Manhunter – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

We all have seen, or at least heard of Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs. The film is regarded as a classic and has spawned a legacy. However, it was Michael Mann’s Manhunter that came before all of that. And while many will associate the novel Red Dragon with Brett Ratner’s film of the same name, it was Michael Mann who first took on Harris’ novel.

Michael Mann’s Manhunter follows Will Graham (William Peterson) as a retired FBI agent, who left the force after catching Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox). He is talked into investigating a serial killer dubbed “The Tooth Fairy” (Tom Noonan), who’s work is similar to Lecktor’s. Graham attempts to enter the mind of the murderer in order to catch him.

Manhunter does a great job at sticking to Harris’ storyline, but the execution isn’t as thrilling as Ratner’s film 16 years later. The story does little to keep you interested, and is rather slow paced. The acting for the most part is pretty flat. William Peterson’s portrayal of Will Graham is rather emotionless, but he does a good job of showing Graham’s determination to catch “The Tooth Fairy.” But the best performance in the film is without a doubt Tom Noonan as Francis Dolarhyde. Noonan has always been able to really capture the creepiness of characters like Cain from Robocop 2, and his portayal of Dolarhyde is nothing short of that emotion. Brian Cox also does a great job at portrayal Hannibal Lecktor, but many will likely find themselves prefering Anthony Hopkins for the role.

Another thing that stands out in Manhunter is Spinotti’s use of colors and tints in certain scenes. Cinematographer Dante Spinotti uses different colors to portray each mood and setting within the film. This adds a bit of depth to the film.

Overall, Manhunter comes off rather bland, and you would likely want to stick to Ratner’s film for a better adaptation of Harris’ novel.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: The audio is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD, but you may find yourself adjusting turning up the volume on the TV.

The video is decent given the film’s age, but there’s noticable grain throuhout many of the night scenes.

There’s no special features with the release.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: