this performance is seriously one of the all time greats. I've watched this movie several times, and it still stands as a superb piece of cinema. But Petersen's performance is absolutely searing.
Between this and To Live and Die in L.A., I simply can't understand why William Petersen wasn't a bigger star than he was back then. He's absolutely incredible in both.
@@leighburne4098 Scorsese offered him the role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas but he turned it down, he also turned down either Val Kilmer or Tom Sizemores role in Heat, think he preferred to work in theatre at that time. I agree though he’s a great actor, especially in manhunter
The voicemail of the murdered woman apologising for not been able to come to the phone playing in his head which prompts him to say “I’m sorry too” was a beautiful touch, made the scene extremely more powerful. “It’s just me and you now, sport” awesome
I could not agree with you more, saw the film last night and didn’t catch onto that at first. You got a great eye! As for this scene, I get goosebumps every time…
The movie is all about reflections, and how they reflect desire. The glass Francis puts in the eyes of his victims, so to be accepted again and again, the dichotomy of Graham's insights, how he is the reflection of the killers he hunts, as Lector say, "you're just like me Will". The reflection of Will in the glass, the monster looking back, the hard schism of the personality, refracted through rain, like a personality through blood.
There's really clever foreshadowing in this film. When Will suddenly realizes the killer sees the victims through the films he goes over to the window and goes to out his hand on it just as he does in this scene. It creates this subtext that he's somehow trapped, separated by the glass, from breaking through to get to the killer. Then at the end he literally does break through the glass and face the killer.
It's cool how both times he's looking at his reflection in the glass, mirroring the way Dollarhyde only truly perceives himself in reflections. It's like both men are being confronted by their true natures in the reflections they cast, but at the Graham chooses to overcome this with the symbolic smashing of the window. Now instead of deliberately drawing his mind closer to Dollarhyde's, he's on the other side of the glass and in direct confrontation with this force of evil. He chose his better nature rather than become lost in his dark reflection like before.
Everything that the 80s revival and sythwave movement is about right here. Our entire attitude and asthetic captured in 53 seconds, pioneered by Micheal Mann.
"Hi, this is Valerie Leeds. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now..." "I'm sorry, too." Nobody does "serious" better than Michael Mann. I saw all of his films again recently, and it's great knowing there's still directors out there who make films for adults. This and Miami Vice (2006) are two of his best.
I really dig moment's like these in cinema. The protagonist literally has to throw themselves into the deep end and cuts off every life line. Not only to protect those they care about but also allow them to operate with restraint. An example of the hero being selfless in the most human way.
Petersen has rejected so many roles. He had this unique look to his eyes. Like Steve McQueen he didn´t need to talk, and that´s a rare characteristic. He could´ve been even greater.
Petersen is magnificent in this film. So many lines and scenes would have come across as cheesy In the wrong hands but he absolutely nails everything and makes such a powerful character and film
It is the best, from the good side. The best, from the bad side, is Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. That one will scare you big time. Manhunter is a superior film, because of the money spent on it. Henry is a low budget flick, but that helps make it frightening. Michael Rooker plays Henry. His performance is equal to Tom Noonan's in Manhunter.
Love both films, but Manhunter is my favorite between it and Lambs, and Lambs was still an awesome film. Scenes like this showcase why Will Graham is a better protagonist than Clarice Starling (imo). Will has the mind of a psychopath, but he uses it to help rather than hurt, and it disturbs everyone, even himself. "The reason you caught me, Will, is we are JUST ALIKE." Hannibal Lecter (Manhunter)
"I'm sorry too" i don't know why, but when he said that phrase to the glass it's feels soo depressing, almost like he 's trying to hold up his tears because he felt a lot of guilt and sadness for not saved her and her family, the acting it's superb in this movie, Red Dragon doesn't have the same impact and the same emotion as Manhunter, i like it more than Red Dragon.
Not the one where Francis is sitting in the van waiting for Reba? That is quite possibly the most realistic portrayal of broken man being broken again I've seen.
Graham’s Theme is very similar to Comfortably Numb, the same could be said of Craig Safan’s Confrontation guitar solo in Thief. Both done intentionally, Mann loved that song but he couldn’t get the rights to it for Thief in particular, he wanted to end the film on Comfortably Numb, and when he couldn’t, he got Safan to compose a soundalike piece.
I remember when Silence of the lambs came out. I was so hoping they would write in Graham into the film with Petersen. Wish they would make another film with him and Starling together in it. Perhaps she could seek out his advice on a case or something.
+Robert Lukacs It's curious that Graham didn't crop up in any of the sequels to Red Dragon. Lector still harbored enough of a grudge in Red Dragon to send Dolarhyde to kill Graham, but completely forgets about him when he (Lector) escapes? Doesn't make a lot of sense. It would have made Hannibal a lot better (novel and film) if Graham showed up again. Becoming Starling's mentor as they set out to recapture Hannibal would have been great.
It is rumoured that Bryan Fuller wanted to do that in later seasons of his "Hannibal" tv show, but sadly he had to finish it after 3rd season because of low ratings.
When I took my driving test to get my DL; the DMV lady climbs in the passenger seat and introduces herself as “Sandy.” I adjust my mirror, turn to her, and with that same look I matter of factly state... “It’s just you and me now sport”.....
In the 80’s I managed to record Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind & Escape from New York all on my VHS player without the commercial breaks because I knew how to time the intervals. But my biggest regret is not recording this gem of a movie.
This video was uploaded in 2010, meaning manhunter has a strong fan following. I wish this fanbase could be large as more modern audiences get to know Michael mann's movies.
