June 26, 2002

10:01 AM

The trailer for Red Dragonis here. Remaking 1986's "Manhunter"? Cashing in on a successful franchise with bigger-name stars? I thought CSI's William Peterson did a fine job as FBI agent Will Graham, but can you go wrong with Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes and Harvey Keitel? What other movies from the last decade deserve to be given a bigger budget Hollywood recreation and decent promotion?
posted by robbie01 (39 comments total)

And what's more, if the trailer is any indication, it appears the Hannibal character has more scenes than his scant (but creepy) appearances in Manhunter. How much will the movie deviate from the novel, in order to lure Hopkins to bother with the reprise?
posted by robbie01 at 10:03 AM on June 26, 2002

Hmm, the original was directed by Michael Mann, this one is directed by Brett Ratner, whose previous film credits include Rush Hours 2 and 3, the Family Man, and Money Talks. Silence of the Lambs was directed by Jonathan Demme, Hannibal by Ridley Scott. Interesting choice for this one...
posted by cell divide at 10:09 AM on June 26, 2002

That's a shame, I thought Manhunter was an excellent movie, no need to remake it.
Movies that need more budget...hmmmm...... Armageddon, more movie-stars and explosions this time please!
posted by patrickje at 10:11 AM on June 26, 2002

The original Manhunter was excellent, so I fail to see why the addition of bigger name actors will necessarily make for a better movie. Plus, take into account fairly spotty and generally disappointing Hannibal, and I think we can safely chalk this squarely in the column of "Probably A Bad Idea."

I think that Hollywood is eating it's own children by remaking movies like this. Movies represent their time, and fresh production values and name stars can't replicate that combinative snapshot of a time, place and story. It's not just about cgi and Ben Affleck.
posted by UncleFes at 10:13 AM on June 26, 2002

That trailer does look Hopkins-heavy. Red Dragon was my favorite of the Harris books and Manhunter was a huge dissapointment. I was thrilled when I found out it was going to be remade, then bummed to find out that Brett Ratner was directing. pshaw.
posted by whatnot at 10:13 AM on June 26, 2002

In my opinion, Manhunter was a pretty damn good film adaptation, and one that should be left alone. Granted, it's a bit dated, but it was a fine film, and as mentioned above, William Peterson did an excellent job as Will Graham the first time around (and this is from someone who really enjoys Ed Norton). One thing for sure, they'd better keep the final showdown, with "Inna Goda Davida" (or however you spell it) playing. That was some classic stuff.

On a completely unrelated note, I think that a much cooler story trajectory for the third movie (which was of course the execrable Hannibal) would have instead been to go back to the Will Graham character. He'd obviously cracked at the end of the first book/movie, and he could have been an amazingly cunning villian in the third movie, having had his life shattered. Of course, you could have then had Clarice again go to Hannibal for help in catching Graham (since the two had a history). Much better than the ham-fisted Hannibal.
posted by almostcool at 10:21 AM on June 26, 2002

Funny how the younger Hannibal looks older than before. In S.o.L. he was pushing the limits of plausibility as a scary guy. I didn't see the sequel. But here he just looks like a creepy old fat guy cashing a paycheck. I think I'll pass.
posted by plaino at 10:22 AM on June 26, 2002

Oh, and just in case you weren't already sufficiently scared by the credits of director Brett Ratner, check out his *bling bling* bio at IMDB. Looks like he hasn't heard of modesty.
posted by almostcool at 10:24 AM on June 26, 2002

The remake game is pretty funny: Mann shot a movie called LA Takedown and then remade it himself about six years later, same movie, with stars this time, and called it Heat

May I mention that Brian Cox, in "Manhunter", did a great job with Lecter, 5 years before Hopkins came in for "Silence"?

...in order to lure Hopkins to bother with the reprise?
I think a shitload of money did the trick. I mean, I don't envision him that eager to appear in a Brett Ratner feature. Not that I wouldn't do the same, of course: I bet the paycheck was really succulent. He's already in the history of cinema (thanks to Demme's movie, there's no denying that), Hopkins at this point is more or less thinking about his retirement money

The original Manhunter was excellent, so I fail to see why the addition of bigger name actors will necessarily make for a better movie
Amen, brother
posted by matteo at 10:26 AM on June 26, 2002

