Charming and brutal

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Michael Mann is a stylish filmmaker and his take on the Hannibal Lector saga has his stamp of authority. It is a pity that in the deluge of praise for Silence of the Lambs(which is a great film indeed) this film is almost forgotten. Because it contains some great qualities. The acting is uniformly excellent- Brian Cox infuses Lectar with a different approach than what Hopkins brought later and Will Graham is expertly played by William Peterson. The scenes between the two are really good. Pacing is excellent and the soundtrack is one of the finest mixtures of sound and visuals in all cinema. Is this as good or better than Silence of the Lambs? Some think so. You be the judge.

This is the lesser known Hannibal Lector film(to Silence of the lambs) but some consider it as good or even better than that film. I happen to feel that both have their plus points and this Michael Mann film has many strong points including an amazing soundtrack and great performance by William Peterson as Det. Will Graham. Brian Cox is chilling in his own way as Lector and his interactions with Peterson just show the kind of magnitude two capable and talented actors can bring to a scene. This is a must watch film.

I saw Red Dragon when it first came out and loved it. I never even heard of Manhunter until I was about 27 (I'm 34 now). In 2012, Manhunter came on one the Encore networks and I set my DVR to record it. I was sceptical at first, but after watching it, I was hooked. No Anthony Hopkins? So what? Brian Cox's Hannibal I found a bit boring in fact. Sir Anthony might be the true Hannibal, but Edward Norton could've learned a thing or two from William Petersen. Dennis Farina (RIP) became my favorite Jack Crawford and Stephen Lang is way more hip than Philip Seymour Hoffman. As far as the killer is concerned, well.....Tom Noonan I liked better I guess. Although Ralph Fiennes did scare me more in Red Dragon. Both are great movies no doubt, but Red Dragon would've been garbage without Hopkins. One final note before I post this review, Manhunter has a much better soundtrack.

Michael Mann's 1986 film "Manhunter" is a great example of the cool iciness his directing emits in "Miami Vice" and the high tech smarts of "Heat". In the film, Will Graham, a retired F.B.I. agent, is asked to return to the force to help solve a series of mysterious murders by a killer going by the name of "The Tooth Fairy". Years ago, Graham was pushed to the edge by the cannibalistic, serial killer Hannibal Lecktor, which is what caused him to snap and be forced to retire. Eventually Graham works up the courage to say yes to his new assignment, only to find out that Lecktor is the only one who truly knows "The Tooth Fairy". The chemistry between William Peterson's Graham and Brian Cox's Lecktor is electric. In fact, Lecktor only has 15 total minutes of screen time throughout the whole film-but Cox's performance leaves a strong mark on the whole film. Arguably one of the most underrated screen performances out there comes from Tom Noonan as "The Tooth Fairy". His character is incredibly twisted and psychotic, but when you see him slowly falling in love with Reba, you begin to slowly feel the guilt and pain he begins feeling during these scenes. It's as if he realizes that if he had just not gone off the deep end and held on for a while longer, he would have found true happiness with Reba, but because he went down that hole he realizes there relationship is doomed. It's a truly powerful piece of acting.From a film making standpoint, "Manhunter" is very sleek and cool visually. This is mostly because of Dov Hoenig's music video like editing and Dante Spinotti's eery camera work. Both of these combined make for a very visually pleasing film. It's easily one of the best looking films of the 80's. If there were any complaints with "Manhunter", it's that some lines feel a little too cheesy or cheap for the films own good and that the title sounds clichéd and doesn't really fit the tone of the film. But, those are two very minor gripes with a near flawless film. Highly recommended if you're looking for a definitive example of Michael Mann's direction in action or a very smart police thriller.