Red Dragon (2002)

A retired F.B.I. Agent with psychological gifts, is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him, is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Edward Norton	...	Will Graham
Ralph Fiennes	...	Francis Dolarhyde
Harvey Keitel	...	Jack Crawford
Emily Watson	...	Reba McClane
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Molly Graham
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Freddy Lounds
Anthony Heald	...	Dr. Frederick Chilton
Ken Leung	...	Lloyd Bowman
Frankie Faison	...	Barney Matthews
Tyler Patrick Jones	...	Josh Graham
Lalo Schifrin	...	Conductor
Tim Wheater	...	Flautist
John Rubinstein	...	Dinner Guest
David Doty	...	Dinner Guest

Storyline

3 Years after retiring from the FBI because of a near-fatal encounter with Hannibal Lecter, who was helping him catch the "Chesapeake Ripper", only to reveal it was Hannibal himself, Will Graham is asked by his ex-partner Jack Crawford to come solve one last case - 2 slaughtered families every full moon. They have 3 weeks until the next full moon to find the madman, but an innocent blind woman has found him first... Will Graham must risk his family's security and his own safety to track down this one last murderer - the epitome of all evil - The Red Dragon.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi agent | madman | male bare butt | male full frontal nudity | male rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

To understand the origin of evil, you must go back to the beginning.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, grisly images, language, some nudity and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official page [Spain] UIP [Germany]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dragón rojo

Filming Locations:

4160 Country Club Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$78,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,540,945, 6 October 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$93,149,898

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$209,196,298

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Edward Norton says he took every penny from what he made on this film to finance his other film, 25th Hour (2002).

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Goofs

Actor Ralph Fiennes speaks with an impaired speech, mentioned as due to his character's Cleft Palette repair, but when we hear "flashbacks" to his childhood through voice over, the child voice actor portraying his character's younger self speaks without impediment.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hannibal Lecter: Think to yourself that every day is your last. The hour to which you do not look forward will come as a welcome surprise. As for me, when you want a good laugh, you will find me in fine state, fat and sleek, a true hog of Epicurus's herd.

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to the village of Islamorada, Florada

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Toy Story 3/Cyrus/Jonah Hex (2010)

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Soundtracks

Ready Eddy
Written by Barney Bigard
Performed by Barney Bigard and His Orchestra
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label, a unit of BMG Music
Under license from BMG Special Products

User Reviews

Excellent film, also an excellent adaption of the book.

Well I finally saw Red Dragon, and having the book be one of the best I've ever read, I was wary of seeing it. I never really cared for Manhunter, but boy did I get a surprise with this version, a version that actually cared enough about the original work to call it by that name, obviously Red Dragon. I also thought that they would change it around to put more of everybody's favorite cannibal in, which they really didn't. So he's in the beginning more, but that was what basically happened in flashback in the book, they only drew it out more in the movie. And the other scenes with Hannibal that were added helped to cover all the ground they needed to do with the story, and they worked perfectly. Let me explain.

Who woulda thunk it that Ed Norton would be the perfect fit for Will Graham? I didn't, but he was. I think he's such an incredible actor, and he more than proves it here, bringing the character to a great and realistic life. Of course we need not say anything about Anthony Hopkins, who is more than the brillant fit for Hannibal Lector. But Ralph Fiennes as Dolarhyde? I thought that was a really bad choice-- I was proved wrong there again. He gives such a performance as the Tooth Fairy that I now believe he was perfect, and did perfect in, for the part. Emily Watson as Reba was also incredible, as was all the other supporters. The actual shots of the movie were incredible, and along with the rather brillaint script it worked perfectly. Of course some things were changed, but little things, and not much. And not a single changed thing took away from the original story, I am astounded at how good an adaption this turned out to be. (And I usually am very unforgiving with film versions of great books).

In conclusion, Red Dragon is a great film. Brilliant performances and an excellent adaption of a screenplay play out perfectly in this incredible film. Did the novel it's very deserved justice in my opinion. And the ending, the final part, of course it wasn't in the book, but that was incredible! Loved what they did there!