In 1991 Silence of the Lambs first hit the theaters and I wasn’t allowed to go see it. My parents, who weren’t very strict, had lived through the 1986 film Manhunter and knew that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell for any kids in the family to see the next movie in the Hannibal Lecter series. Thankfully, as soon as I came of age that was one of the first movies I went to see. What came out of the experience was a new level of terror I hadn’t felt before. I certainly had experienced my share of horror movies in my life, but nothing so darn real that, unlike actual ‘horror’ films, it could actually happen in ‘actual’ real life. That was the terrifying motif for all the films in The Hannibal Lecter Collection on blu-ray.
The first thing you’ll notice about the collection is that the three movies included were directed by epic filmmakers. First up is Michael Mann with Manhunter.
Michael Mann, mostly known for Miami Vice in the 80s, brings a very unique style of filmmaking to the group. The film is dark, stylish and always uncomfortable. Based off the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon (which was later remade by Brett Ratner into a movie by the same name), the movie is the introduction to Hannibal Lecter, but Lecter is a side story rather than the main story. William Graham is the lead character (played by William Petersen — known for his work on CSI) is set to track down a killer known only as ‘The Tooth Fairy’ who appears to be randomly killing folks. Graham must work with notorious killer Hannibal Lecter, whom he put away, to find this other serial killer before he kills anymore. What’s great about Manhunter is that it’s extremely dark for an 80s film. While it’s certainly not as grotesque or bloody as the next two, it takes all the darkness of the novel and transforms itself horrifically, yet beautifully, to the screen. Brian Cox’s Hannibal Lecter, while still very creepy and sinister, isn’t as terrifying as Hopkins’ portrayal of the lunatic. He doesn’t bring the eloquence to role as Hopkins does, which is very unfair. I let you know that I hadn’t seen The Silence of the Lambs, so that I might point out what many of you will have to do when you’re watching Manhunter; you’ll need to imagine Lecter before Hopkins. That’s really what hurts this methodically made film the most; it is simply too tough to appreciate it in comparison to its sequel.
Don’t discount Manhunter because it’s the perfect example of how well a film can be done without having to go to extremes.
Speaking of extremes, The Silence of the Lambs was the first real step into the bloody world of Hannibal Lecter. Unlike Manhunter, you get all the guts and gore in this sequel. Starring Jody Foster as FBI Agent Clarice Starling, a killer is on the loose and she must find out how to stop him before the next slaying occurs. Her only in is through Hannibal Lecter (brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins — who won an Oscar for this role), who seems more interested in Starling’s life then in her plight. Jonathan Demme directed this dark mystery that seems to be a healthy combination of Manhunter‘s even balanced story and strong characters, and a dose of brutality that shows up in heavy doses in Hannibal. Demme created one of the best films from the 90s, certainly one of the most memorable and horrifying, and it between the trilogy it’s certainly the strongest. Foster and Hopkins still the show, while getting support from Ted Levine’s Buffalo Bill (he’s the serial killer). Levine, who is the chief in the show Monk is not mentioned enough for his efforts in bringing Bill to life. I’m not sure how many people would tuck their twigs and berries in between their legs and dance naked in front of a camera, but Levine went the extra mile.
The collection wraps up with Ridley Scott’s Hannibal. Hannibal is the weakest of the bunch, as its focus is wrapped around Hannibal Lecter’s escape at the end of The Silence of the Lambs (sorry for ruining that for you). The movie simply doesn’t make much sense and is a bit all over the place. Hopkins is back as Lecter, but Foster didn’t come back to reprise her role as Starling, which should have been an indicator that something was wrong. Sure actors will say it ‘didn’t fit into their schedule’, but generally it means that the story was flawed and the movie wasn’t good for their career. Anyway, Julianne Moore came in to take over as Starling and brought a more beautiful, slightly more confident/powerful character than Foster’s. Her role, like the story, was a bit misplaced. The focus of the film is with Lecter and some insane rich man named Mason Verger, whom Lecter disfigured. Lecter versus Verger would have been fine, but when Starling is introduced into the story, after we’re one-fourth into the story, it seems forced. Had Starling played more of a Lecter role from The Silence of the Lambs this would have worked. Had she been someone who helped out another character to find Lecter or to stop Verger, then it would have been healthier. As it was, we had all these great characters that put together a very confusing jigsaw storyline. Plus, the movie was way too gory. We all know that Lecter eats people, he kills people, he does terrible things, but do we really need to see it all the time? The dinner sequence at the end is the pinnacle of unnecessary gore. Hannibal is simply a disaster when it is compared to Demme and Mann’s movies.
So happy to be blu
The Hannibal Lecter Collection is breathtaking in terms of how good the film to HD transfer went. Each film, with its own set of lighting and techniques looks nothing short of perfect when it comes to blu-ray. Each one captures the terrifyingly beautiful films and each looks great on a 1080 or 720p set. the video is only rivaled by the audio, which helps to drive home the point that you shouldn’t feel comfortable when watching the films; believe me you won’t be comfortable.
As for features…. there are none.