Old vs New: Manhunter vs Red Dragon - Nostalgia Critic 

I think Brian Cox is closer to how a real psychopathic killer is in reality. I love Anthony Hopkins in his multiple Hannibal Lecter roles, but to me he always felt very gothic, almost Hammer Horror, a contemporary Count Dracula.

You forgot to compare the MUSIC. For me the music in Manhunter is a strong character in itself. It creates a certain eerie "feel" throughout the movie.

I've come to really appreciate Brian Cox's performance - there's something to be said for playing "just" a serial killing genius cannibal, without needing to mythologize him into something superhuman.

I buy Brian Cox as a psychiatric professional more-so than Hopkins. Brian's portrayal is so nuanced, snarky and intelligent you could actually imagine talking to him where Anthony is much more overtly creepy and sinister. Brian's Hannibal doesn't have to prove how much smarter he is he just does it. Brian is the psychotic psychiatrist and Anthony's is the Bond villain.

Manhunter is the better film in my opinion because, on top of the cast, i love the way Mann shoots the film.

Ironic that Manhunter focuses more on Graham's family when it doesn't have the ending back at his house

The setting is important too. The use of a dungeon-like prison in the newer series is ludicrous. The prison in Manhunter felt more realistic, right down to Lecter having copies of the American Psychiatric Association journal on his shelf.

For me Red Dragon is just a movie, Manhunter is great cinema.

NC's description of of the detective in Manhunter is closer to how he's described in the book. The fake-out ending and the second climax is in the book, too. In case anyone cares. Also, did you notice that the tooth fairy tries to avoid the letter S when he's speaking? He has a speech impediment he's ashamed of, so he has practiced avoiding the sound he can't pronounce. It's an interesting writing consideration.

I find it rather ironic that Norton plays the more down-to-earth, mentally sound version of Graham since, as such movies as American History X and Primal Fear have shown, he’s a CHAMPION at playing unhinged psychopaths who go off the deep end at the slightest provocation.

I mean Manhunter came out in 1986. It was way ahead of its time. Not many movie in that period talked of forensic science. It was the first and set the rest of that genre up for what it is now.

Brian Cox is underrated as Hannibal, sure Hopkins is iconic and brilliant in a movie villain sense but Cox is a real psycho and far more realistic. Manhunter is a masterpiece if I'm honest.

the best portrayal of lector is Hopkins in silence of the lambs. But for me Cox is a better Lector in manhunter than Hopkins is in red dragon.

I have to go with Manhunter, based on the fact that I own both it and Red Dragon, but I rewatch Manhunter from time to time, but not the latter. This is especially counterintuitive to me since the RD cast is so phenomenal. Manhunter just plays creepier and more disturbing/interesting for me, I guess.

As others have pointed out, the fake-out was in the book. The problem with it here is that Will comes away from it looking MUCH prettier than he did in the book so it has almost zero impact on the story, other than to tie up loose ends with Dolarhyde - serving as more of a "cherry on top" than a subversion of expectations. It also makes Lecter's remark about hoping Will isn't too ugly carry much less weight. I get why they did that, though. Leaving Will as a drunk in Florida "with a face like a Picasso" probably doesn't make for a very satisfying movie ending.

Also, I should say, I really like how "Manhunter", "The Red Dragon" and "Hannibal" TV series used different angles in adapting the novel, sometimes choosing different scenes...

Tom Noonan's creepiness factor has always registered high with me.

I just realized now that Hannibal Lecter reminds me of Palpatine.

I guess I'm saying it again: Critic keeps talking about how Manhunter has so little music, and not a lot of memorable visuals, and the movie I saw had a *heavy* emphasis on both, where the "blank walls" are a deliberate contrast in certain locations and scenes. Also: As far as "just another kill" in Manhunter, there is the part where Dollarhyde...

you should compare the movies to the tv series.

Maybe it's just because I came of age in the 1980s, the greatest decade in the history of decades, but I prefer the style and tone of Manhunter. Red Dragon is good but it feels like an afterthought and the whole franchise would have been better served by remaking Hannibal.

