Manhunter

Rather than telling a story, much of it is narrated as what is going on inside the detective's head. In other words, the director can't show the story so he limps by with the guy talking to himself. This is essentially the Hannibal Lecter film Red Dragon, but done years earlier and very badly. The lead actor is stiff and lifeless, as is the story. Blow this off and buy Red Dragon. It is far better in every possible way.

For me, I’d say it’s my favorite action movie of all time. To say that this was expertly crafted would be an understatement.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4 14 (2020)

This is a five star film but a Star has been taken off because this is NOT the theatrical version. There are small but pivotal parts of conversations that have been edited out. One very powerful statement from Graham towards the end about mourning for the child that was abused and became a monster versus having no pity for that monster as an adult is a particularly glaring omission. You want the other cut of this film that is sometimes available on iTunes with all red poster art of the Tooth Fairy, or the Shout Factory blu ray release or the blu ray included in the mgm Hannibal Lector set. While still an artistically satisfying and psychologically intense film, those deleted moments are sorely missed in this digital version. Furthermore if this is the Studio Canal release, which it appears to be, the audio is a little high pitched (actors often sound like they have a tiny bit of helium) from the film speed being slightly faster than it should be.

I hated to my guts this movie!!!... >:-(( William Petersen did a laughable acting - the scenes where he goes beserk alone - that bad 80's outfit, the nonsense of using guitars in other scenes... Bad script... This movie is so bad, that makes other bad movie, "Red Dragon", looks very good. They're both adapted from the same book. Save your money, don't rent/buy this one!

The reason I love this flick is because, at the time, the faces were fresh and the color underexposed and richly saturated. The script is more than merely literate and you're kept guessing the entire time. I enjoyed this version more than the remake.

This review is an excerpt from my book “Killer B’s: The 237 Best Movies On Video You’ve (Probably) Never Seen,” which is available as an ebook on iBooks. If you enjoy this review, there are 236 more like it in the book (plus a whole lot more). Check it out! MANHUNTER: “The Tooth Fairy,” a vicious psychokiller, has been slashing entire families in some bizarre ritual, and FBI agent Crawford (Farina) wants Will Graham (Petersen) on the case. Will’s still scarred emotionally from capturing (and being cut up by) Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecktor (as it’s spelled here) (Cox). But the FBI needs Will’s special talent: recreating a psycho’s thought process, so it can be predicted and prevent more murders. Will visits Lecktor to “recover the mindset,” but Lecktor, in contact with the killer, has a personal agenda. Finding his own family at risk, Will’s sanity is pushed to its limit as he pursues the psycho in a race against the clock with an intensity bordering on obsession. Discussion: Grim, tense, occasionally grisly but always stylish, this is in essence a modern noir recast in pastels and bright primary colors. At times it’s a fascinating, fast-paced police procedural, but often it offers much more, as in the scene where Will attempts to explain his psychic scars to his young son, in language the boy can understand but which won’t pass on the same wounds; an explanation of the fringes of human experience counterpointed by the mundane setting of a grocery store cereal aisle. Mann’s direction is assured and rhythmic: Internal torment punctuated by crescendos of tension-relieving violence. The plot is convoluted and the logic acceptable, but these are secondary to the brooding mood and our sense of Will’s agonized understanding that both his physical and psychic survival are at stake—and that the only edge he has in his battle of wits with the brilliantly insane Lecktor is his sanity...which is rapidly vanishing.

The main actor in this movie also played in “To Live and Die in L.A.” iTunes?!!!…please do a great job better by going back and getting all of the movies and soundtracks of the 80s…please. Better Off Dead with John Cusack is still missing from your (our) collection to purchase online here in iTunes.

Worse than any made for tv style movie ever watched while trying to kill time or drown your sorrows. Don't know what anyone was doing or drinking or using when they gave this movie a good review. I am disgusted with myself for wasting this time

Who ever says this is a low budget, horrible make of the Anthony Hopkins movies has a mental issue. This is top rate good movie making. And has a lot of start up actors in it. Idiots!!! If your on that side. Beautiful movie with good acting and good script. Hollywood should not have re-done it, but oh well! Great sound track to, typical Michael Mann. So enjoy it for what it is! The first of some great movies in the "Lector" movies