Manhunter (1986)

MANN WEEK continues....(Michael Mann that is) 

Forty years ago, Oscar-nominated legend Michael Mann (Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral) wrote and directed this adaptation of the best-selling novel "Red Dragon" from acclaimed author Thomas Harris.  This was the FIRST big screen adaptation of Harris' series of stories featuring the iconic character of Hannibal Lector, five years before the Oscar-winning box office phenomenon of The Silence of the Lambs which won Sir Anthony Hopkins his Oscar for potraying Lector.  However unlike 'Silence, this film was NOT a success upon release as the subject matter of a criminal profiler tracking down a brutal serial killer had not yet been embraced by mainstream audiences.  For this particular story, that FBI profiler is Will Graham played by William Petersen (To Live & Die In LA, CSI) and he is on the hunt for an elusive killer who refers to himself as the "Red Dragon" - that would be Francis Dollarhyde played by the late, great Tom Noonan (Heat, Last Action Hero) who is also struggling with his identity as he pursues new victims.  And in THIS version of the story, Hannibal Lector is played by Emmy-winner Brian Cox (Succession, Adaptation, X2) though in a smaller role as he is periodically visited by Graham for advice.....the same FBI agent who also initially arrested him, at great personal cost.  This eventual cult classic also co-stars Dennis Farina, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, and Stephen Lang. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

MANHUNTER - 1986

Directed by Michael Mann

Starring William Peterssen, Tom Noonan, Dennis Farina, Brian Cox, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, David Seaman, Benjamin Hendrickson, Chris Elliott, Michael Talbott, Dan Butler, Paul Perri, and Stephen Lang

Genre: Serial Killer Thriller

Should it disturb me that certain brutal thrillers about serial killers have become cinematic comfort food for me? 🫢 Well at least when they're directed by guys like Fincher, Demme, or Mann....I don't know, it feels at least that in the case of THIS film, it has a deceptively soothing tone for much of its runtime.

I'm sure that for many, the main draw to rewatch this movie is that it features THE first on-screen appearance of Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox in a small but memorable performance) but for me, it was always moreso revisiting '80's William Peterson (!) who had a strong run in the second half of the decade with this, To Live & Die In LA, the very underrated Cousins, and Long Gone which was an early HBO movie about minor league baseball which was pretty charming. And Peterson has NEVER looked more moussed up than he does here....often wearing pastel suits in his movies....for a few years it just felt like he epitomized the image of the '80's leading man. ;)

He plays Will Graham who was pretty much a prototype for a character that would eventually become a TV and film staple..."The Criminal Profiler." Peterson was always good at playing damaged heroes or antiheroes and he really shines in a role which requires him to do a lot of thinking out loud without coming off as pretentious or like Sherlock. The best scenes are when you see Graham working his way through crime scenes and/or evidence….and I’ll get to one of those in a bit. (Audio clip) 

And that serial killer is Francis Dollarhyde played by the late, great Tom Noonan in a genuinely creepy but at times sympathetic performance - it's a credit to how effective Noonan is at getting us in the head of this killer that he's able to do so with more limited screentime than I remember. We don't really see him until well into the second half and he's not playing this like Hopkins' Lecter nor is he written that way - this character is much quieter and more unassuming but in just a few key scenes alongside Joan Allen (playing a blind woman he falls for), you see first-hand how his pathology builds from mere loneliness into brutal murder.

Now I’m going to rejigger the order of the categories a bit and it will soon make sense why….

