Manhunter is a 1986 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Michael Mann. It is based on the 1981 novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. The film stars William Petersen as FBI profiler Will Graham. It was the first film adaptation of Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels, as well as the first adaptation of Red Dragon.
About Manhunter (film) in brief
Manhunter is a 1986 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Michael Mann. It is based on the 1981 novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. The film stars William Petersen as FBI profiler Will Graham. Also featured are Tom Noonan as serial killer Francis Dollarhyde, Dennis Farina as Graham’s FBI superior Jack Crawford, and Brian Cox as incarcerated killer Hannibal Lecktor. It was the first film adaptation of Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels, as well as the first adaptation of Red Dragon, which later became the basis for a film of the same name in 2002. Manhunter fared poorly at the box office at the time of its release, making only USD 8. 6 million in the United States. However, it has been reappraised in more recent reviews and now enjoys a more favorable reception, as both the acting and the stylized visuals have been appreciated better in later years. Its resurgent popularity, which may be due to later adaptations of Harris’ books and Petersen’s success in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, has seen it labelled as a cult film.Plot involves Graham coming out of retirement to lend his talents to an investigation on Dollarhyde. In doing so, he must confront the demons of his past and meet with Lecktor, who nearly counted Graham among his victims. After a sting operation fails to catch the killer, Lounds is kidnapped by the Tooth Fairy. Graham organizes an interview with Lounds, giving a false and derogatory profile of the Tooth fairy to incite him.
The following night, Graham realizes the killer’s murders are driven by a desire for acceptance by Reba, a blind co-worker of Dollarhyde’s who is oblivious to the fact that Dollarhyde is the next victim. The FBI decodes LeckTor’s coded message to the tooth fairy: it is Graham’s home address with an instruction to kill and his family. After the FBI moves Graham’s family to a safe house, he explains to his son Kevin why he retired previously. At his job, Graham moves to a St. Louis lab, where a blind worker, Reba McClane, offers a ride home by another man and kisses him and they have sex. The next day, Graham is approached by his former FBI superior, who is seeking help with a new serial killer case. Graham agrees to visit the most recent crime scene in Atlanta, where he tries to enter the mindset of the killer. He is accosted by tabloid journalist Freddy Lounds and is forced to tape-record a statement before being set on fire in a wheelchair, his flaming body rolled into the parking garage of the National Tattler as a warning. Graham pays a visit to Leck Tor, a former psychiatrist, in his cell and asks for his insight into the killer’s motivations. Graham visits the first crime scene and finds out that the killer has been dubbed the tooth Fairy by the police for the bite marks left on his victims, and he is arrested.
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