Which "Hannibal" film do you prefer?

[conscience]

After watching Red Dragon, my mother states that it is now her favorite "Hannibal" film. She thinks it was better than Silence of the Lambs, much much better than Hannibal, and way better than Manhunter.

On the other hand, my fave is Silence of the Lambs. It has a more somber, not in your face, mood to it. Which, IMO, makes it a much better film.

What's your fave and why?

[Josh H]

Toss up between Red Dragon and SOTL.

I'll have to watch Red Dragon a few more times before making a pick.

Both are better than Hannibal, which I liked, but for different reasons as it's a different type of movie. More of a black comedy than a drama really.

I hated manhunter, but won't elaborate as I've done so several times in the past here. :D

[eedoon]

Definitely The Silence of the Lambs. Not only they have terrific acting and characterization, but it opened my eyes to great movies the first time I saw them on junior high school (yay!).
I know that's pretty subjective, but aren't we all? :D

[WiccanPagan]

sotl. definitely worth its acclaim. the only thing relatively turning me off is the lead's southern accent. eww.

[badger1997]

I may very well be alone on this, but I liked Hannibal the best. SOTL never did that much for me and while I didn't dislike Red Dragon, I didn't really find it that interesting. Manhunter doesn't even enter the equation for me.

I don't know what it is about Hannibal. I like the cinematography a hell of a lot. It has some stunning visuals, especially in the Italy scenes. On the other hand, it does drag in a few places. But overall I just liked it better. Also, I just am not a big fan of Jodie Foster, so I guess SOTL had that going against it when I saw it.

[Buck Turgidson]

I still prefer SOTL, but I also really love Hannibal, and rank it just below on the list.

There are a lot of black comedy elements in SOTL, also. The copy of Bon Appetit in Lecter's cell, the Gospel program ("Dr. Chilton must have his petty torments..."), That last scene, w/ Chilton about to have a cow getting off the plane...

[Buck Turgidson]

Oops...

[matome]

I thought they were all pretty damn good, but <i>SOTL</i> is head and shoulders above the others in all categories.

1) SOTL (*****)
2) Hannibal (****1/2)
3) Manhunter (****1/2)
4) Red Dragon (****)

[PixyJunket]

SOTL is the king there, is no doubt about that.

Hannibal is a damn close second, something about it I like that I quite can't explain..

Red Dragon I like, but it has to stand in third. It's SOTL Lite. The villian is much more interesting, which is what saves this movie. You don't care how boring Buffalo Bill is because of all the great dialouge between Clarice and Hannibal.

Manhunter:
http://www.mccnh.org/jan2001/cheese.GIF

[Pants]

I had to vote for SOTL but I'm really happy to see all the love here for Hanibal. It is an EXCELLENT film and one of the best sequals ever, because it does its own thing and isn't a slave to SOTL

[Tscott]

Silence of the Lambs for sure. I found Hannibal to be a bit lacking, dispite two great performances by Hopkins and Moore. I haven't seen the other two yet.

[audrey]

My favorite is SOTL; it seems to have an energy missing from the others; a perfect blend of mystery, thriller, and action. As an added bonus, Demme captures the underlying sexual tension between Clarice and Lecter better than Scott did in Hannibal. While there is much to like about Hannibal, I think Scott was ill cast as the director for this movie. Beyond the ending, which denies the necessary evolution of the characters and dismisses Harris’s vision, the characters seemed thin—I never felt attached to them as in SOTL. Visually the movie was stunning, but I felt Scott placed too much emphasis on action, too little on substance—traits common to most of his recent movies. And copout ending was completely lame.

[Pants]

how does the ending of the book differ?

[audrey]

Originally posted by Pants
how does the ending of the book differ?
Instead of calling the police which sets in motion the showdown at Krendler’s camp where Hannibal cuts off his hand to escape, in the book, Clarice and Hannibal disappear together and become lovers. It may sound a bit like a fairy tale ending; it’s not. The way Harris sets up the scenario and the manner in which Hannibal captures the object of his desire creates a dark, pervading mood that capitalizes on the character traits established across both novels.

Even if the studio felt the book ending wasn’t marketable, I think there were better options than the one presented in the movie.

[Jules Winfield]

Originally posted by badger1997
I may very well be alone on this, but I liked Hannibal the best. SOTL never did that much for me and while I didn't dislike Red Dragon, I didn't really find it that interesting. Manhunter doesn't even enter the equation for me.

I don't know what it is about Hannibal. I like the cinematography a hell of a lot. It has some stunning visuals, especially in the Italy scenes. On the other hand, it does drag in a few places. But overall I just liked it better. Also, I just am not a big fan of Jodie Foster, so I guess SOTL had that going against it when I saw it.

You are not alone. I prefer Hannibal to Manhunter, SOTL, and Red Dragon also.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by Pants
I had to vote for SOTL but I'm really happy to see all the love here for Hanibal. It is an EXCELLENT film and one of the best sequals ever, because it does its own thing and isn't a slave to SOTL

Agreed, completely. It was one of the first two DVDs I bought.

[Deckard-10]

Which "Hannibal" film do you prefer?