Dolarhyde is an infinitely scarier villain than any of the others in the Harris stable (including Lecter) and Mann didn't even scratch the surface. Not that Ratner will, but you know Ralph Fiennes will be chewing the scenery ...
posted by whatnot at 10:33 AM on June 26, 2002

yeah, same with solaris.
posted by kliuless at 10:34 AM on June 26, 2002

I saw the trailer for this before Minority Report and my SO and I both thought for a second that it was going to be a parody. That doesn't bode well for me.
posted by jennyb at 10:47 AM on June 26, 2002

Could I please have someone with actual scriptwriting ability have another go at the last couple Star Wars movies?

kthxbye (:
posted by verso at 11:06 AM on June 26, 2002

I *heart* Philip Seymour Hoffman!
posted by ColdChef at 11:06 AM on June 26, 2002

"What other movies from the last decade deserve to be given a bigger budget Hollywood recreation and decent promotion?"

Precisely none.
posted by five fresh fish at 1:19 PM on June 26, 2002

Fuckin aye, ColdChef. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton in the same movie -- now, that's gonna be an actor's showcase. Unless the director is a pinhead. Oh, he is. Well, never mind...
posted by Holden at 1:20 PM on June 26, 2002

ColdChef: I will see this move solely because Philip Seymour Hoffman is in it. He rules my world.
posted by brand-gnu at 1:22 PM on June 26, 2002

I'll agree with a lot of you here: "Manhunter" is one of my favorite movies, and Brian Cox will always be Lecter to me. Hey, "Red Dragon" does have a great cast, but talk about NEEDLESS remakes. "Manhunter" was not only a great flick, but it was only made, what, 15 or 16 years ago?

I don't have any intention of seeing it.
posted by sassone at 1:27 PM on June 26, 2002

Ironically, I bet if Manhunter didn't exist and William Peterson was cast as the lead in today's Red Dragon, his popularity from CSI would probably bring in much better box office results than the original release when he was an unknown.
posted by robbie01 at 1:50 PM on June 26, 2002

Technically, this isn't a remake of Manhunter. It's a second film adaptation of the book 'Red Dragon'. I'm no fan of Ratner either, but I'll go see this to see Fiennes, Hoffman, Hopkins and Emily Watson act the crap out of whatever script got tossed at them.
posted by toddshot at 1:54 PM on June 26, 2002

I wish the studio would just have the guts to re-release Manhunter and promote the hell out of it. Same with Solaris, and Hollywood remakes of successful foreign movies in general.
posted by bingo at 2:06 PM on June 26, 2002

, but I'll go see this to see Fiennes, Hoffman, Hopkins and Emily Watson act the crap out of whatever script got tossed at them.

Hopkins, Julianne Moore and especially the great Giancarlo Giannini were good in Hannibal. But the movie kinda sucked anyway

If you guys like Petersen, check out this movie, he really kicks ass in it
posted by matteo at 2:22 PM on June 26, 2002

Oh, what the hell. Why not another remake of Beau Geste, this time with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Clint Eastwood as that psycho Foreign Legion noncom?
posted by alumshubby at 2:41 PM on June 26, 2002

The last remake I had the displeasure seeing was "Gone in 60 seconds"...if that wasn't the GDMFWPOSRO ever made I don't know what was.
posted by Mack Twain at 2:46 PM on June 26, 2002

I'll agree with a lot of you here: "Manhunter" is one of my favorite movies, and Brian Cox will always be Lecter to me.

Damn strait. I never understood how SOTL got to be such an overrated sack of shit. Cox made Hopkins look like a freakin choirboy. And William Peterson? He could eat Foster for lunch. To this day, Manhunter is one of my favorite movies and no remake will change my mind.

Well maybe....
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:51 PM on June 26, 2002

matteo: truth on To Live and Die... Best damn 80s movie. Wm. Dafoe suitable menacing as the bad guy, and an extended cameo by a young Jane Leeves as Dafoe's girlfriend's love interest (!). GREAT Soundtrack by Wang Chung. In a word, awesome.

"You're working for me now." :)
posted by UncleFes at 2:55 PM on June 26, 2002

But I gotta disagree with you on Julianne Moore in Hannibal, she sleepwalked through it. She's no collossal emoter, but in Hannibal she was nearly wooden.
posted by UncleFes at 2:59 PM on June 26, 2002

Hopkins, Julianne Moore and especially the great Giancarlo Giannini were good in Hannibal.

