Cheap Manhunter (EP Mode) (Video) (Michael Mann) Price

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Customer Reviews of Manhunter (EP Mode)

DON'T believe it every time they say "director's cut"
I was very disappointed when I rented this set. The second, "director's cut" version is clearly a work print, with lower grade titles and dubbing, and a final scene of Graham visiting near-victim family #3 that is just terrible. <
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>The first disc is the release version, and though it restores a few scenes which were snipped from the VHS cut, a quick line from the scene in which Graham figures out how Dolarhyde is picking his victims is "missing." ("As a child my heart bleeds for him ... as an adult ... slaughters whole families for selfish, trivial ends. ... Are you uncomfortable with this kind of understanding?") Whether it really needs to be in the scene is arguable. Mann may've removed it from the final version for good reasons. He sneers at his friend and former colleague, Crawford. Alienates him. It's a false climax in a scene when the REAL climax is the storeroom guard (on the phone) confirms Graham's breakthrough conclusion. <
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>Other than that, the first disc is superbly transferred. If you've only seen this on tape, the clarity and color saturation of the original film will amaze you. Save your pennies, buy the "release version" single disc release, and let Canal/Anchor Bay learn that mis-labled "director's cuts" just won't sell.

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THE MGM FULL-SCREEN EDITION IS THE ONE TO GET.
There were so many things wrong with the original 2-disc edition by Anchor Bay -- and even the later restored version of the first package's second disc -- that I simply no longer possess the energy to go into it yet again. I've had relationship breakups that were less traumatic for me than the Anchor Bay-Manhunter experience. But let me address the main reasons why this MGM disc is the one to stick with. <
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>The edition on the MGM DVD is the VHS version that introduced most of Manhunter's fans to the film. Yes, it is full screen. But the widescreen edition on the other DVDs is partly matted. With this MGM disc, you're gaining as much picture on the top and bottom of the frame as you are losing on the sides -- possibly more, in fact. The widescreen framing on the first 3 discs resulted in the loss of one of the film's most important details: when the blind lady is stroking the tiger, Francis Dolarhyde could no longer be seen crossing his arms against his chest, in imitation of a butterfly. (In this sequence, he is imagining his "becoming," his transformation likened to that of a butterfly's.) His crossed arms were severed from the bottom of the widescreen framings. Particularly frustrating is that Andy Black alludes to this detail in his wonderful liner notes. For those who had never seen the VHS copy from the 80s and 90s, this must have been a bewildering reference. <
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>Secondly, the most important scene in the film -- when Graham explains the causes behind Dolarhyde's murderous behavior, and why he both despises and pities him -- was absent from the cut on the earler discs. Apparently it was edited from the final, theatrically released version, and not a part of Mann's preferred director's cut either; but I don't care. Most of us who love Manhunter came to know it through the old VHS copy. Almost everyone I've talked to about Manhunter have singled out that scene as their favorite. If Mann and Anchor Bay are so out of touch with what the film's legion of admirers like about the film, then shame on them. And once again, Andy Black refers to this scene in his liner notes! More than bewildering, this must have been confounding to the unititiated. Did Anchor Bay even bother to read the notes before printing them? <
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>As for the widescreen framing: big deal. The full-screen picture is as impressive in its own way as the widescreen, and considering what you gain from the MGM disc, any losses (aesthetically or content-wise) the full-screen presentation incurs are more than worth it. Buy this DVD and throw out Anchor Bay's trash.

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FLASHY THRILLS
Over the years, critics have lauded this as the best of the movies featuring Hannibal Lechter. I found it a little more "flashy" and "artsy" rather than truly compelling, but one must credit Michael Mann for his mastery of the "music video goes cinema" look he does so well. Based on Thomas Harris' RED DRAGON novel, the movie follows William Petersen as the agent who captured Hannibal Lechter, only to find himself back on the scene again once the Tooth Fairy emerges. Petersen's performance is edgy, tight and believable; Tom Noonan is mesmerizingly evil as the fairy; Joan Allen has a supporting role as a blind girl who Noonan fancies; and Dennis Farina is competent as Petersen's boss. Brian Cox does well as Lechter, but he doesn't control the character as well as Anthony Hopkins does later. MANHUNTER has a very effective climax with a disturbingly good use of IN A GADDA DI VIDA during the pursuit and capture. While definitely a well done film, I don't think it's overall as effective as SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, but it's as good as RED DRAGON and better than HANNIBAL.