The Silence of the Lambs, no question about it.

Originally posted by pixyboi
Hannibal is a damn close second, something about it I like that I quite can't explain..
I love the style and cinematography in Hannibal, but in the end it's just a little too gruesome for me.

[Joe Schmoe]

I picked "Lambs". "Hannibal" is too in-your-face gruesome, and "Dragon" is boring because Hannibal is only a supporting character.

[sinister]

I thought red dragon had it all, great villain, hannibal as a supporting character, and a great lead in norton. the dialogue between the two were better than clarice and lector. Hannibal was terrible, i see why foster passed on it.

[Samuel]

I'd say Red Dragon if only it was released before SOTL.

Hannibal doesn't even exist.

[danol]

SOTL How Hanibal kept dragging her back to the subject of why the lambs were crying, psychologically tearing her down to the things that she conciously didn't want to remember. The crying was done while the lambs were being slautered for human consumption a real psycholigical torturer in his own right of him, being a real doctor besides being a canibal.


Sounds a like true Jeffrey Dalmer, Jack the Ripper, or Ted Bundy all but Jack blamed their behavior on porno magazines.

[milo bloom]

I didn't vote because I haven't seen Red Dragon yet, but of the others, there was just something about the style and atmosphere of Hannibal that I really liked. The fish market battle was incredible, and the parts in Italy were just gorgeous.

[DeadLamb]

I liked SOL the most of out of the 4 films..

but I wonder how much of that has to do with the order one saw the films in. I mean throw out Manhunter from the mix and just look at the 3 newest ones..

I did not know anything about the characters etc before going into see Lambs so everything was very interesting.. Of course I then read Hannibal before seeing the film and also read Red Dragon before I saw Manhunter and then the Red Dragon.

sooooo I wonder if Red Dragon had come out first, if SOL would still have as much impact? If nothing else ya have to think the impact of Hannibal would be a bit less, errrr but then less in Red Dragon too being that film expects ya to know about the character some already.. errrrr I have no idea. :)

[costanza187]

Silence of the Lambs is the best of the two ive seen, Hannibal wasnt too good in my opinion. SOTL was very cool though, and Id like to see the others.

[bsktballDude1]

I love the three Hannibal films with Hopkins, haven't seen Manhunter, but I have to go with The Silence of the Lambs. I think it did the best bringing the tension between the characters, especially Hannibal and Clarice, but also the movie has a great atomosphere. But I have to say Hannibal and Red Dragon are great follow ups to TSOTL.

[buckee1]

I watched Red Dragon, SOTL and Hannibal over the weekend and I really liked Red Dragon more than the others. I love them all but this re-telling of Manhunter is really well done.

[gerrythedon]

I haven't seen MANHUNTER... but RED DRAGON is the BEST for me...

[milo bloom]

Finally got a chance to watch Red Dragon after finding the 2 disc set used for $11. Wow. Way better than I expected, and the different ending than Manhunter was really good and out of the blue (I've never read the books). That said, I voted Hannibal because, as I mentioned earlier, it's just got something to its style and feel that I love and as much as I love Ed Norton, he was too young for Will Graham. Otherwise a very good flick.

[Corvin]

While I think Silence of the Lambs is the best of the trilogy (I'll leave Manhunter aside), I still find Hannibal a better film than post people give it credit for. So I, too, am glad that there are some fans of the film. The cinematography is amazing, the opening credits are cool, the acting is solid, Hannibal is as crazy as ever. . .

Good times.

[Ginwen]

SOTL by Far. I hate Hannibal. The other two are ok, but not as good as SOTL.

[resinrats]

My favorite Hannibal was George Peppard....AKA: John "Hannibal" Smith, the leader of the A-Team.

Oopps...wrong Hannibal!

[jfoobar]

Hannibal just missed falling into the "crap" category on my scale. However, I think a large part of its failing is that is was based on a substandard novel by series standards.

Manhunter has many great moments but the film is too rough, too dated now. If I hadn't enjoyed it so much when I was younger, I doubt I would be able to enjoy it now.

Silence of the Lambs is easily the strongest of the three, although I truly thought Cox did a better job as Lector/Lektor than Hopkins.

I have not yet seen Red Dragon

[F For Fake]

SOTL is one of my favorite films, period.
Manhunter is also one of my favorites, but SOTL edges it out.

Then we take a precipitous drop to...

Hannibal, which I thought was beautifully shot and funny in a Freddy Krueger way, but ultimately not a great film. However, having said that, I actually enjoyed a great deal more than I liked the book, and felt that the film's ending fixed the bad ending of the novel (just my opinion,of course.)

Then we take another drop to...
Red Dragon, which seemed pointless to me. It helps that they had a great cast (Ed Norton is always great, and I will always pay money for Emily Watson and Philip Seymour Hoffman...and Harvey Keitel is gravy!!) but it still just seemed like a glossier carbon copy of the superior Manhunter. I have no plans to watch it again.

[Rocky_Stallone]

I enjoy them all but I find "Hannibal" being the best film.

[milo bloom]

Did anyone else think the guy playing the reporter in Red Dragon was sleepwalking thru the part? Even when he wakes up in the chair, it's not convincing.

