"Manhunter" (1986) Directed by Michael Mann

“I have seen, with wonder and awe, the strength of the great Red Dragon”.

Based on the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris with a screenplay from Director Michael Mann, this is a film now familiar to millions following the far more critically acclaimed 1991 Silence of the Lambs (directed by Jonathan Demme) and it’s direct remake in 2002 Red Dragon (directed by Brett Ratner). For those unfamiliar with this iconic story, a very brief premise:

Enjoying retirement and a life away from murder investigation, “Will Graham” (William Petersen) is coerced into returning to solve the “tooth fairy” investigation by long time friend and boss “Jack Crawford” (Dennis Farina). Will realises he has to deal with his past demons to solve the case and enlists the help of an imprisoned psychopathic killer “Dr Hannibal Lecktor” (Brian Cox) to get inside the mind of the “Tooth Fairy” killer.

My appreciation of this cult, some say classic film, and screen debut of Dr Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecktor (spelt correctly for this film, but revised to Lecter for all future films) will be to draw comparisons with both the 2002 re-make and the heavily influenced 1991 Silence of the Lambs. All three are stand alone films in their own right, but all are connected by narrative strands and characters familiar in all three films. This is also Michael Mann’s third feature film and by far and away his most stylish, accomplished, atmospheric and technically brilliant to date.

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The above opening paragraphs are taken from my original spoiler free review of "Manhunter" penned and published over a decade ago and transferred to my Medium blog site on 21st February 2022 and which can now be read in full and for free via my opus blog article on the entire career of Michael Mann and my original and updated article linked immediately below:

https://medium.com/@stephenblackford561/michael-mann-and-9-films-for-your-delectation-f0f745440765

This spoiler free review is also integral to volume 4 of my 7 volumes of "essential film reviews collection". Currently only available via e-book, each volume of exhaustive and numerous film reviews are priced at £4.99 however should you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package you can read each and every volume for free:

Volume 4

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4MG435K

All 7 Volume Series

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4HZSTTH?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
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https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford

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