An in-depth look at Michael Mann's 1986 classic "Manhunter" and what makes it so unique within the neo-noir genre. #manhunter #michaelmann #videoessay #film
Not even close. Manhunter is superior in almost every way, despite the 5-star cast in Red Dragon. Brett Ratner should stick to goofy comedies and superhero sequels.
This is my favorite film in the series honestly. It has good music, a good tone, is dripping with style, everyone gives great performances, it's creepy, and the exploration of the protagonist's mind space is interesting.
It also leaves a lot for the viewer to work out and doesn’t spell everything out for you and after 30 odd years I still get something new from it. I love the fact that when they finally track down the killer Will does the same things the tooth fairy did by going round the back and watching him through the window from the trees and gets him the same way as as the killer got his victims as through the movie he had to think the same way as the killer and that’s a more interesting ending than the book and pointless remake.
I agree I especially love how the protagonist has the serial killer talent/imagination and could potentially become a serial killer under the right circumstances
Totally agree Brian Cox was brilliant. Both actors are fantastic, however, Brian just emotes the essence of what his character actually was, a completely insane warped person devoid of empathy and a proclivity towards joyfully killing people.
Cox’s performance I would describe as … unsettling. Hopkins performance…is creepy It’s like Cox’s performance and portrayal of the character is more covert whereas Hopkins is overtly manipulative and psychotic. They both have their nuances and approaches which I both love equally. Cox slightly edges it for me though.
@@conorsmith8551 salient points, I think it’s an oversimplification to assert Hopkins performance. To be blunt it was way over the top. Cox subtle malignant narcissism encapsulated the character and he disappeared in that role. Hopkins, although a great actor, just made him cartoonish. Cox asking “what disadvantages” and Peterson simply saying “you’re insane” just nails the scene. The tension is tangible. Two great actors in complete sync. 🏆
Would've been really interesting to see how his portrayal of the character would've been like if they brought him for Silence of the Lambs, or vice versa and we see Hopkins portrayal in Manhunter.
The final shootout being very disorienting is intentional. Consider the emphasis on reflective glass (mirrors/windows), with Will 'the hunter' seeing Francis 'the hunted' (and also a hunter himself) in his own reflection. When the 'Tooth Fairy' breaks the bathroom mirror, and finally, when Graham breaks through the window, the barrier separating the two sides of both men is destroyed. Hence their hectic confrontation playing out like some trippy nightmare.
Yes, as I commented to someone when tracks the tooth fairy Will does what the killer would do by going round the back and watching him with the woman from the tress in the yard when the cycle of the moon has come around again, as you say he breaks the glass to break that barrier and after he kills him he is Will Graham again as he says to the woman. He never answers to his name when Crawford calls his name more and more as the movie goes on.
On the Shout Factory DVD, Michael Mann states that he chose the song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida because it was the only song he knew that was long enough to be used over the entire ending sequence, from when Francis starts tormenting Reba to the confrontation with the police...it was a way of sustaining the mood. One of my favorite details is when Francis tells Reba, who is standing out by the water at sunrise, that "You look so beautiful in the sun," which recalls the name of the Blake painting he's obsessed with, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun. It's a brief moment when he feels like his desire might actually be coming true.
William Peterson in Manhunter and To Live and Die in LA helped shape my career, as i was hired in 1988 as a LEO and retired in 2022 at age 55. These two movies were a huge inspiration, my girlfriend and I watched them both almost on a loop every weekend 🏆👍😎
On a cross-country trip I stopped a really out of the way convenience store at like 5am that was small and run down in the middle of nowhere. No others cars there, and as I walked in I thought "this would be a perfect place for a killer to waylay people in a movie." And as I walked in, Inagagadsvida is playing. I carefully watched my back as I got my snacks
I’ve been forgetting to say - what you’d mentioned about the visual and thematic elements about Manhunter and, more specifically, Mann’s 1980s works as a whole (I’m including The Keep) is one of the clearest and dearest aspects of this/these films to me whether I’m currently viewing them or simply reflecting upon them afterward. I agree, it’s Manhunter in particular that shares a peculiarly entangling 80s hazy aura or, as you remarked, the “Lynchian/Hypnotic and dreamlike qualities,” That some of my other favorite films from within the decade share. We’re talking Repo Man, Miracle Mile, Buckaroo Banzai, Phantasm (yes I know it’s from 1979) or even After Hours, for instance. Of course if I’m forgetting any, please feel free to fill in the blanks. Anyway, this is a great breakdown and I’d love to see more similar content from you in the future.
More of this please. I know you have been trying other stuff for the channel but I think you're best at this form of discussion/criticism. Whatever the algorithm says.
Very interesting analysis. I always imagined that Mann's Dolarhyde was a prehistoric leftover. His mind a relic of some pre-Sapiens predator, somehow resurrected in his brain and expressing itself. Mann' soundtracks are chosen very precisely and the OST offers clues to this: "Coelacanth", a creature thought extinct for millions of years suddenly reappears. "Heartbeat", the narrator describes the presence of the killer in animalistic terms as feeling like"White teeth down below" and that hearing him in the shadows is"Like a hot tongue on my soul". "This Big Hush" illuminates the psychic space of Dolarhyde's unfathomable fantasies and hideous impulses as echoes from an unimaginably ancient, dark and distant past. In his human mind he believed he was "Becoming" something greater, but in truth he was awakening to something much older.