[jarofclay73]

1) (tie) Red Dragon :up: :up: :up: :up:
Silence of the Lambs :up: :up: :up: :up:
2) Manhunter :up: :up: :up:
3) Hannibal :yack:

The more I watch "Red Dragon," the more I like it. "Silence of the Lambs" is good as well. But I like the very vulnerable Dollarhyde to any other adversary in the series. I like Manhunter for what it's worth, but it is very dated with a very 80's Miami Vice feel.
Hannibal is beautiful visually but I didn't like the story.

[Rocky_Stallone]

I don't see how people can hate "Hannibal" that much, IMO, it's a great film. One of Ridley Scott's best movies, the ending to "Hannibal" is quite amazing.

[jfoobar]

Originally posted by JustinS
Hannibal just missed falling into the "crap" category on my scale. However, I think a large part of its failing is that is was based on a substandard novel by series standards.

Manhunter has many great moments but the film is too rough, too dated now. If I hadn't enjoyed it so much when I was younger, I doubt I would be able to enjoy it now.

Silence of the Lambs is easily the strongest of the three, although I truly thought Cox did a better job as Lector/Lektor than Hopkins.

I have not yet seen Red Dragon

Just caught Red Dragon over the weekend and boy was I ever disappointed. I would go so far as to call this new entry in the Lector saga "crap." There was nary an inspired performance in the bunch, and such a waste of acting talent.

Norton was just unconvincing in his role, which was also very poorly written. Graham's abilities as a profiler are just given lip service as he never really does any actual profiling during the entire film.

I have always felt that Brian Cox captured the sinister essense of Lector/Lektor better than Hopkins but admit that Hopkins did do solid work in the role in SOTL. The Lector in RD has become a mere caricature of himself and it was painful to watch.

I agree that Hoffman didn't really seem terribly interested in his work, and neither did Fiennes. Only Watson seemed to be doing more than phoning in her performance among those with supporting roles in the film.

While I was happy to see Ratner/Tally use the book ending, so much was inferior to Manhunter I don't even know where to begin and Manhunter was hardly perfect filmmaking in its own right.

What a complete waste.

[jdslater]

i would have to say SOTL is my favourite but i think i'm one of the only ones how put manhunter a second. the problem i have with hannibal is it has alot of style but no feeling,certain scenes are great but i feel hopkins is overacting and doing a bad impression of himself. red dragon is good but i can't help think that while i was watching it i couldn't help think of the same scene being done better in manhunter. i can't believe hopkins got nearly $20 million for walking around a cell and a gym,he says himself he finds the charactor easy to play!

[Dabaomb]

SOTL is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Red Dragon is a close second...good but in a different way than SOTL. The beginning and ending were so intense...it still boggles my mind how Michael Mann didn't use the ending from the book in Manhunter.

I thought Manhunter was subpar....very 80s and very cheesy. Although, Peterson played the detective role better than Norton whose more suited for Death To Smoochy roles IMO.

Hannibal, what a disappointment. No wonder, Jodie Foster didn't want any part of it.

[Vampyr]

I'll go with SOTL, but I still like Manhunter second by a long shot.

[AGuyNamedMike]

Manhunter, while "dated 80's cheese" to some of you, is still my favorite. The combination of Mann's slick cinematographic choices and Peterson's perfect performance provide a one-two punch. SOTL was by far the next best thing, but seemed to sand down the edginess to appeal to a larger audience (damn studios). RD did suffer from slack acting, but was visually compelling. Hannibal? Bad book, worse film.

[MurraySiskind]

SOTL and Manhunter are the only two of quality. Red Dragon just made me mad. It was such a waste of acting talent. I don't know what direction Brett Ratner gave to Edward Norton to make him behave like a block of wood, but i wish he wouldn't have. I don't know why Ratner would want to remake Manhunter(other than money of course). He doesn't have the chops to stand up to a talent like Mann. He comes off looking like a chump in comparison. Manhunter, though admittedly a bit dated and somewhat low budget, still had twice the style and atmosphere than Red Dragon has. And Ratner had seemingly limitless resources at his disposal.

[Dabaomb]

Originally posted by MurraySiskind
SOTL and Manhunter are the only two of quality. Red Dragon just made me mad. It was such a waste of acting talent. I don't know what direction Brett Ratner gave to Edward Norton to make him behave like a block of wood, but i wish he wouldn't have. I don't know why Ratner would want to remake Manhunter(other than money of course). He doesn't have the chops to stand up to a talent like Mann. He comes off looking like a chump in comparison. Manhunter, though admittedly a bit dated and somewhat low budget, still had twice the style and atmosphere than Red Dragon has. And Ratner had seemingly limitless resources at his disposal.

On the contrary, Ratner didn't remake Manhunter. Mann changed the ending of Red Dragon and called his movie Manhunter. The author of Red Dragon, Harris, was extremely pleased with Ratner's depiction of Red Dragon because he actually used the book, including the thrilling ending when making his movie.

[mljones99]

SOTL

[Lbrown]

Silence of the lambs of course. It will always be a classic to me.