THE DANMAN CAN

The Silence Of The Lambs  (1991) is an all-time classic and one of (if not  the ) greatest psychological thriller(s) ever made (one of my  Top 100 Films  and #1 on  Top 10 Horror Films (1990–Current) ). Its influence cannot be understated. It's a film that offers new discoveries on every viewing. Note the parallels in the violent demise of a character in the endings of  Silence  and  Taxi Driver  (1976) [ review ]. In both films  Jodi Foster  looks on, horrified—in one as the instigator of said violence and in the other as a bystander. Jonathan Demme   was a diverse director, responsible for what many consider the greatest concert film ever (1984's  Stop Making Sense   [ review ] ).   While  Tak Fujimoto 's cinematography is what might be considered a bit bland in tone for a large majority of  Silence , his camera movements are assured, and his use of close-ups striking, bringing  Hannibal Lecter '...

I'm in the minority of people that prefer  Brett Ratner 's  Red Dragon (2002) to  Michael Mann 's Manhunter   (1986). While the 2002 film is assuredly flawed, I prefer  Anthony Hopkins ' Hannibal Lecter to  Brian Cox 's "Dr. Lecktor" and I find it to be a much more faithful adaptation of Thomas Harris ' 1981 novel . Mann's movie is great as its own thing; it's just particularly "eighties". Even if it does feel a tad pedestrian at times, the tone of Red Dragon  sits more comfortably with  Jonathan Demme 's   The Silence Of The Lambs  (1991) ( review ) and, to a lesser extent,  Ridley Scott 's  Hannibal  (2001) ( review ). RD has a (mostly) terrific (if a bit underutilized) cast and excellent cinematography by  Dante Spinotti  (who also shot Manhunter ).  Hannibal Lecter Franchise Films Ranked

30 years old this year,  The Silence Of The Lambs  (1991) is an all-time classic and one of (if not  the ) greatest psychological thriller(s) ever made (one of my  Top 100 Films  and #1 on  Top 10 Horror Films (1990–Current) ). Its influence cannot be understated. It's a film that offers new discoveries on every viewing. For example, one thing that struck me this time around were the parallels that the violent demise of a character in the ending of  Silence  shares with  Taxi Driver  (1976) [ review ]. In both films  Jodi Foster  looks on, horrified—in one as the instigator of said violence and in the other as a bystander. Jonathan Demme   was a diverse director, responsible for what many consider the greatest concert film ever (1984's  Stop Making Sense   [ review ] ).   While  Tak Fujimoto 's cinematography is what might be considered a bit bland in tone for a large majority of  Silence , his cam...

The last time I watched  Hannibal  (2001), four years ago ( review ), I was fresh off of re-reading Thomas Harris '  1999 novel  ( review ). I wrote that I hadn't seen the film in over 10 years and that I didn't find it as good as I had remembered. On this viewing, detached from a recent reading of the novel and enjoying the film on its own merits, I enjoyed it more, but I still can't bring myself to award it a higher star rating. I do think that the film is great, it's just that certain elements and omissions leave it shy of true greatness, like its predecessor The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) ( review ).  Gary Oldman  is, as always, a scene stealer, but Mason Verger's demise is  much  more interesting in the novel. Margot Verger being left out was a poor choice. The climax of the film is but a shadow of the novel. In general, everything just feels truncated.  Julianne Moore isn't as good as Jodi Foster but she ...

The Silence Of The Lambs  (1991) is an all-time classic and one of (if not  the ) greatest psychological thriller(s) ever made. Its influence cannot be understated. It's a film that offers new discoveries on every viewing. For example, one thing that struck me this time around were the parallels that the violent demise of a character in the ending of Silence  shares with Taxi Driver  (1976) (my review here ). In both films  Jodi Foster looks on, horrified—in one as the instigator of said violence and in the other as a bystander. Jonathan Demme   was quite the diverse director and was also responsible for what I consider the greatest concert film ever ( Stop Making Sense  (1984)).   While Tak Fujimoto 's cinematography is what might be considered a bit bland in tone for the large majority of Silence , his camera movements are assured and his use of close-ups striking. Howard Shore 's score remains one of his best, subdued for large swaths of th...

Fresh off re-reading the novel  and having not seen Hannibal  (2001) for over 10 years, I have to say that, while I still think it's great, it's not nearly as great as I remember. Gary Oldman is a scene stealer, but  Mason Verger 's demise is much  more interesting in the novel. Margot Verger 's   omission was a poor choice. And the climax of the film is but a shadow of the novel. In general, everything just feels truncated. The sequence where Hannibal  is caught by Mason 's hired thugs is completely different in the film as well and stems from a whole newly-written sequence which just isn't terribly good. All that said, I don't expect films based on books to be 100% beholden to their sources and there is much to savor here - including facial expressions, the still-excellent Mason  makeup, and some dialogue made more concise.

*SPOILERS* This was my first time re-reading Hannibal  (1999) since its release and I had forgotten some details but remembered a good deal, as I've seen the 2001 film adaptation more than once. I like the film very much and have always found it underrated so I'm interested (and excited) to see how a revisit will fare, since I'd forgotten that numerous characters were left out of the celluloid adaptation. Some of them, like Jack Crawford and Ardelia Mapp, aren't essential to this story, like they were to The Silence Of The Lambs  (1988). But then there's Margot Verger. How (and why) on earth did writers  David Mamet   and Steve Zaillian   leave her out of the film?? She is so integral to the novel - her relationship with Barney, her plot against her brother, her walnut-cracking... Fortunately, her character made her way into the television series  (2013-2015), still as a lesbian but not a bodybuilder. The TV series also included C...