@@acrodave9287 I suppose so, in the sense of the fever dream atmosphere of the movie. I really find the extinct Paleolithic apex predators described in Peter Watts' novel "Blindsight" to be more in line with my(head canon) concept. A co-evolved offshoot of Sapiens, more dangerous than even the great maneating cats, and hunted to extinction by early Man.
I liked your pointing out that the dynamic between Lecktor and Graham is more of equals than the former guiding the latter. I always felt that Peterson and Cox had more of a Sherlock Holmes/Professor Moriarty vibe about their relationship.
I also like the part at the end back home in Florida, where all of the baby turtles have made it to the ocean. The families and the children of those families will now survive because Will killed Dolarhyde, who would have continued hunting them. Also, Tom Noonan mentioned once that he was reading lines with a production assistant and they had to stop because he was scaring the hell out of her. Great great movie.
I think Manhunter was a casualty of ALIENS success . I saw this on a local affiliate channel . Owning a letterbox copy was a big deal . I think this is better than Silence of the Lambs . Brian Cox "owns" the Hannibal Lector character .
Agree think Thief and Manhunter are his 2 best films. I think SOTL is better but Manhunter has more rewatchabililty and is more stylish. Also may I point out that the reason the film takes that structure is because if I remember correctly the book was like that and the film reflects the book.
You didn't explicitely state this in the video, but provided a lot of great analysis indicating just how much Harris (and this film adaptation) managed to convey that there are multiple paths to becoming a monster. And in particular, due to extremes of the empathy spectrum. There's quite a contrast to be had between Lecter, a pure psychopath, and a character like Graham whose enormous level of empathy allows him to do what he does so well but also puts him at risk for becoming monstrous himself.
I saw this movie when it first came out and I was obsessed. It had me inspired to read the novel and I became an immediate fan of Thomas Harris. It was one of the first books/movies I read (saw) that had relatable, believable and meticulous detail to psychopathy. It’s that aspect that made the plot and story creepily realistic. The novel was interesting as it alternated chapters between Francis’s narration of his life and thoughts, and Wills. Also the overarching similarities both characters shared. I thought the movie did a good job bringing out the empathy we should feel for Francis, despite the movie not going into the detail of what might have caused Francis’s mental disturbances. Most serial killers today have similar childhood backstories as Francis, so the tooth fairies horrifying motives are not a far stretch.
I'll be honest I saw Silence of the Lambs first, and thought it was the best, but after multiple re-watches of Manhunter and even Red Dragon I find myself more engaged with that story and characters than Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal and Clarice are always great, but I find myself more engaged with Francis Dollarhyde and Will Graham as characters.
Will never reacts to his name by Crawford as he is always calling out to Will over and over again throughout the movie as he becomes more isolated from everyone and when he saves the woman and she asks “who are you” he says “Graham, Am Will Graham” as he has finally got the Tooth Fairy and can be himself again.
I'm quite sure the lyrical intent of the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" wasn't important to Mann's use of it because nobody would get it. It's just a perilous sounding song that builds to a crescendo and was familiar as music to the audience but a song nobody ever thought "meant" anything. That's Mann's style. I wouldn't compare "Manhunter" to "Silence of the Lambs," anyway. Totally different styles. "Manhunter" is more intense and psychological, "Silence" is more Hollywood and operatic. Both are good.
Really good analysis, thank you. For me, Manhunter tops SOTL, as it's a prettier film and more mysterious. SOTL is clearly more mainstream and thus it leaves less room for ambiguity and viewer interpretation.
I think this film is a masterpiece, Mann's direction was excellent as always. I did feel the film omitted a key part of the book, the chapter of Dollorhyde's journey on what brought him to become what he became. How Frances was born with a clef pallet, how he was ridiculed for his deformity, how he joined the army to get corrective surgery and learned to develop film while serving. How he started bodybuilding and gained his freakish strength, and other key points of the character. Graham sums it up by saying "someone took a child and made him into a monster" but that was about it on the backstory. I assume it was for the films pacing was the reason for the omission.
Extremely well put & an engaging analysis on one of my favorites from the 80's...apologies in advance as this might be a bit lengthy :) am an avid admirer of the original Thomas Harris' works/books on this series...thus didn't miss the movie & TV adaptations of the same...however If I may point out with all due respect that the discussion would have been complete with some thoughts on Brian Cox' portrayal of Lektor as he is known in this one...true he got very limited screen time, probably even less than Anthony Hopkins in SOTL but it was mesmerizing leaving one with a lasting impact...his uncanny mannerisms & smooth talking with that creepy eeriness just blows me away making him seem so close to a real life psychopath/sociopath with gifted/brilliant mind as an add-on sans the theatrics with no disrespect to Hopkins...the overall Hannibal Lecter material is just so fascinating & disturbing that it can elicit great discussions...look more from you on the same lines...!!
