Red Dragon - 2002

Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Directed by Brett Ratner

Cast:

• Will Graham – Edward Norton
• Dr. Hannibal Lecter – Anthony Hopkins
• Francis Dolarhyde – Ralph Fiennes
• Jack Crawford – Harvey Keitel
• Reba McClane - Emily Watson
• Molly Graham - Mary-Louise Parker
• Freddy Lounds – Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Nurse Barney Matthews – Frankie Faison
• Dr. Frederick Chilton - Anthony Heald

Story: Will Graham is a retitred FBI agent who is called back to the BAU to help Jack Crawford catch “The Tooth Fairy”. Graham is a 'profiler' of criminal behavior, and tries to think like the killers he profiles in order to capture them. While searching for clues to the Tooth Fairy's identity, Will meets with Dr. Hannibal Lector, an incarcerated serial killer who Will captured years earlier. His early dealings with Lector nearly drove him insane, and almost cost him his life. He discovers secret communciations are being routed in newspaper personal ads between Lector and the Tooth Fairy, and Lector may be behind a plot to kill his family for revenge.

Review: This remake of Manhunter is the first of two prequels to the Hannibal Lector saga, and there are some marked differences in the visions of Ratner and Mann. Hopkins reprises his role as Hannibal Lector, and his viscious and brutal nature are more pronounced here that in the previous two films. Perhaps it is his hatred of Will Graham, played brilliantly by Edward Norton, perhaps it is his blossoming hatred of Dr. Chilton, the second appearance of Anthony Heald in the role. Frankie Faison also reprises his role as Barney, the nurse. Harvey Keitel's vision of Jack Crawford is an interesting shift from Scott Glenn's portrayal, with Keitel being a more emotional agent, but that may be a sign of maturity from the days of this film to SOTL. While I am a big fan of Michael Mann, I have to say this film is a more complete picture of the events, and a much more in depth look at the characters, particularly of Lector. Ralph Fiennes gives a spectacular performance as the Tooth Fairy, and Emily Watson's portrayal of the blind Reba McClane is passionate and very human. We have a glimpse also of Lecter before he was incarcerated in the flashback scenes between Hopkins and Norton, as well as the interaction of the two in Lecter's exercise room. Rated R and they mean it. Much too grisly and bloody for the little ones, and some teens and adults will find the settings and the gore disturbing. Collectible for lovers of Hopkins, Hannibal Lector, and anyone who loves a good horror story.

Hannibal - 2001

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentis Company

Directed by Ridley Scott

Cast:

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter – Anthony Hopkins
• Clarice Starling – Julianne Moore
• Barney – Frankie Faison
• Mason Verger – Gary Oldman
• Paul Krendler – Ray Liotta
• Inspector Reynaldo Pazzi – Giancarlo Giannini
• Allegra Pazzi – Francesca Neri
• Dr. Cordell Doemling – Zlejko Ivanek

Story:Ten years since the escape of the infamous Dr. Lecter, he remains free. He has chosen to live a benign existence, and is currently under review as a historian in Florence, Italy. Meanwhile, back in the US, Special Agent Starling's career is at a standstill. The FBI has her on field duty, and she is agent in charge of massive multi-task force to arrest one of the biggest drug smugglers on the west coast, when a local cop tries to play hero and the streets turn into the OK Corral. Starling is forced to shoot her suspect while she is carrying her baby. She is on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, and the federal prosecutor wants her head on a platter. Mason Verger, a very wealthy former patient of Lecter's, is also looking for him...for revenge. Lecter was so repulsed by his crime, the rape and torture of children, that he convinced Mason to cut away parts of his anatomy while under the influence of drugs, leaving Verger a disfigured invalid. Inspector Pazzi, an Italian detective, has located Lecter and is ready to sell him to Verger, but at what cost?

Review: I've already talked about Hopkins in my review of Silence of the Lambs, so suffice it to say he is just as evil and monstrous in this film as in the last, if not more so. I was disappointed, as I think everyone was, that Ms. Foster did not agree to reprise her role as Clarice Starling, but Julianne Moore does an excellent job. Frankie Faison is consistent in his role as Barney, the kindly nurse who placed the chair opposite Lecter's cell in the first film, and in this one he is caught by Clarice auctioning off the remainders of Lecter's belongings. Most of the action is around Lecter and his intricate game of chess with Verger, played exceptionally by Gary Oldman, but the three subplots are brought together in the end, and an unexpected end at that. Ridley Scott, the director of such Sci Fi classics as Blade Runner and Alien, does not disappoint, and this film retains all the darkness and foreboding of the former. A must have for the collectors of Hopkins, crime dramas, and horror films. Rated R for gore, violence, language, and horrific scenes that are sure to give any sane man or woman nightmares.

