Manhunter (1986)

Former F.B.I. profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer named "the Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan) by the media.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Thomas Harris (based on the book "Red Dragon" by), Michael Mann (screenplay by)

Stars:

William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Will Graham (William Petersen) is a former F.B.I. Agent who recently retired to Florida with his wife Molly (Kim Greist) and their young son, Kevin (David Seaman). Graham was a "profiler", one who profiles criminal's behavior and tries to put his mind into the minds of criminals to examine their thoughts while visiting crime scenes. Will is called out of his self-imposed retirement at the request of his former boss Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina) to help the F.B.I. catch an elusive serial killer, known to the press as the "Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan), who randomly kills whole families in their houses during nights of the full moon and leaves bite marks on his victims. To try to search for clues to get into the mind of the killer, Will has occasional meetings with Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox), a charismatic, but very dangerous imprisoned serial killer that Will captured years earlier which nearly drove him insane from the horrific encounter that nearly cost Will's life. With some help ...

---

Plot Keywords:

serial killer | hannibal lecter | neo noir | profiler | fbi agent | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although they share no scenes in the film, Joan Allen and Brian Cox would co-star together again 18 years later in The Bourne Supremacy (2004).

---

Goofs

When Graham and Crawford argue over the videotapes and The Tooth Fairy, you can first see the boom pole, then the boom mic itself, very clearly. This has been corrected on the DVD version.

---

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.

---

Alternate Versions

USA cable network Showtime ran a "Director's Cut" of Manhunter that contained a different version of the ending. It was also a different edit of the film, and ran three minutes longer.

---

Connections

Referenced in Chasing the Dragon: Academy Group Inc. (2004)

---

Soundtracks

FREEZE
Performed by Klaus Schulze
Courtesy of METRONOME MUSIC GMBH, WEST GERMANY
Written by Klaus Schulze
Published by P.O.E.M. MUSIKVERLAG

User Reviews

that hand running through the tiger's fur was clearly burned into my subconscious

Dull and mundane title for such a fine film. I had some problem with the third victim in that the discrepancies between that and meticulously worked out modus operandi of the killer from earlier atrocities seemed glaring, never mind where he was likely to be on this night of the full moon. But never mind, the film is scary, very worrying and stunningly designed and shot with a decent central performance from William Petersen. He seems laid back and almost carefree but this is inevitable alongside the frightening performances of his past and present nemesis. The former is holed up in a terrifyingly all white cell and the latter lurking largely and taunting freely. Even though I had reservations about the final scenes these are very well executed and though I remembered little from my video viewing many years ago, that hand running through the tiger's fur was clearly burned into my subconscious. Great!

Details

Official Sites:

-excerpt from this film -excerpt from this film

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Dragon: The Curse of Hannibal Lecter

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,204,400, 17 August 1986

Gross USA:

$8,620,929

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,620,929

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG), Red Dragon Productions S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 124 min (director's cut) 85 min (video)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1