Movie Ratings: MANHUNTER 8/10, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 10/10, HANNIBAL 3/10

Blu-ray Rating: 6/10

Writers: Thomas Harris (novels), Michael Mann, Ted Talley, David Mamet, Steven Zaillian
Directors: Michael Mann, Jonathan Demme, Ridley Scott
Cast: Brian Cox, Kim Greist, William Petersen, Joan Allen, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta
Studio: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Orion Pictures Cooperation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Three of the five main films about the brilliant psychiatrist and cannibal serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, come with The Hannibal Lecter Collection, now on Blu-ray and regular DVD. The omission of the prequel HANNIBAL RISING isn’t much of a bummer, since it is a pretty lame film and it doesn’t add of anything to legacy of Lecter. The other film left off, the satisfactory RED DRAGON, is much better than HANNIBAL RISING, but it is a remake of the superior MANHUNTER, so it isn’t really needed either.

The three films we do get with the Hannibal Lecter collection (MANHUNTER, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and HANNIBAL), may range in quality, but all in all, make it a pretty Blu-ray collection. Well, as far as the films go, at least.

MANHUNTER is for some reason an overlooked film, despite being written and directed by Michael Mann, and staying on the taut side of things for its entire running time. Perhaps the reason why MANHUNTER isn’t discussed much when Dr. Lecter comes up is that it is a more of a straight-up detective thriller, and less a look into the madness of that which is Hannibal Lecter.

MANHUNTER does feature a rare chance to see Dr. Lecter played by someone other than Anthony Hopkins. The reliable character actor Brian Cox plays Lecter in MANHUNTER. It is fun, in a strange way, to watch someone other than Hopkins play the role that he made so famous.

It would be ridiculous to have a Hannibal Lecter set and not have the psychotic doctor’s best film, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and thankfully this collection is not ridiculous. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a film that is twisted in all the right ways. Everything is spot-on: the music, direction, performances, editing. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is deserving of all its Oscars, including the one for Best Picture. This is the film, even though it was released years after MANHUNTER, that really hypnotized us by the persuasive perverseness of Lecter.

Then there’s HANNIBAL, the one film in this collection that wouldn’t be worth buying on its own. HANNIBAL seems to only focus on the nasty, more primal elements of Dr. Lecter; a gross and unsatisfying mess that serves as one of the biggest black spots on the resumes of director Ridley Scott, and its stars, Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore. HANNIBAL seems to be the sort of situation where it was about the paycheck and nothing more for everyone involved. It’s hard to imagine what else could of driven these A-listers to such a piss-poor working of such a great character.

MANHUNTER and HANNIBAL are devoid of special features, with the exception of a few trailers that come with HANNIBAL. You have got to give us more than that. A Michael Mann commentary of MANHUNTER would have been nice, and maybe one from Ridley with HANNIBAL, too. You know, to give him a chance to explain himself. And hopefully the answer wouldn’t be, “I always wanted three solid gold jets, just to look at.”

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is the one that does not disappoint when it comes to special features. There are several documentaries about the film and its subject matter that come with the disc. There are also some interesting deleted scenes of Lecter to watch, plus a phone message of Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lecter that ranges high on the creep meter. You also get a making of-featurette, a behind-the-scenes special on Howard Shore’s score of the film, and a feature about THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS transition from novel to film. There are even more features than this, but these are the highlights.

All of the film transferred to Blu-ray nicely, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that all three films were made by very talented directors with great visual sense. Mann, Demme, and Scott all look good in Blu-ray.

The Hannibal Lecter Collection is a Blu-ray collection getting for Lecter fans, even if there is a clear weak link when it comes to films in the set, and two of the films are lacking in the special features.