DVD
Review | Manhunter (Director's Cut)
Written by: Kage
Alan
Forget about “Silence of the Lambs”, “Hannibal”
and the recent “Red Dragon” for a moment. Michael Mann’s “Manhunter”,
based on the novel by Thomas Harris (though not as closely as “Red
Dragon”), is its own entity and deserves to stand alone. Anchor Bay
released a limited edition 2-disc set of “Manhunter” a year or two ago
that contained the theatrical release and a second disc with a
less-than-stellar looking “Director’s Cut”. Despite the second disc,
the first one contained some very nice extras, but lacked input from
the director. Well, much of that has been cleared up with this latest
remastered Director’s Cut supervised by Mann himself.
Will Graham (William Peterson, “Young Guns 2”) quit
the FBI after almost losing his mind bringing down psychopath Hannibal
Lecktor (Brian Cox, “L.I.E.”). He now spends his time with his wife
(Kim Greist, “Zoe”) and son (David Seaman) on the beach enjoying the sun
and tranquility. Unfortunately, Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina, “Get
Shorty”) shows up and asks Will to track another serial killer, one that
nobody seems to be able to understand or predict. Considering entire
families have already been killed and more are yet to come, Will
reluctantly agrees.
The other part of the film deals with the serial
killer himself, Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan, “Robocop 2”). At no
time does “Manhunter” attempt to justify Dollarhyde’s motives or
actions, but it does allow us an opportunity to peek into his mind and
see why he may be as twisted as he is. As Will continues to move in and
understand his prey, Dollarhyde prepares to take the lives of the next
family.
“Manhunter” boasts some incredible performances,
especially by Peterson, Noonan and Farina. There is a great deal of
tension throughout and the payoff at the end is well worth the wait.
What really works in Mann’s favor here is his style of shooting the film
and the pacing. At no time is it ever dull despite long periods without
action and Mann’s flair for color and camera set-ups, probably perfected
while shooting “Miami Vice”, combined with a wonderful soundtrack truly
compliment the overall piece.
Anchor Bay has released this latest version of the
“Manhunter (Director’s Cut)” in a fairly decent Widescreen transfer.
There’s a bit of grain present, especially in the new footage that’s
been cut back in (a few minutes worth), but it’s nice to see some scenes
more fully fleshed out and that makes the grain a small price to pay.
Audio quality isn’t necessarily what it is today, but it’s pretty darn
good here and shows off the film’s incredible soundtrack (I wish it had
been released on CD). Now, as far as extras go this time, we start off
with a commentary track by Director Mann. Some of the information he
gives is good, especially about scenes that were previously trimmed or
cut, but he tends to retell the story way too much and there are a few
too many lapses of silence. There’s also a gallery section of photos
including “deleted and alternate scenes”, “production stills” and a
“poster and advertising gallery”.
To really appreciate this film and to get the full
effect, it’s probably a good idea to have both the 2-disc collector’s
edition with those extras along with this single disc edition here.
“Manhunter” has been one of my favorite thrillers since I first saw it
and I was afraid it would disappear into VHS oblivion. Fortunately
there has always been an audience for the film and Anchor Bay has once
again excelled at delivering the goods. I really do wish the major
studios would give as much attention to their older titles as this
company gives them.
Film Rating:
A-
DVD Special Features: B-
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