Hannibal (2001)

Living in exile, Dr. Hannibal Lecter tries to reconnect with now disgraced F.B.I. Agent Clarice Starling, and finds himself a target for revenge from a powerful victim.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel), David Mamet (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman

8 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Hannibal Lecter
Julianne Moore	...	Clarice Starling
Gary Oldman	...	Mason Verger
Ray Liotta	...	Paul Krendler
Frankie Faison	...	Nurse Barney (as Frankie R. Faison)
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Insp. Rinaldo Pazzi
Francesca Neri	...	Allegra Pazzi
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Dr. Cordell Doemling
Hazelle Goodman	...	Evelda Drumgo
David Andrews	...	FBI Agent Pearsall
Francis Guinan	...	FBI Asst. Director Noonan
James Opher	...	DEA Agent John Eldridge
Enrico Lo Verso	...	Gnocco
Ivano Marescotti	...	Carlo
Fabrizio Gifuni	...	Matteo

Storyline

The final chapter of the Dr. Hannibal Lecter quadrilogy, the murdering cannibal. He is presently in Italy, and works as a curator at a museum. Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore), the F.B.I. Agent who he aided to apprehend a serial killer, was placed in charge of an operation, but when one of her men botches it, she's called to the mat by the Bureau. One high ranking official, Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta) has it in for her. But she gets a reprieve because Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), one of Lecter's victims who is looking to get back at Lecter for what Lecter did to him, wants to use Starling to lure him out. When Lecter sends her a note, she learns that he's in Italy, so she asks the Police to keep an eye out for him. But a corrupt Policeman, who wants to get the reward that Verger placed on him, tells Verger where he is, but they fail to get him. Later, Verger decides to frame Starling, which makes Lecter return to the U.S., and the race to get Lecter begins.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | fbi | hannibal lecter | revenge | florence italy | 

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Taglines:

The silence will be broken.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong gruesome violence, some nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States] MGMawards.com reviews [United States]

Country:

USA UK Italy

Language:

English Italian Japanese

Release Date:

9 February 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Silence of the Lambs 2

Filming Locations:

Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$87,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$58,003,121, 11 February 2001

Gross USA:

$165,092,268

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$351,692,268

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer and director Ridley Scott read the 560-page novel in three sittings. He compared adapting it to a jigsaw puzzle.

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Goofs

When Clarice is getting interviewed by the board, and Krendler is first introduced, they pan to a shot of the floor and you can clearly see the actor's mark, which a man later steps into.

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Quotes

Hannibal Lecter: I came halfway around the world to watch you run, Clarice. Let me run, eh?

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, we hear Lecter say "Ta ta, H.", the closing line of the post-script in his letter to Clarice.

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Alternate Versions

Among scenes removed from the final cut that may show up in the television version is a time filler in which Lecter picks up Krendler's dog and talks to it while going over flower arrangements for his party.

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Connections

Featured in 1st Viewing: Hannibal (2019)

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Soundtracks

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT
Written by Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz

User Reviews

Doesn't come close to the quality of the original, but Anthony Hopkins's performance saves the movie. *** (out of four)

HANNIBAL / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

Some movies are born to inspire sequels but "The Silence of The Lambs" is a movie that does not need a sequel. The Academy Award winning thriller earned ubiquitous critical acclaim, therefore a continuation is nearly incapable of living up to its standards. To make things worse for the highly anticipated sequel "Hannibal," the original film's director and main star bailed out, leaving Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and Julianne Moore ("Magnolia") filling their places in the credits. It is hard to imagine how this movie could possibly succeed. But the exceptionally beautiful filmmaking, strong performances, intriguing story, and moody atmosphere provoke more nail-biting moments than most thrillers these days.

The story of "Hannibal" does not compare with "The Silence of the Lambs." It replaces tension-filled sequences of psychological terror with scenes featuring some of the most grotesque images and realistic gore to ever make its mark on the big screen. This film relies heavily on the shock factor of such extreme graphic violence, although such content is never excessive or relentless. It has perfect timing. The sheer presence of Anthony Hopkins, in another horrific and career defining performance, often creates enough terror for several movies. "Hannibal" knows that and frequently gives the character more freedom than he had in he first film. But I am not so sure that is a good thing; is it more terrifying listening to Hannibal Lecter discuss his disgusting actions or to actually see him perform such disturbing behaviors?

The film takes place ten years after FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster then, Julianne Moore now) interviewed convicted mass murdering cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) while searching for another disturbed killer. Present day: Clarice is involved with a drug bust shoot-out that leaves many dead. Justice Dept. Official Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta), is about to punish her when she gets a call from a the unrecognizably deformed surviving victim of an attack by Lecter. His name is Mason Verge (Gary Oldman), a wealthy recluse who asks that Starling be placed back on the case of the Cannibal, who has been on the loose for ten years.

The movie investigates a lot more than Clarice's experiences with Hannibal Lecter. The script actually consists of two separate stories, one detailing the revenge scheme of Mason, whom is still angry with Lecter after he caused the removal of his face and partial paralysis. The other takes place in Italy, where an inspector named Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini) is out to claim a multimillion dollar reward for providing authorities with proper evidence leading to the arrest of a local, who turns out to be none other than Lecter himself. Obviously this man does not know what he is in for, and ends up losing his cuts for the money…literally.

Parallel stories are always interesting, but are easily sidetracked with certain characters and or events. What keeps this movie intriguing is the consistent focus on Lector; everything in the story seems to revolve around him. Then again, "Hannibal" is also quite pointless because it solves nothing. Without giving away the ending, I will say that we are once again left pondering about Lecter. Most any movie that provokes thoughts is worth seeing, but "Hannibal" forgets the first film, takes a stand on its own, and once again sets us up for another unnecessary follow-up.

The most apparent conflict many audiences with have with "Hannibal" is the absence of Jodie Foster. Julianne Moore is most definitely a capable and challenging actress, and plays the role of Starling with exuberance and clarity. But Foster is simply better in the role and we miss her dearly. Anthony Hopkins saves the movie; the actor is so intense and grisly in his subtle and classy manner, he once again qualifies as an award nominee. Thank goodness he returned for the role; without Hopkins, "Hannibal" would be nothing but underdone carnage.