Manhunter is more Will Graham’s story than anything, it’s about his struggles coming back, and the ambiguous nature of what actually happened to him works better for me. Red Dragon veers a bit too far into melodrama for my liking, and it completely does away with any subtly or ambiguity. Both are great adaptations of a great novel, BUT, there’s absolutely no doubt that Brian Cox’s understated menace is a million times preferable, to me at least, to Sir Tony’s gurning hamfisting. I love him in SOTL, but any Lecter he did after that is pure pantomime.

I think it's obvious that Manhunter would have an edge over Red Dragon in terms of its creepiness and atmosphere. Michael Mann, the director of the movie, was also the screenwriter for the original Miami Vice TV series, a show very well known for its atmosphere and what it could do while its characters were saying relatively little. Meanwhile, the director of Red Dragon, Brett Ratner, is best known for directing Rush Hour, which is about as far away from Hannibal Lecter as it can possibly be.

I remember seeing manhunter back in high school. Gives me creeps still to this day. Come on, pre-Heat Mann, no contest....

Ive seen Manhunter then Red Dragon. I prefer Manhunter since it doesn't really on Silence of the Lambs or Lecter and doesn't have to hold your hand throughout. Plus Manhunter feels more gritty and uncomfortable. With Red Dragon it comes across as silly, especially the added Lecter scenes. I also feel like the acting feels more natural in Manhunter, but that could just be the order I saw them in.

Raloh Fiennes really shines in Red Dragon. his performance is of the wall.

Red Dragon is more faithful to the word of the book, but Manhunter is by far the superior film.

I'm strongly in the Manhunter camp here

If you haven't seen Manhunter...you really should. You just have to look past the 80s cheese. The scene where Denise Ferina and Petersen figure out where the Tooth Fairy is from watching the home videos is one of the greatest scenes in film history and gives me chills . Not to mention the "In a Gadda da Vida" climax is amazing

Maybe Manhunter is made to "work" *without...* have to phrase it right, to work on its own, specifically so Dollarhyde is a mysterious figure you can only guess at from the outside.

I wish the Red Dragon theme played whenever I entered a room.

Considering how big a fan I am of "Manhunter"... well, I just have to point out one thing, here: You think of the visuals in the two movies and all you can remember from "Manhunter" is white? That covers the scenes focusing on Dr. Hannibal Lecktor -- spelling theirs -- and no others, at least not that I can think of, and that's actually part of the point: In a very visual, colorful movie, Dr. Lecktor resides in another world entirely, and having to be anywhere near him puts Graham under serious stress. When he finally bails on their interview, he walks away nervously, gains speed, and then he finally starts RUNNING out of that place, and all he can see is white, white, white, until finally, he makes it through the doors, looks over the railing, and... he can only stop and catch his breath when he sees the grass. ...so, just to be clear, the *rest* of "Manhunter" has *really* cool visual shots all over the place, while not bogging down the rest of the movie at all.

Can you please bring this series back

The timing in Manhunter works, Red Dragon feels stretched out and shows too much.

Just found this today - great work! Maybe it’s because I’m from the 80s, and I’d already seen and absorbed Manhunter by the time Red Dragon showed up, and it is definitely a close call, but it’s Manhunter every time for me. The whole reason this story is so interesting is because it’s Graham himself that stopped Lector, and their dynamic, which I definitely prefer in Manhunter. I’d watch Red Dragon over Silence of the Lambs any day, too, because I just don’t find Clarice Starling anything like as compelling a protagonist as Graham.

Wow, Manhunter must have one of the greatest film soundtracks of all time. I mean, screw compelling pieces and orchestras, all you need is one note on an 80's keyboard, and you're good to go!

Having watched the Hannibal series in order of release I can still say Manhunter is the best film in the franchise.

I'd like to see him watch Hannibal the series XD Mads mikkelsen's portrayal was nothing short of perfection

If you enjoyed visuals for both movies then that's because Dante Spinotti was the cinematographer for both films.

