IMDb > Red Dragon (2002)
Red Dragon
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Red Dragon (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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Red Dragon (2002) -- A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer; aiding him is imprisoned criminal genius Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
Red Dragon (2002) -- Francis visits the museum where the original Red Dragon painting by William Blake is being kept.
Red Dragon (2002) -- A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer; aiding him is imprisoned criminal genius Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
Red Dragon (2002) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   61,628 votes
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Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Thomas Harris (novel)
Ted Tally (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Red Dragon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 October 2002 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Meet Hannibal Lecter For The First Time more
Plot:
A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer; aiding him is imprisoned criminal genius Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
3 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(81 articles)
Anthony Hopkins turns 72
 (From Hindustan Times - Cinema. 30 December 2009, 4:39 AM, PST)

Tom Waits to star in The Hobbit?
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 8 December 2009, 3:21 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
Great prequel. more (708 total)

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Roter Drache (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, grisly images, language, some nudity and sexuality.
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When asked to reprise his role of the film, Anthony Heald wasn't sure if he'd be able to. 'Tim Roth' became a candidate for a younger Dr. Chilton and negotiations began. At the last second, Heald became available. Interestingly enough, Roth was also considered as a possible replacement for Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal (2001), had Hopkins declined. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After the shoot out in the bedroom, as he lies shot on the floor, Will Graham tells his wife to shoot Dolarhyde. She looks up to see Dolarhyde trying to get up and picks up the gun on the bedroom floor, which would have been the one her husband had used, and shoots him. As she slumps to the floor we see a shot of Will Graham, seemingly unconscious, and he still has the gun in his hand. more
Quotes:
[Freddy Lounds is shown graphic pictures of Dolarhyde's murder victims]
Freddy Lounds: Please no.
Francis Dolarhyde: No? No what?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Dead by Dawn (2004) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Ready Eddy more

FAQ

What are s'mores?
How does the movie end?
To what does the title "Red Dragon" refer?
more
19 out of 19 people found the following review useful.
Great prequel., 12 July 2006
7/10
Author: theshadow908 from London, Ontario

Red Dragon takes place just before the events of The Silence of the Lambs. In this movie, a deranged serial killer is killing entire families every month on the night of the full moon. Jack Crawford of the FBI calls in retired agent Will Graham to help catch the killer. Graham left the FBI after being critically wounded while capturing the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter. Now, Graham must interview Hannibal, to see if he can shed any knowledge on the case. Meanwhile, the killer struggles with himself when he begins to fall in love with a fellow employee. This movie is closer to Silence of the Lambs than Hannibal in quality and style, and therefore is more entertaining.

This movie is basically a reworking of the film Manhunter, except with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal, so it connects better with the others. This movie sticks closer to the book than Manhunter did, which will please fans, except that it ads way more Hannibal Lecter interview scenes than were in the book, most likely to bank on Anthony Hopkins' name. The movie has the same suspenseful style as Silence of the Lambs, making up for the fact that Hannibal hardly had any suspense at all. The dialogue and overall fast paced style of the movie made it really worth watching, and if this movie had been released a year before Silence rather than a year after Hannibal, they would be great together. The characters are great and engaging. They seem more realistic than they were in Manhunter. I'm glad this movie managed to be far more successful than Manhunter, because I don't think I could deal with two bad Red Dragon adaptations.

The acting is superb. I was kind of annoyed with Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, because he played the role way too differently than the way he played it in Silence. Now, in this movie, he gets back to basics. Edward Norton is great as Will Graham. The role of the Red Dragon/Francis Dolarhyde was made for Ralph Fiennes. He takes the role and makes it his own. Whenever I think Ralph Fiennes now, I think Red Dragon.

Overall, this is an awesome psychological thriller, and any fan of Silence of the Lambs should definitely see this movie.

7/10

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Red Dragon (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
The biggest (though unavoidable) problem with Red Dragon FleetStreetFilms-1
Question about remark in the movie rsd201
Does Philip Seymour Hoffman die? pjbrubak
Blind Girl jonathan_cymru
How did Graham know what the psycho's mother said to him? teal123
How did Lecter publish his message? grapesofbutcher
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