Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9786305972570
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, THX, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 6305972575
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Region Code: 1
Release Date: January 30, 2001
Running Time: 119 minutes
Sales Rank: 20222
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: August 15, 1986
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
Though it will always be remembered as the movie featuring the 'other' Hannibal Lecter, Michael Mann's 1986 thriller Manhunter is nearly as good as The Silence of the Lambs, and in some respects it's arguably even better. Based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon, which introduced the world to the nefarious killer Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter, the film stars William Petersen (giving a suitably brooding performance) as ex-FBI agent Will Graham, who is coaxed out of semiretirement to track down a serial killer who has thwarted the authorities at every turn.
Graham's approach to the case is a perilous one. First he seeks counsel with Lecter (Brian Cox) in the latter's high-security prison cell--an encounter that is utterly horrifying in its psychological effect--and then he begins to mold his own psyche to that of the killer, with potentially devastating results. As directed by Mann (who was at the acme of his success with TV's Miami Vice), this sophisticated cat-and-mouse game never resorts to the compromise of cheap thrills. Predating Anthony Hopkins's portrayal of Lecter by four years, Cox plays the character closer to Harris's original, lower-key conception, and he's no less compelling in the role. Petersen is equally well cast, and as always Mann employs rock music to astonishing effect, using nearly all of Iron Butterfly's heavy-metal epic 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' to accompany the film's heart-stopping climactic sequence. All of this makes Manhunter one of the finest films of its kind, as well as further proof that Harris's fiction is a blessing to any filmmaker brave enough to adapt it. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Manhunter remains memorable
When it comes to the "serial killer genre," I suppose Michael Mann's 1986 film "Manhunter" began it all. One could argue for Richard Fleischer's superb The Boston Strangler in 1968, but no matter. Mann's tight and stylish version of Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon is a thoroughly fascinating work. To this day, I recall the terror felt during the early sequence when Will Graham (William Petersen) investigates the blood-soaked crime scene alone, practically whispering his version of the events into a tape recorder. It's a deeply chilling segment, and one of the first times I can recall such an investigative process shown on film.
Mann, early in his career here, still had his trademark Miami Vice: Season One & Two touches, stark colors, unique MTV-styled camera angles and the insertion of pop music at unexpected moments. The technique has dated the film, though his use of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is brilliant.
I have grown to like Petersen as he's aged as an actor, but in "Manhunter," he was a bit too young and bland for my taste. I would have liked to seen a more established, brooding actor in the role. But the supporting cast, including Dennis Farina, Stephen Lang and Joan Allen, never disappoint. Tom Noonan gives a haunting performance as the hunted serial killer, but his work is so good it threatens to capsize the film. He does not enter the proceedings until midway in, and the film changes course en route to the shocking climax. His struggles are heartbreaking, ... Read More
Rating: - Best Hannibal Lecter Movie
The set, the music and especially the actors and director are excellent. It is the best of the movies done with the Hannibal Lecter character.
Rating:  - Outstanding performance by William Peterson
This was one of the first William Peterson movies I had ever seen. The first one was "To Live and Die in L.A." If you haven't seen that one, pick it up.
Even though this movie has been reproduced, this is still worth watching. The villian is menacing and more frightening than Ralphe Fiennes, although I love Ralphe. Check it out if you haven't already!!!
Rating:  - Ultimately not that great
It's hard to guess what would have happened to "Manhunter" if "The Silence of the Lambs" hadn't turned Hannibal Lecter (Lecktor in this film) into a popular phenomenon. However, the film was made, released, and seen on its own terms (and flopped on its own terms if it comes to that) in 1986, so I will try not to compare it to "Silence" or the other adaptation of the same source material, 2002's "Red Dragon." Taken independently, however, Manhunter still is largely a failed movie, never managing to lift itself from the morass of mediocre thrillers that one can often find in shopping mall bargain bins.
The plot of the film is not the problem. Successfully adapted from Thomas Harris's critically-acclaimed thriller (entitled Red Dragon), Manhunter follows the efforts of mentally-scarred FBI consultant Will Graham as he attempts to capture a new serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy." While the overall outline of the plot is reasonably formulaic (it's fairly clear the movie will climax with a confrontation between Graham and the killer) the film takes several interesting and unexpected turns.
The real problem is that the actors fail to generate any tension with their performances. Brian Cox's Hannibal Lecter may be slightly chilling in his banality, but his frostiness lacks menace. William Peterson's Will Graham is a complete dissapointment. Very little about mid-80's William Peterson screams "emotionally-scarred." He seems every bit an everyman--the standard movie flatfoot. ... Read More
Rating: - A great thiller
Although I have alot of respect for Sir Anthony Hopkins, I don't like his series of the Lector movies. That's because they are "movies". The difference between a movie and film is guality. Movies can be exciting and have actors who can and cannot act in them. Films are different. They have good writing, directing, editing and acting. Sir Anthony did his best, but one or two strong actors can do so much. SoTL and Hannibal became horror movies instead of thrillers. Of the players in these horror movies, I can only remember Sir Anthony and Jodie Foster.
With several relatively unknown actors and a TV director: Michael Mann, Manhunter was presented balanced and thrilling. I consider this film to be part of the "film" catagory.
William Petersen plays William Graham, a solitary man with left-over mental problems from capturing the serial killer Hannibal Lecter(Brian Cox). Graham has retired and he lives in a beach house with his wife;Molly(Kim Greist) and son; Kevin(David Seaman). Grahams peaceful existance is interrupted by his former partner Jack Crawford(Dennis Farina). Crawford manipulates Graham back into FBI service in the search for another serial killer(Tom Noonan). He shows Graham 2 photos of the two families who have been slaughtered already by the new killer who is governed by a lunar cycle.
There is a stark contrast between the characters of the killer and Graham. The rest of the world passes by without knowing the visousness of the killer. The killer ... Read More
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