Manhunter vs. Red Dragon

Manhunter. Directed by Michael Mann

Ok, let's talk film. HD NET movies is a great channel to have. Watching Manhunter on my wide screen tube and I forgot how great a film this is. It was released in 1986 when high concept films were bombarding the multi plexes, so it was unfortunately easy for this film to get lost in the mix. It was directed by legendary filmmaker Michael Mann. He is the director of Heat, The Insider, Last of the Mohican's, Miami Vice, which I loved. I am not sure anyone else saw that film. It was really good. I recommend it.

Anyway I am watching this film now actually. I can two things at once and I want to write about it cause it reminds me of the hapless repetition of Hollywood. You see this film is the first Silence of the Lambs film. The definitive one was the spectacular opus starring Hopkins and Foster, both to walk away with the Oscar. But this film from 1986 stars William Peterson from CSI. Edward Norton took over this role in the Brett Ratner remake, Red Dragon. Now you have to expect a few things from Ratner and not expect a few things from him.

He's someone who could screw up a cup of coffee. But who knows if that is really his fault. I mean he is a studio yes boy. There is not too much to his style at all. If you look at his films, Rush Hour, Family Man, After the Sunset, X Men 3. There is not much to him. He is one of those directors that Hollywood likes because he went to USC film school. So he knows SOMETHING, but when it comes to meat and potatoes he is a small fry short of a happy meal. He can't improvise. At least Michael Bay can do that. Well that's all Bay does is improvise. He doesn't have any real vision as a director. So here you have this film that Michael Mann very competently did in '86 and Ratner and MGM decided to do it again. Well that's what we do in Hollywood. We do things twice, three times if needed until they get it right.

Well it doesn't really matter on this film because the original Manhunter by Michael man is far superior to Ratner's. There is a couple things artistically I want to point out. First really good camera decision is during a tense scene that is in every scary film ever. It is a slow pan around a house while a character looks for a possible killer in the home. But this pan is ingenious for Mann and DP Dante Spinotti pass the camera through a fish tank during a suspenseful scene like that. It is brilliant! It really is. The shot reminds me of Spielberg's shot in Saving Private Ryan in the beginning where he bobs the camera up and down in the water juxapositioning tranquility and chaos.

Performance or substance?

And that's what its all about my film fans and future filmmakers. You have to put two things that don't belong together together to make it interesting. Keep that in mind when you're making your film. Another interesting thing that actually is a point for the Ratner side is the infrequent use of Hannibal Leckter in Manhunter. There is actually a lot of dialogue referring to Leckter's madness and yet few scenes with him (the likeable Ronny Cox in Manhunter... I know). That is because when you have Anthony Hopkins playing his bone chilling version of Lecter (not a typo, they are spelled different in the two movies), you don't need excessive dialogue explaining how crazy he is. Hopkins shows you. Perfectly! Which brings us to lesson two, if you have good actors, the less dialogue you need. Great actors can sell emotion with fewer lines.

Well that is rub between these two films. Hopkins is fantastically bone chilling. Yet, Michael Mann is the better director. If you're looking for a great Hannibal crime thriller you may have never seen, this is something to rent. Until Later, let's talk film!