Took me a while to realize that Graham in Manhunter is played by Gil Grissom from CSI Vegas. He looks so young it was hard for me to recognize him.

the thing with the fake out in red dragon though is that in the books he actually makes people think he's dead, he gets his girlfriend to lock the door and hang a key around his neck, then shoots himself in the head, but it's not him instead it's someone he abducted (i can't remember who) but he got her to put the key around his neck so she would have to feel for the body to find the key to escape, so red dragon did focus more on the story with the fake out

I give it to Manhunter for two reasons, or rather characters. Will and Lecter. Now there is no denying that Hopkins portrayal of Lecter in Silence of the Lambs was brilliant, but I feel they're milking it too much in Red Dragon. Right from the beginning Hopkins is undeniably sinister, which is cool except there is no sense of occation. Brian Cox is more timid, which gives the impression of a sleeping monster that could surface at any time. There's real suspense.

They do make Hugh Darcy's Will Graham in the Hannibal series closer to William Petersen's Will Graham.

Cox lectar was more realistic, how real life serial killers in prison talk and behave (lot of videos available online) . Hopkins came as theatrical and dramatic.. Broadway killer Just watch interviews of real serial killers , after years in prison. They know why people come to them, and they are mostly sick of talking about this, repeating their ordeal, so they take pleasure in annoying the other person, or even "its easy, you can try it" and then laugh at the horrified "normal person"

Manhunter has always been the superior film, that being said the cast of Red Dragon is phenomenal, without them it would have been an OK remake instead of a good remake.

As far as character goes, the ones in Manhunter was all-around more interesting Francis is much more mysterious, making him more scary; Will is actually struggling with retaining his sanity; and Lecter seems more in control Got to say, kind of weird how Jack Crawford ISN'T played by Scott Glenn in Red Dragon. I love Harvey Keitel, but they don't look similar enough

He should do this one again, but with the Hannibal series.

3:15 Holy shit it's Gil Grissom!!!

It's kind of weird how NC listed all those reasons why Manhunter is superior and then turned around and gave the best Lecter title to Hopkins with almost no explanation.

I know red dragon maybe looks like it has the “ better cinematography “ but no i love the editing style of manhunter the way the camera would be focused on the floor and move super fast and other unnatural cuts. Red dragon is too clinical for me i really love how weird manhunter was.

Winner: The 2013 Hannibal TV series.

Who else gets the feeling that he's reuploading all old vs new videos so that he can make a new one.

I really like Brian Cox's performance more, but is with The Tooth Fairy that my lines really get blurred, I find both so good that I don't have an answer about who is better.

Always depends on one’s personal preference. I think there are improved parts in ‘Red Dragon’ (mostly with Ralph Fiennes’ as the villain; sorry but Tom Noonan’s performance is kinda meh to me), but ‘Manhunter’ doesn’t get enough credit

Why was the blind woman wearing a watch in Red Dragon?

Wow. That's a great one. He probably should have revisited the comparison with the series, but it would've been hard, I imagine. Personally, as a Thomas Harris fan, I like all of the five movies and a series. Each one has something different to hook you emotionally. A great franchise.

Sorry but I think Manhunter is better. Silence of the Lambs is better than Manhunter but Manhunter is much better than Red Dragon because of William Peterson's performance.

Manhunter. Its a brilliant movie. its WAY better than red dragon.

Dancy from the tv series is like Petersen in performance.

(Manhunter) Yeah, I was also completely sidetracked by the old labels in the grocery store and if I remember right, at one point the cereal changed to coffee. I don't know if the version I saw was edited or what, but it was really distracting.

Could you review Hannibal Rising? You could make a parody of Silence of the Lambs reviewing Rising. Plus I could see you playing Lecter and Tamara would make a great Starling.

Why on Earth did you not compare cinematography or direction?? You looked at these only at surface level. Michael Mann is much better at filmmaking than Brett Ratner, yet you ignored his amazing style.

That Caspar Jump-scare at the end! You nearly gave me a heart attack!

How did you know what I had for breakfast?

Funnily enough, I got a trailer for the BFI dvd release of Silence of the Lambs before the video started. Was that intentional?

The weird background in Man hunter shows how Kubrick faked the Mars landing

It's been forever since I've seen Manhunter, but you just can't out villain Tom Noonan. So suck it, Voldemort!

As much as I adore Hopkins' Lecter, also in the Red Dragon, Brian Cox performance is pure magnificence if you just compare it to the book. The problem with Hopkins is that Hopkins' Lecter was established in Silence and Hannibal as an anti-hero - we know he's horrible, but we are also supposed to kinda like him. Nothing like that in Red Dragon (book), Lecter is pure evil in that.

