Manhunter

MANHUNTER (18)
D: Michael Mann
20th Century Fox/Recorded Releasing/De Laurentiis (Richard Roth)
US 1986
120 mins
 
Thriller
 
W: Michael Mann [based on the novel "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris]
DP: Dante Spinotti
Ed: Dov Hoenig
Mus: Michael Rubini
 
William L. Petersen (Will Graham), Kim Griest (Molly Graham), Joan Allen (Reba), Brian Cox (Dr. Lektor), Dennis Farina (Jack Crawford), Stephen Lang (Freddie Lounds), Tom Noonan (Francis Dollarhyde)
 
Five years prior to Anthony Hopkins immortalising the character of Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs, Brian Cox had first dibs on bringing the psychotic doctor to the screen in Michael Mann's crime thriller.
Much like the 1991 film, this sees an intrepid FBI agent interview the incarcerated Lector to enable himself to "think like a killer" in order to entrap a serial killer who goes by the alias "The Tooth Fairy".
In comparison to The Silence Of The Lambs, this film feels very low key, but is definitely a worthwhile watch for fans of serial killer thrillers and the like.
Remade in 2002 under the book's original title.
7/10

Brian Cox in Manhunter
Brian Cox in Manhunter