragon (USA) (original script title)
Red Dragon: The Curse of Hannibal Lecter (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

119 min | USA:124 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (re-rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) (original rating) | France:-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

Tom Noonan (Dollarhyde) spent many hours in make-up so that artists could paint fake tattoos on his back and torso modeled after William Blake's "Great Red Dragon" paintings. Though Noonan appeared with the tattoos in publicity photographs (available in a Special Edition DVD), director Michael Mann concluded that the tattoos were too "over the top," and discarded the idea.

Goofs:

Continuity: A cigarette appears in Graham's mouth while on the street with Crawford.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Crawford: We should have talked at the boatyard. You don't wanna talk about it here.
Will Graham: I'm not fallin' all over myself to talk about much anywhere, Jack.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2006-07-16)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Leed's House

A personal fave!

Sure, it kind of looks like a long MIAMI VICE episode, but once you get past that, you'll find one of the most involving thrillers of the last 20 years. William Petersen is excellent as Will Graham. My favorite device is how Will starts out his profile addressing the killer in the third person ("The house must have felt cool to him"), then moves to the second ("You stood here and watched them"), but it's only when he lets himself move to the first person ("I enter the house") that the solution becomes clear. It's a journey that he doesn't want to make, but he knows it's the only way to find this guy before he kills again. Brian Cox is excellent as Lecter (you have to love the phone trick); it's too bad he wasn't brought on for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Might have sent his career into overdrive. The best sequence is the analysis of the Tooth Fairy's letter to Lecter at the lab. See if you can spot all the present-day TV stars! I count 3: the dad from LIFE GOES ON and Bletcher from the late lamented MILLENNIUM; Bulldog from FRASIER; and Chris Elliott, who now voices Dogbert on the DILBERT animated series!