Didnt know Graham Norton was in thislol. No you're right Norton was absolutely shite , in his heyday too when he was killing it, made some crap after that
This and Thief are Mann’s best movies though the ending to Heat was one of the best endings I have ever scene. Same with Thief. James Caan had one of the best reloads of a clip ever.
The book goes deeper into it, but he has this split personality thing and he somehow thinks that he if kills people he's "recreating them". And he arranges them to look at him like they love him, so he can feel what it is to be loved. Graham outright says he must have been abused as a kid and felt unloved and he sympathizes with the innocent kid he was, but as an adult he's a lunatic who has to be stopped.
@@ShadowSonic2You can see it in the film too. When Will is in the house of Leeds before the climax. He imagines the workings of the mind of the killer -- "you see me desired by you."
@@ChrisWolff2013 yep couldn't agree more about how miscast Norton was as Will Graham. Peterson gives a subdued but intense performance of a man on the edge. He's one act away from becoming what he profiles and he damn well knows it. He has this controlled coiled spring demeanor throughout the movie. But it's all there in the performance that Graham walks a little too comfortably in the psychopaths he hunts shoes. Never felt that with Norton at all. And if you compare the Lector/Graham jail scenes in both. In Manhunter from the moment Graham enters the cell you know something horrible has happened with him and Lector. It's all in Petersons's body language and how he sits with trepidation. Getting more and more unnerved as Lector gets back into his psyche. The way he moves his body subtly and then the panic attack coming on to the point he races from the room and runs like hell until he's out of the building. When Lector says "we're alike" you fear for Will but you're also realizing that Lector isn't trolling at all. With Norton/Hopkins they don't get across this horrible history with Lector and the effect it's had on Will. Norton seems to be playing annoyance and not that Lector is a detriment to his psyche. When Hopkins tells Will they're alike you only buy it because the script says it not because you feel it coming from Norton. There is a very shallow bored examination of the character in Red Dragon. You don't feel that duality in Norton at all that he's wrestling with dark impulses and almost afraid to do his job because he may release them. the crucial scene though is the iconic scene in manhunter when Graham breaks the case. It's a slow dawning realization that Peterson plays. Again you see more of the duality of the character as he's deep in his process to the point where he's even disturbing Crawford watching him. At this moment you feel that Crawford is the profiler examining the psychopath in front of him. He breaks the case like he's almost getting a thrill from reliving the killer's footsteps. It's very methodical and sensory and it's all in the performance Peterson gives. At the end him touching the window in this fixated haunted way shows you Will in a way doesn't wanna be right because of what he's just tapped into to bring him there. There's so much going on in his entire performance. He creates a very complex and layered Will Graham, and there's something compelling and twisted in Peterson's performance The same scene with Norton breaking the case. Like a typical investigator having a eureka moment. It's all surface stuff and you don't feel like you're going deep with Graham as he gets lost in the killer's mind. And Simply Mann is a better director than Ratner and plays a huge part in getting those performances he needed. Norton slept walked his way through the role and Ratner just wasn't competent enough to show the depth Mann obsessed over. Mann even shows CSI before it was in the annals of pop culture. He showed the process of forensic investigation and profiling while it wasn't known to the public.
@@rochey1010 You know Graham was close, while watching the films, when he mentions the bloom on the women. I have no clue what the means, but Graham is seeing them just as Francis did.
Petersen and it’s not even close, Norton totally phoned it in in Red Dragon and was completely forgettable which is odd because he’s usually a great actor
Are you talking the movie itself or William's performance, or all of the above? I'd definitely consider it having potential to win Best Director, unless credit for the style goes more to the editor/cinematographer, but it could definitely take all 3 categories fairly easily.
@@88mphsss All the above, William and Brian Cox both exceptional. Michael Mann deserves more credit than he gets. Two of my favorite movies have William Peterson. Manhunter and To Live and Die in LA. Manhunter just resonates. I even visited the beach house on Captiva island where they shot some scenes. It’s a couple doors down from Mucky Duck restaurant. I’m a true fan 🏆😎⭐️
@@gregthomas2448 Do you think the film itself could have won? I'm not sure what the momentum was behind that particular year, if it was clear going in that the night would belong to one movie if there was the possibility of an upset. I really do think the film could have been competitive in the Director category, even against that year's winner.
Just finished watching it...great atmosphere indeed! This movie somehow felt more modern than Silence of the lambs. Cool to see a younger Brian Cox (Succession) in the role as Lecktor. 🙂
I love that line in manhunter when will says it’s just him you and me now sport I wish it was in red dragon but I like red dragon and manhunter, since they are both app Tatian of the book
It's sad because, i first watched this (terrible quality) on the internet and i loved this movie but during this scene i thought he was on a train, or a bus heading to Atlanta away from Mollie. The scene felt more intense that i thought he was heading away and probably never to return.
I so wish they'd come up with a series on Netflix or Amazon titled, THE RETURN OF GRAHAM. The first season could be the FBI is at their wits end in trying to find a killer. One of the FBI profilers continues to try and persuade his superiors that they need to bring Graham out of retirement to catch the guy. Finally they relent and contact Graham, who refuses UNTIL The killer kills Jack Crawford who is also retired...... Graham comes back to find the kieller. The ending would be the serial killer is the FBI profiler who was the one who talked them into bringing Graham back. He knew only Graham could stop him...... Then at the end of season 1, Graham, back home, receives a package and letter. The letter is from none other than Dr. Lecter who tells him he was always planning on staying retired UNTIL he saw his former good friend back in action and cannot allow only Will Graham to have all the fun. Inside the package would be the cookbook from when Graham realized Lecter was the killer... So season 2 would pit Will Graham once again hunting Hannibal Lecter............ This idea is just my thoughts.