Are you serious? Julianne Moore singlehandedly ruined the movie for me (I'd already read the book, so the various weaknesses of the plot had been mentally prepared for). I thought she was TERRIBLE.
posted by rushmc at 3:00 PM on June 26, 2002

...to be given a bigger budget Hollywood recreation and decent promotion.

you say that like it's a good thing.
posted by signal at 3:06 PM on June 26, 2002

<hijack>

Mack Twain:

GDMFWPOSRO

God Damn Mother Fucking Worst Piece Of Shit Remake O?

WTF is O?

</hijack>
posted by taumeson at 3:23 PM on June 26, 2002

Yeah, Sir Ant'ny has repeatedly gone on record as saying that he doesn't much care what kind of turds he stars in, as long as they back the proverbial truckload of dough up to his house. And as someone who just saw Bad Company, I can tell you, he ain't kidding.

(Yeah, I should have know better, but I like Chris Rock, so sue me).
posted by Optamystic at 3:37 PM on June 26, 2002

I thought Manhunter and SOTL were both quite good, but I thought Hannibal sucked and this remake will probably suck too. There was one good thing about Hannibal though: "Vide Cor Meum", the music from the opera scene in Florence, which was apparently written for the movie by a guy named Patrick Cassidy. Very nice piece that.
posted by homunculus at 3:57 PM on June 26, 2002

I concur on TLADILA -- a very cool, mostly overlooked flick. And Friedkin pulls off yet another variation on his great French Connection chase scene by having one that goes backwards on a freeway. And it has John Pankow (Mad About You) in a serious role. I liked Petersen for a long time before he became famous because of this role.

I agree Manhunter is a fine entry (and better for not indulging in the high-class horror of its "sequels") but I have no objection to it being remade. I mean, it's the movie business, which means they have to have new product in order to make money. *shrug* Nobody makes you go see 'em. And heck, with some of the supposedly new crap that does get made, they may as well adapt proven scripts like Beau Geste.

I can't think of any recent movie I'd specifically like remade, though there are plenty I'd like a shot at changing Just One Thing. Like the screenplay, or that horribly miscast secondary character. Or usually the director.
posted by dhartung at 4:16 PM on June 26, 2002

God Damn Mother Fucking Worst Piece Of Shit Remake O?
WTF is O?

I think the last two letters are "Rip Off"
posted by nprigoda at 4:58 PM on June 26, 2002

taumeson: WTF is O?
nprigoda: I think the last two letters are "Rip Off"

For a minute there, I thought he may have been talking about O, the shitty "Othello"-set-in-modern-times tripe heaped atop the Hollywood dungpile last year.

Either way, really.
posted by Danelope at 9:31 PM on June 26, 2002

I really like both Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs, and I think one of the reasons those two movies are much better than Hannibal is that the Hannibal character is in prison. He's very menacing---I think of a caged tiger--and dominates the movies despite not having a lot of screen time.

In Hannibal, on the other hand, he has a lot more screen time, and you see him doing a lot of mundane things. Sipping an espresso and driving a minivan aren't quite as terrifying.

And Anthony Hopkins does look old and fat in the preview (suprisingly, since he looks pretty good in the previews for the crappy movie he's in with Chris Rock). Still, I love the cast and the story, so I'll see Red Dragon.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:11 PM on June 26, 2002

While critics and MeFi-ers may say one thing, I'm guessing the box office returns say something else, if this franchise is still deemed viable by the powers-that-be. Anyone know what the numbers were on Hannibal? To be honest I don't even know what Hollywood's definition of "tanked" is anymore.

By the way, it's mighty interesting that the IMDb entry lists Jodie Foster as reprising her role of Clarice Starling for this one. Must be a cameo.
posted by topolino at 5:23 AM on June 27, 2002

Julianne Moore in Hannibal, she sleepwalked through it
I said she was good, not great. She had a very basic script in Hannibal, nothing really to do. She did what she could. Foster could not have done better with that script.
I think Moore is a fine actress -- check her out on Louis Malle "Vanya on 42nd Street", criminally not on DVD, VHS only
And I think we agree on Giannini, easily the best thing about Hannibal
posted by matteo at 11:12 AM on June 27, 2002

Re Manhunter, you guys are forgetting something: it was not a particularly faithful adaption of the book. Especially the ending was flawed, eschewing the book's tenser, less direct approach -- Dolarhyde escapes the fire, resurfacing at Graham's beach house, taking Graham by surprise and doing much damage before Graham's wife blows him away -- for a weird, silly showdown to blinking disco lights.
posted by gentle at 7:02 PM on June 27, 2002