Manhunter vs. Red Dragon

Within the last week or so, I’ve had the chance to see both Manhunter and Red Dragon… the two movie versions of Thomas Harris’s fantastic novel — also called RED DRAGON — that first introduced us to Hannibal Lecter.

The debate over which is better seems to rage on — some twelve years after Manhunter and six years after Red Dragon — I figured I’d add my two pennies.

My recent viewing of these movies came quite by accident. The week before last, the Sleuth Channel showed Manhunter — Michael Mann’s 1986 version. Then, a few days ago, the channel showed Red Dragon — Brett Ratner’s 1986 remake. Stumbling across them while flipping through channels was utter serendipity.

I’d seen both movies before (Manhunter was a rental many years after the theatrical release; I saw Red Dragon in the theater the week it came out). But I’d never seen them this close together. It was as near to a freshness squeeze test as I could get without renting them each — along with Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal¹, and Hannibal Rising² — for a full on Lecter-a-thon.

As I watched Red Dragon, I began thinking about the two movies… the performances, the direction, the cinematography, faithfulness to the book. Many things stood out to me with each.

That said, let’s break ‘em down.

Character: Will Graham

Our hero… he’s reluctant, he’s smart, he’s really fucked up after having almost lost his life putting away Lecter in the biggest bust of his career. It’s safe to say Hannibal the Cannibal really got into Graham’s head.

Played by William Petersen and Ed Norton³, the actors reveal different things in the character.

Petersen is quiet, more reluctant to remove the walls Graham’s built around himself. Norton is angrier… and more willing to jump in the fray.

Petersen played it spare, which made his flashes of passion more intense. Norton played him analytical, which came across more methodical. Either way can work: Graham’s a psychological profiler, after all.

In the end, I have to go with the way I remember the character in the book.

Winner: Petersen

Character: Jack Crawford

Graham’s old FBI boss and the man who coaxes the erstwhile agent out of retirement to help solve the heinous serial murders of two suburban families.

Played by Dennis Farina and Harvey Keitel, we have two entirely different sorts of guys:

• Farina, the in-your-face, once-a-cop-always-a-cop tough guy.
• Keitel, intense and commanding, yet understated tough guy.

What’s important to note is that both actors have long careers of playing the same freaking guy in everything they do. The difference is that Farina’s performance in Manhunter is early on in our collective familiarity. By the time Red Dragon hit theaters, we’d been well aware of what Keitel does.

Knowing this, Farina’s Crawford seemed fresh. Keitel’s was wooden and, well, dull.

Winner: Farina⁴

Character: Hannibal Lecter

The most delicious villain ever to appear in print or on screen.

Come on, “Chianti and fava beans ffffffthhhhhht” is embedded into the global pop culture. What more can I possibly say about this magnificent bad guy’s great canon?

Played by Brian Cox and, of course, Anthony Hopkins, the role serves as our introduction to this marvelous character. And, again, we have to put things in context.

In the book, Lecter is an important, but small, character. He’s wicked and brilliant. He was also a plot device.⁵ Cox, who could have chewed up all kinds of set, got it and played it perfectly. Hopkins, who catapulted the character into the stratosphere, overplayed it.⁶ By a country mile.

In what will likely be the biggest shocker here…

Winner: Cox

Character: Francis Dollarhyde

The man of the hour. The Tooth Fairy. Mr. D.

The two actors who played the baddy — Tom Noonan and Ralph Fiennes — each brought different skills to the game. Noonan, the physical giant, was understated and creepy. Fiennes, the acting giant⁷, was brilliant and creepy.

Neither of them fit the bill… at least as it was described by Harris in the book: Dollarhyde was seriously jacked⁸.

If you recall, there were two places in the Red Dragon movie where this notion appears. Reba, the blind love interest with whom Dollarhyde works, mentions that their female coworkers say he’s got a fantastic body. Later Graham says that Dollarhyde is a bodybuilder. His physique is an important trait because the creep-o was consumed by his desire to make himself more attractive to women.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Noonan was just circus tall. Fiennes was downright scrawny.

Don’t get me wrong… the each actor had his pluses. Noonan was physically imposing, while failing to bring out the depth to Dollarhyde’s mental illness. Fiennes was puny, but really rocked how tormented and batshit crazy Dollarhyde was.

Winner: Push

Director: Michael Mann, Brett Ratner

This one might spark a little discussion.

On the one hand, Manhunter had Michael Mann, who directed The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, and Collateral. On the other, Red Dragon had Brett Ratner, who directed all three Rush Hour movies, and The Family Man.

Mann makes layered, heavy-ish movies with exquisite cinematography. Ratner makes over-the-top, slick Hollywood movies.⁹ Both did well with the source material… for many of the reasons already listed.

In fairness, Ratner was truer to the book — especially where Dollarhyde-the-wingnut and the ending are concerned. He also recreated the Silence of the Lambs sets, and brought back a number other Silence actors — aside from Hopkins — to reprise their roles.

Can’t hold these last things against Mann. He was the first to explore Harris’s book, after all. You can, however, hold him responsible for leaving off the awesome twist at the end. That was a major whiff if you ask me.

Still, Ratner had it easy. Silence of the Lambs — the movie — gave him an exceptional head start. He also had RED DRAGON, the book. Mann had only RED DRAGON, the book.

Winner: Mann

Manhunter wins in a landslide

So there you have it: Michael Mann’s take wins the day… which isn’t a slag against Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon. I do really like both movies.

It’s just that Manhunter does a much better job overall at bringing Harris’s awesome novel to the screen.

What say you?

If you wanna tell me I’m full of shit — along with the reasons “why” with some intelligent discussion — drop me another line in the comment trail. And if you’ve got a suggestion for another faceoff like this, drop me a line in the comment trail.

Tags: Brett Ratner, Ed Norton, Hannibal Lecter, Manhunter, Michael Mann, movies, novel, Ralph Fiennes, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Sleuth Channel, Thomas Harris, william petersen

Sphere: Related Content

1. I’m in the minority here, but I liked this movie [⇑]
2. I haven’t seen this one. My wife said it was terrible and that’s good enough for me. [⇑]
3. Manhunter and Red Dragon, respectively. From here on out, I’ll use this order. [⇑]
4. Neither actor gave the best portrayal of Jack Crawford. That goes to Silence’s Scott Glenn. [⇑]
5. Okay… a REALLY well done plot device. [⇑]
6. Though this may not be his fault. Red Dragon screenwriter Ted Tally — who also penned Silence — added several new scenes especially for Hopkins. You get Tony Hopkins… might as well use him as much as possible. [⇑]
7. Which isn’t saying Noonan’s a terrible actor. He runs The Actor’s Studio, so he’s pretty good, really. [⇑]
8. That’s gym speak for super-muscular, like a bodybuilder. [⇑]
9. This isn’t meant to express a preference. I love both kinds. [⇑]

Tagged as: Brett Ratner, Ed Norton, Hannibal Lecter, Manhunter, Michael Mann, movies, novel, Ralph Fiennes, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Sleuth Channel, Thomas Harris, william petersen