@@pleaserewind295 Great.. 👍🏻... that would be fabulous....it would be a treat for fans like me to learn & share more on HL, a character with so many different arcs & interpretations...my first intro to this world was SOTL film which awakened the curiosity in me to dive deep into the original literature by TH though I always wish I had seen Manhunter first before viewing SOTL ...
The first Lecktor movie is, Dressed to Kill, Brian DePalma. Lecktor is first seen and heard, for about a minute. Many of the Lambs themes, are in dressed to kill.
Great analysis! Interestingly enough, I just wrote a paper comparing Manhunter and Lambs. Your video would probably have been helpful, but I still got an A 😅
"This is really unique for a film from 1986" ? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, as it was really a dynamic year in filmmaking. You had Labrynth, Big Trouble in Little China, Aliens, Stand By Me, Platoon, Blue Velvet, and many many more. All with a unique style and approach to their respective genres. I think you may be selling 80's movies a bit short
The only film in that group that is at all similar is Blue Velvet. I think you might have confused my point as some commentary on other films from the time, but it's more praise for Mann's approach to the genre.
@@pleaserewind295 You're definitely right then, because you do give credit to Blue Velvet later on in your video. All in all I thought your dissection of Manhunter was very engaging
1986 is my favorite year for movies. So many great movies in so many genres. The Fly, Top Gun, Star Trek 4, At Close Range, Highlander, The Hitcher, and Ferris Buellers Day Off also came out that year.
More videos like this please! No need for further commentary on the decline of Marvel or Star Wars, even though your take on that is good. But when you know about the wider world of cinema, whatever franchise is getting ruined doesn’t matter as much.
Interesting that you described the climactic sequence as Lynchian, since Lynch was one of the first choices to direct the film. Blue Velvet was actually released the same year and by the same studio as Manhunter (both films were produced by Dino De Laurentiis).
There is an alternate ending in which Graham visits what would have been the next family because he "just wanted to see them". Have you seen that version?
I saw that scene in the theater when the film was first showing and again on my DVD version. The VHS version was butchered, they cut a lot for no apparent reason. In any case, William Petersen _nailed_ the creepy edge. Was he Will the upstanding FBI profiler...or Will, the human-looking monster who felt good killing Garret Jacob Hobbs? The wife looked terrified. Fun fact: the father of the "next" family was played by the actor who played Sonny on soap opera "General Hospital."
@@mbryson2899 I liked that scene also, it's one of those things that makes this movie intriguing, because it just shows you and let's you make of it what you will. I also wondered why Will went to see the would be victims. Was it because he essentially saved them and wanted to see them live, in person? Or was he carrying Francis still in his head and wanted him to see them as well, or see in person what was so special about them? We can only quess.
It's a great deleted scene, but I can see why it was deleted as the end result is the same as after the ending shootout, he had tested himself and passed the test hence why he's able to go back with his family as he is knew he was still sane. I personally always thought he was just visiting that family to see their faces knowing what would have happened to them had he not been able to intervene. It wasn't until later that it dawned on me, and other people commenting that he was acting as Dollarhyde to see if he would kill them as if they were his target. It's an interesting take, but I never saw it that way, and since he doesn't kill them, and returns to his family with a clear mind I see why it was cut.
I personally don't feel that way, but I am biased because I'm a huge Demme fan and prefer the craft of Lambs. Manhunter is certainly a more unique and expressive film.
I thought this film was more of a thriller than a horror film whereas Silence of the Lambs was equal amounts of both. I never saw Red Dragon, but I've seen clips of it and Edward Norton always seemed to be a bit young looking to play the main character. Also, I'm a massive 80's fan, so I've always always enjoyed those aspects of the movie.
A film i watch every year since it came out. I'm 65 and could not think how many movies I've seen this movie got under my skin and stayed there. Incredible
Every scene in this film is like a painting. The synth music gives it a wonderful dark dream like quality and its easily the best version of the tooth fairy we've seen on screen. A film exactly of its time will ironically age better after ten years because you know you're in a time and place. I could never stand giga chad ralph finnes trying to be a sad sack in red dragon and its strange gothic 90's asthetic feels so bland in hindsight.
This video would be so much more pleasant to listen to without the obnoxious music (love it, but not when someone is talking, it's like loud music at a bar or food-court), it should be much lower or nonexistent, tbh
"I think overall silence of the lambs is a better movie" You are wrong. Granted, comparing movies is as subjective as comparing foods, but you are comparing a Big Mac to a filet Mignot. The most intense scenes in Silence are just sight gags compared to the Manhunter equivalents. What scene in Silence even comes close to comparing to the moment Will discovers how the killer chooses his victims?
I agree that Silence takes a lot from Manhunter, but I prefer the performances and overall filmmaking in SOTL. The scene with Hannibal breaking out as the cops storm the building is one of the best-set pieces ever. There are also a lot of great comedic moments or line deliveries in Silence. I find Manhunter a more severe film overall but also a bit colder. I think where people land on what one they like better is how much of a cynic vs. an optimist they are. The humanity within Lambs has always stayed with me.
