Hello, all!
Yesterday, I mentioned that “a movie like this lives and dies on the strength of its antagonist,” and that’s perhaps no more true in the case of this sequel to Michael Mann’s underrated MANHUNTER, the so good it’s almost indecent THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Everyone and everything in this film are top-notch. I’ve given thought to trying to develop a series about perfect scenes or sequences in film, but there just aren’t enough examples where the editing, the score, the action… just, well, EVERYTHING about the scene or sequence is pitch perfect. This film has one of those sequences, and it starts SPOILER when the Memphis SWAT folks are about to make their way into the area where Hannibal was imprisoned, ending right after he’s revealed in the ambulance and the agent’s running down the hall to tell Starling about the escape END SPOILER.
As good as Jodie Foster is as Agent Clarice Starling, though, this film leans more on the performance of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter than any other aspect presented in its runtime. Michael Mann’s original film is sometimes frustrating in retrospect, treating Lecter [played in much less menacing, almost banal fashion by Brian Cox] more like an afterthought or a means to advance the plot and nothing more. Admittedly, the Tooth Fairy, a.k.a. Francis Dollarhyde [played passably by Tom Noonan] is the real antagonist, so I suppose it makes sense to have spent less time on him… it just seems now like focusing on the barracuda when a shark was swimming in the same literary waters.
As an aside, RED DRAGON is honestly far better than the original film, MANHUNTER, abandoning the weird ending that departed wrenchingly from the source material for some pointless shootout rather than the clever twist that was kept in the remake. Indeed, everything about RED DRAGON was better, with the exception of Lounds [played by the incredibly gifted Stephen Lang], and what happened to him. Mann filmed his fatal comeuppance in a much cooler way than Brett Ratner did.
Anyway, it’s kind of a pity that Hopkins almost turned Lecter into a caricature by the time the third film [HANNIBAL] came along. It’s really no surprise that they abandoned that plot line for a completely unnecessary origin film, HANNIBAL RISING. But enough about the spin-offs… this film is stellar. There’s a reason that it’s one of the very few films to have won all of the big five Oscars. So, if you haven’t seen MANHUNTER… don’t. Just watch RED DRAGON and then this one.
Then make sure that your doors are locked and that you don’t take up a side gig as a census taker. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN]
Yesterday, I mentioned that “a movie like this lives and dies on the strength of its antagonist,” and that’s perhaps no more true in the case of this sequel to Michael Mann’s underrated MANHUNTER, the so good it’s almost indecent THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Everyone and everything in this film are top-notch. I’ve given thought to trying to develop a series about perfect scenes or sequences in film, but there just aren’t enough examples where the editing, the score, the action… just, well, EVERYTHING about the scene or sequence is pitch perfect. This film has one of those sequences, and it starts SPOILER when the Memphis SWAT folks are about to make their way into the area where Hannibal was imprisoned, ending right after he’s revealed in the ambulance and the agent’s running down the hall to tell Starling about the escape END SPOILER.
As good as Jodie Foster is as Agent Clarice Starling, though, this film leans more on the performance of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter than any other aspect presented in its runtime. Michael Mann’s original film is sometimes frustrating in retrospect, treating Lecter [played in much less menacing, almost banal fashion by Brian Cox] more like an afterthought or a means to advance the plot and nothing more. Admittedly, the Tooth Fairy, a.k.a. Francis Dollarhyde [played passably by Tom Noonan] is the real antagonist, so I suppose it makes sense to have spent less time on him… it just seems now like focusing on the barracuda when a shark was swimming in the same literary waters.
As an aside, RED DRAGON is honestly far better than the original film, MANHUNTER, abandoning the weird ending that departed wrenchingly from the source material for some pointless shootout rather than the clever twist that was kept in the remake. Indeed, everything about RED DRAGON was better, with the exception of Lounds [played by the incredibly gifted Stephen Lang], and what happened to him. Mann filmed his fatal comeuppance in a much cooler way than Brett Ratner did.
Anyway, it’s kind of a pity that Hopkins almost turned Lecter into a caricature by the time the third film [HANNIBAL] came along. It’s really no surprise that they abandoned that plot line for a completely unnecessary origin film, HANNIBAL RISING. But enough about the spin-offs… this film is stellar. There’s a reason that it’s one of the very few films to have won all of the big five Oscars. So, if you haven’t seen MANHUNTER… don’t. Just watch RED DRAGON and then this one.
Then make sure that your doors are locked and that you don’t take up a side gig as a census taker. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN]