Love when he does Old Vs New and when it comes to Lecture....I was excited to see this pop up on RU-vid ^^

Okay, who thought he said Emma Watson at 12:13 and you just sat there like "That doesn't look like Hermione at all."

I really enjoy these old vs new videos.

I have read the book but haven't seen either version. Which one is better and which one is more faithful to the source material?

One of the things I didn't get about Red Dragon is why Fiennes didn't gain more muscle for the part. They clearly brought in the lifting and he flexes his tattoo in that one famous scene, but it looks silly because he's got very little muscle on his back. They followed the book really closely and in the book he lifts 300 pounds over his head. Fiennes looks like he does work out but his physique isn't as remarkable as Dolarhyde is described in the book. I don't get it.

Old vs new Red Dawn?

Holy hell that new thumbnail looks great.

While I do agree with most of what the Nostalgia Critic said about Manhunter and Red Dragon, however I would've put Red Dragon's version of the serial killer was overall better. I personally think seeing him struggling to control his murderous intentions, as well as his relationship with that blind woman was generally heart breaking.

one of my favorite 80s movies, the music, the style, the grit, everything :)

Manhunter is a masterpiece. It is not even close.

Can't wait for the Jungle Book Old vs New.

Red Dragon is such an underrated movie. It feels very realistic in a creepy way

Is it just me or was that final music clip featured in The Sims? I feel like it was in TS2.

Manhunter is better than Red Dragon.

I can see Hopkins in any character in any movie without feel inconfortable the guy is fucking scary he is the best Hannibal Lecter

doug should do an appendix of this with with old vs new vs newer with the short lived tv series, Hannibal.

Red Dragon seems like an attempt to washout Manhunter. The latter never got the success or attention that SOTL got. The critics hated how much Mann leaned into “style over substance” which I disagree with since Mann goes for realism in this film much like Nolan does in TDK. In 2024, I’d argue Manhunter is the true time tested classic and should still be, as it was before, considered part 1 of aforementioned trilogy. It’s a neon version of Hannibal Lecter (Lektor), and Michael Mann is a true auteur on Manhunter. Utilizing a ton of technique and adding his own. Oh, and the SOUNDTRACK? Willing to bet this film, and Mann’s “Thief”, influenced Drive (2011). Another film that totes rulez. Thanks for the video post.

They're both a great cast its hard to compare the two!!!

Critic you should definitely check out Hannibal the TV series. And maybe you could make a video about it. Pretty please?

I'd love to see him redo this and include the shows version of the red dragon arch.

You've seen these tapes, haven't you, my man?

Finally somebody else who liked Red Dragon. I love that movie. Fiennes as Dollarhyde is one of the scariest realistic and personal favorite villains ever.

Which theme tune is for which movie? Can someone please let me know

red dragon is the better movie to me as Anthony is one of the greatest actors alive.

Man this might be one of the best ones in the comparison(not your video but the actual movies). They should tie based on double awesomeness.

I agree this one is a really hard matchup, both movies are equally enjoyable. I honestly think I prefer Red Dragon in all the categories, not sure if its just a blind love of Hopkins or the fact that while they are basically the same movie they go at telling it in drastically different ways. I prefer the Red Dragon's version of Dolarhyde because all of the sympathetic scenes makes you hope and wish that he can stop, he could put the killing behind him and be with the one woman that will love him despite his physical flaws. Sure its a pipe dream but still a dream that the movie wanted the viewers to long for. Also I like Norton's version of Graham, I preferred seeing a man who while being mentally tormented by what he does for a living still manages to show that he isn't giving into the same darkness as the ones he hunts.Again that's just my personal opinion but I still love Manhunter for the animal it is.

I didn't know this review existed! Thanks!

Manhunter all the way for me

Do a 3 way 7 Samurai v Magnificent 7 v A Bugs Life

I really like the old "Old vs. New" intro more than the newer one (for the Spider-Man movies). Partly because I imagined it featured a kid fighting his future, old-man self. Instead of the weird "look at my production value!" intro that features a white tomboy growing up into black Gandalf.

What did you think of the songs used in Manhunter?

I dunno... Sometimes some of his synopsis of the side by sides seems specifically just to tie it up for the final "tie breaker".