Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Karlee The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

darrenyaates Michael Mann is a stylish filmmaker and his take on the Hannibal Lector saga has his stamp of authority. It is a pity that in the deluge of praise for Silence of the Lambs(which is a great film indeed) this film is almost forgotten. Because it contains some great qualities. The acting is uniformly excellent- Brian Cox infuses Lectar with a different approach than what Hopkins brought later and Will Graham is expertly played by William Peterson. The scenes between the two are really good. Pacing is excellent and the soundtrack is one of the finest mixtures of sound and visuals in all cinema. Is this as good or better than Silence of the Lambs? Some think so. You be the judge.

The Hateful Citizen The first film about the famous Hannibal Lecter dates from 1986 and this is the problem of this movie I think, it has aged badly. Besides this problem, it is still a Hannibal Lecter that is not played by Anthony Hopkins, certainly, but Brian Cox is not bad, as is William Peterson who is well present in his role as main actor. One complaint I could make at this movie is also that it is a bit too long. Otherwise, it is not bad and a 3/5 is therefore logical for the first Hannibal Lecter's movie.

newmie537 It absolutely baffles me that so many people have rated this movie a 10/10. After watching both Red Dragon and Manhunter, I've never been so disappointed. The acting in this movie was sub par at best; it was impossible to watch at times. The characters were not well constructed at all and there honestly wasn't one character that truly felt like they fit this movie. Watch Red Dragon if you haven't already and you will never watch this movie again. There were no thrills to this movie, the final scene was one of the worst climaxes I've ever seen, though there wasn't really much build up to it so you could only be so disappointed. This movie does for Red Dragon what The Godfather part 3 does for the original godfather. Save your time and your money, do not watch this movie!

Leofwine_draca Although THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is the film that everyone remembers for Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of the cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lector, I find that in most cases the general public don't realise that Hopkins was not the first actor to play Lector. No, that dubious honour goes to Brian Cox, whose brief but powerful turn as Lector in MANHUNTER is just one of the film's many highlights. I didn't really know what to expect when I watched this film; I'd heard that it was good, but little did I realise just HOW good it was. MANHUNTER is one of the very best films about a serial killer I've seen; this is an intelligent, exciting and thought-provoking story which I actually preferred to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in some respects.This is a disturbing film too, although without the grossness of the film that followed it. Here, the violence is left to the imagination, which makes it all the more effective. Usually the police investigations in these films are dry and boring, but here, as the characters doing the investigating are very human, it becomes interesting and watchable. The cast is first rate; especially good is Peterson as the slightly disturbed FBI man haunted by his previous encounters with Cox. He is equalled by the underrated Tom Noonan, who is simply brilliant as the killer, Francis Dollarhyde. Noonan would forever be typecast as a baddie after this performance, but his work here is excellent as he creates a childish, sympathetic man who cannot control the urges or what he does.The strong supporting cast includes Joan Allen (very good) as a blind victim; Dennis Farina as a fellow cop (wait, doesn't he always play that role?), and Stephen Lang as a nerdy reporter who meets a fate worse than death. Michael Mann's assured direction keeps the film believable and interesting at all times; MANHUNTER is exciting when it needs to be and very disturbing at other times (especially that scene with Dollarhyde with the stocking over his head... an image guaranteed to give you nightmares). Odd scenes like the burning wheelchair victim are unexpected and help to keep you on your toes. A rare film that doesn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, MANHUNTER is a perfectly-made film that should be rewatched in the days of populist stuff like SEVEN and THE BONE COLLECTOR just to remember how good it is.