Cheap Red Dragon - Collector's Edition (Widescreen) (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Red Dragon - Collector's Edition (Widescreen)

Very eatable pulp
First there was "Manhunter", Michael Mann's ice cold, clinical approach of what would later be series of `Hannibal Lecter series'. And to say this is to make a mistake a lot of people make: Hannibal Lecter is just a suporting character in the book by Thomas Harris and the movie (then played by British actor Brian Cox). <
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>The real story is about Will Graham, a retired cop who comes back to the scene of homocide, because his keen eye for detail must help the local police department in their desperate search for a brutal serial killer, called the "Tooth Fairy". Graham was played by the then relatively unknown William Petersen and it is his troubled mind and his ambivalence against going back to the very technique of profiling and re-living the feelings and thoughts the alledged killer must have that sent him to early retirement, that gives his character and the movie an underlying sense of unease. <
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>"Manhunter" remained rather unnoticed at the time of release. And only because of the fact that it is now officially the first in an on going series with a highly likeble classic literature quoting cannibal, it has coem out of oblivion a bit, and justifiably so; the movie is better than expected, even though it seems to be a bit dated with it's typical eighties electronic soundtrack. <
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>Then there was "The silence of the lambs", the highly acclaimed movie by Jonathan Demme with a bigger part for the Lecter guy. And again it would be wrong to call it "another Hannibal Lecter movie". But Anthony Hopkins does have his moments as the caged-in psychiatrist a.k.a.man-eating monster, who drops viable clues at the right moment so a dedicated FBI trainee, Jodi Foster, could help the Department catch another brutal slayer. <
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>Hopkins immediately was and still is the embodiment of Hannibal Lecter, and would return in two more movies, "Hannibal" and the "Manhunter"-remake "Red Dragon". The latter was obviously created to give the Hannibal character more time and space then in the Michael Mann original, giving the fans of the New Movie Psycho what they wanted. <
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>Having said this I want to make clear that Hopkins may be synonymous to Hannibal, that doesn't mean that he is per se better than Brian Cox. Hopkins, with his hissing, sneering and his constant sardonic looks from under his eye brows, is more of a movie-bad guy, while Cox, with his naturalistic approach, was more realistic. <
>In other words, within two seconds you can see that Hopkins' Hannibal is a nasty goul you should ignore when he invites you to diner, while Cox' version is that of an ordinary man who can easily delude and deceit without you knowing for a second you will be the dessert for that night. <
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>Now there is "Red Dragon" and first of all it can be said that it doesn't have the qualities of the original "Manhunter". Edward Norton is simply unconvincing as an experienced FBI profiler, Harvey Keitel goes through the numbers and doesn't add anything to the part, Ralph Fiennes does his best being the tormented Tooth Fairy, as does Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman has a funny bit as a sleazy reporter. Movie goers like to see familiar faces, likable faces of the moviestars they like, but "Red dragon" shows that an overkill of instant-recognizable actors can also damage things. Perhaps a cast of lesser known actors would be better so the carefully build-up tension remains, in stead of being shattered by another cheap sensation of "Hey, I know that face. Last year he was in that and that movie..." <
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>But being inferior to the original doesn't mean that your time is wasted. Just watch the movie for what it is, easy degestable pulp. Good story about a troubled cop going after a troubled maniac, being helped in the process by a troubled ex-psychiatrist who again drops viable clues at exactly the right moments. <
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Very Scary !!
This is a good thriller. Anthony Hopkins is one of the top actors in the world because he is able to play very good characters and very evil characters with flare and a lot of believability. That, in a nutshell, is what makes him such an excellent and compelling actor. I would agree with this reviewer: <
>"The cast is top-notch, as one would expect from actors the caliber of Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman (Especially good as the loathsome Freddie Lounds..), etc. Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, and Anthony Hopkins are all spellbinding in their respective roles as Fed, Serial Killer, and Imprisoned Cannibal, and the actual depiction of the capture of Lector, as well as his infamous dinner party is a real treat." <
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>Fiennes was very chilling and his immense self absorption and egotism seemed very real on the screen. These are not "lightweight" actors.

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Disappointing remake
This movie, based on the Thomas Harris book, is a remake of the movie 'Manhunter.' The story leads up to the events of the popular Silence of the Lambs film. Red Dragon was remade because the studio wanted to cash in on the surprising popularity of Hanibal Lecter. Unfortunately the supply of Thomas Harris books was exhausted. So they revisited and retitled this prequel to the Silence of the Lambs. In Thomas Harris's book and the original Manhunter Dr. Lecter was an intriguing support character only. But now Hollywood has discovered that Hannibal's character brings in moviergoers so they take every opportunity in Red Dragon to add or lenghten scenes with Dr. Lecter and put him center stage. <
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>The original Manhunter was a fine film directed by Michael Mann. It featured Brian Cox (Bourne Identity) as Dr. Lecter and William Peterson (CSI) as Special Agent Graham. This movie is lacking in all aspects to the original (and to the book). While Anthony Hopkins's portrayal is as good as Mr. Cox's Edward Norton is clearly out of his depth. He is unable to convey the complex emotional trauma that Agent Graham experiences when he assimilates the mindset of a sadistic killer who wipes out entire families. Performances by Harvey Keitel and Ralph Fiennes are also wasted here. My advice-buy or rent the original. <
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