The Silence of the Lambs - 1991

Orion Pictures Corporation, Strong Heart/Demme Production

Directed by Jonathan Demme

Cast:

• Agent Clarice Starling – Jodie Foster
• Hannibal Lecter – Anthony Hopkins
• Jack Crawford – Scott Glenn
• Dr. Frederick Chilton – Anthony Heald
• Barney Matthews – Frankie Faison
• Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb – Ted Levine
• Senator Ruth Martin – Diane Baker
• Catherine Martin – Brooke Smith
• Lt. Bill Boyle – Charles Napier
• SWAT Commander – Chris Issak

Story: A young FBI trainee with degrees in the law and psychoanalysis is sent on a mission by the head of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. She is to interview the notorious serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lector, nicknamed Hannibal the Cannibal. It begins as a routine visit, she is polite and courteous, but when the inmate in the next cell assaults her, Lector offers her a clue to some of his past records and perhaps even a clue to the identity of a serial killer they are looking for, a man called Buffalo Bill. Clarice follows his clue to a long term storage facility where she uncovers the disembodied head of a former patient of Lector's. Lector offers to help Clarice solve the crime and catch Buffalo Bill for a price, an exchange of information and insight into Clarice. Unbeknownst to all, Dr. Lector is using all of the people involved as pawns in an intricate game.

Review: There is something about this film that will continue to haunt me forever. Perhaps it is the idea that someone like Lector could actually exist. That thought exists due to the phenomenal acting of Anthony Hopkins. While there are many actors whom I would enjoy the privilege of sharing time with, I think to this day if I were to meet Anthony Hopkins, I would like it to be in an open room with plenty of people. That is how convincing his portrayal of Lector strikes me, and I know many people who feel the same way. Scott Glenn's portrayal of Jack Crawford is cool and calm, exactly what you might expect of a senior agent and department head in the FBI. Jodie Foster's portrayal of the ambitious Clarice Starling is as compelling and haunting as Hopkins', which would account for both of them winning their respective Academy Awards. Demme and the film itself also received Oscars, as did the screenwriters of this exceptional film. The film itself is superbly written, perfectly cast, and splendidly presented in every aspect. Details are important to Demme, obviously, so important that filming was done at Quantico for the academy shots, using actual FBI personnel in the training sequences. Perhaps the most riveting quality of the film is the portrayal of Buffalo Bill, and the ability of Ted Levine to carry off that twisted and complex role. Ted shows us how innocuous evil can be, and presents it with such flair and elegance we can imagine such a man being in a rural town like that, hiding his crimes beneath a veil of anonymity and isolation. Rated R for violence, language, gore, and some partial nudity, this is definitely not a film for the kids or even the young teens, if you ever want them to trust your neighbors and you live in a small town. Collectible? Without a doubt, one of the finest dramas ever brought to the screen.

The Thomas Crown Affair - 1999

United Artists, Irish DreamTime, MGM

Directed by John McTiernan

Cast:

• Thomas Crown – Pierce Brosnan
• Cathrine Banning – Rene Russo
• Detective Michael McCann – Denis Leary
• Andrew Wallace – Ben Gazzara
• Detective Paretti – Frankie Faison
• Paul Cheng – James Saito
• Anna Knudson – Esther Caňadas

Story: Thomas Crown is a very smart and very successful man. He has his own building in Manhattan, a townhouse filled with Marble, granite, art and sculpture, a personal assistant who tends to his every need, a psychiatrist who gives him marvelous advice, apparently everything a man would want. But he is bored. Mergers and Acquisitions are not enough to challenge him, so he decides to branch out into art theft. And not just any art. He steals, through an elaborate plan of diversion, a $100 million dollar Monet from the wall of the museum where it is housed. Not only does this now involve the police, but also an insurance investigator [“I represent a couple of Swiss gentlemen who would rather not have to write a check for $100 million.”]. A beautiful and unusually bright insurance investigator who soon comes to suspect Crown. The remainder of the movie is a game of cat and mouse, as the two maneuver to see who will come out on top.

Review: John McTiernan is famous for the hard hitting, action adventure films, so the remake of a Steve McQueen classic must have been a challenge. This is a different kinds of drama and suspense, based in the world of the very wealthy. Brosnan is up to the task, and perfectly portrays the well mannered, savvy businessman who is bored to death with the society crowd and craves something more from life. Rene Russo is the perfect foil for Crown, the driven, intelligent, and self confident woman who competes and excels in a man's world. Leary has his work cut out for him, bur rises to the occasion as the street detective who has to keep up with Russo, and is always one step behind. The flow of the film is more even than the original, and the photography and scenery is amazing, from the New York City shots to the island that serves as Crown's hideaway in the Caribbean. The homage of having Dunaway as the psychiatrist (She played Catherine Banning in the original), and retaining the original theme (Windmills of Your Mind – written for the original film and performed by Sting) bring an overall polish to the movie that make it one of the best. Nudity and some language make this a poor choice for the under 14 set, but most teens should be able to enjoy the film with a minimum of giggling and pointing. Definitely a collectible, and one to watch with the wife when the lights are low and the kids are in bed.