Wasted Talent & WORST Needle-drop (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

The few issues I have with this movie are some of the needle drops of cheesy '80's pop music at times which not only date the movie but sometimes distract....and don't get me wrong, I generally LOVE most '80's pop music and I'm also a sucker for a good montage. But some of these just do not work and go on for too long...especially the last one "Heartbeat" by Red 7, just bad! The song itself is irritatingly bad but even worse, it kicks in during the closing scenes of the movie and drowns out some dialogue - Mann was obviously still learning at this point and has excelled at utilizing great music since then so I'll give him a pass for this one. :)(Audio clip) 

Now one other issue to note about this film….this film also has the dubious distinction of  being the ONLY  big screen adaptation of a Thomas Harris novel featuring the character of Hannibal Lector to actually LOSE money at the box office.  And that’s even including the now pretty much forgotten 2007 prequel Hannibal Rising which WAS a box office disappointment but at the very least made its budget back.  This was not the case with this film as it ended making barely $8 million worldwide on a $15 million budget…..and that was likely for a variety of reasons.  

One was that William Petersen simply was NOT a box office draw and for a harder to categorize thriller like this at the time, you needed that.  Also TIMING…..this actually opened the SAME weekend as recent previous episode The Fly….pretty hard to imagine ‘80’s audiences flocking to TWO different grim and violent thrillers in the middle of summer.  Though as far as I’m concerned the MAIN reason that this ended up flopping was pretty simple….because it was the FIRST of its kind.  The miniatiae of serial killers, the forensics involved….that type of content would not REALLY break into the mainstream for another five years with….you guessed it….the breakout success of previous episode Silence of the Lambs. (Audio clip)  

And even though that film’s mega-success is often attributed to a breakout Oscar-winning performance by Anthony Hopkins, it helped a GREAT deal for it also to have such a winning, relatable heroine (also in a Oscar-winning performance) in Clarice Starling played by Jodie Foster.  Will Graham was just never written as that type of protagonist – he’s quieter, clearly damaged, and I’m sure for ‘80’s audiences HIS version of profiling could be off-putting to watch on-screen….even as it has pretty much become the norm since then.  Fortunately this film has since gone on to become a cult hit….it was just ahead of its time. 

Trailer Moment & BEST Needledrop (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

As mentioned earlier, THE best scenes in this film are watching Will Graham work his way towards figuring out this elusive “Red Dragon” and never better than the FINAL one which occurs around 90 minutes into the film….a genuinely compelling brainstorm late in the film with his boss Jack (the late, great Dennis Farina!) watching videos of families recently murdered by a serial killer. (Audio clip) 

Now even though Petersen is TRULY putting some MUSTARD on the hot dog with his performance here, it just works and it’s a genuine thrill to watch.  However this scene doesn’t work NEARLY as well without a memorable musical contribution from LA-born composer Michael Rubini.  His IMDB isn’t that extensive and this would be the ONLY time he would collaborate with Mann…but WOW what a contribution!  And yes it sounds pretty similar to the closing Tangerine Dream music for previous episode Thief but who cares when it works SO well!  Just building a guitars and percussion, just try to NOT feel some inspiration listening to this – this track is called, “Graham’s Theme.” (Audio clip) 

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

At the end of the day, SO much of what makes this film work – its style, its pacing, the attention to detail – comes from writer/director Michael Mann.  I mean you KNOW you're in a Mann joint when the camera pans behind our protagonists pensively staring out into a large body of water. ;) But you also NEED that within a story that could in lesser in hands feel increasingly claustrophobic at points – he lets this story BREATHE a bit and for comparison’s sake on how NOT to let a story like this breathe, you can just check out Brett Ratner’s 2002 remake of this. (Audio clip) 

 Now it’s not perfect and the film DOES feel quite dated to its time period at points in ways which might have been unavoidable….though Mann was still developing his style at the time this came out.  Regardless, his screenplay does an excellent job of maneuvering us through an increasingly complicated story and gratefully, he portrays the violence well without ever getting gratuitous.  For successfully pulling off the FIRST GREAT Serial killer thriller, Michael Mann is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5 

Happy 40th Anniversary to what I believe STILL remains THE best version of this particular story….and yes I’m also including how it was later adapted into the Hannibal series on NBC, a series which I found easier to admire than to enjoy. 

Streaming on Prime Video, The Roku Channel, kanopy, & fubo

And that ends another PRIMARY….SENSORY INTAKE…WHICH MAKES YOUR DREAM LIVE review!