Manhunter/Red Dragon (1986)

USA
directed by: Michael Mann
written by: Michael Mann + Thomas Harris (book)
starring: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen
seen on 25th April, 2018

-"I know that I'm not smarter than you." -"Then how did you catch me?" -"You had disadvantages." -"What disadvantages?" -"You're insane."

I'll be damned, that's what I call atmospheric. And only a film medium allows for this kind of experience to be constructed. I did get a teensy impression of it being a bit naive and a tad (agedly) funny, but a whole bunch of beautifully crafted details was enough to erase that from mind. The voice of a murdered woman from an answering machine in a house where the floors and walls are stained with the blood of her family, talks about dreams and phantasies on top of a green light behind grey blinds, subjective perceptions and large format pictures of the lunar surface, azure skies and nocturnal woods and a white prison cell and a blind woman feeling the breath of a sleeping tiger on her skin, oh yes. 

Definitely one of the cases where I would not watch the film of my own volition, but since it's one of the 1001 I was determined "to sit through it somehow" and it did turn out to be a splendid jewel. My original disdain was caused by my hatered of "The Silence of the Lambs", which I consider to be a tawdry, nasty and lurid. Well, now I can make an informed proclamation of "suck it, Demme", because Mann tops him in every way. 

Even when it comes to approach to Dr. Hannibal, I'm sorry, Anthony, but from now on your performance will only seem like a cheap version of Brian Cox. À propos, a number of other things made an impression of Lambs stealing from Manhunter, including the look and general manner of the hunted villain. And I'd like to add that I didn't really like any other Mann film and I even actively hate some of them ("The Last of the Mohicans" for example), but when it comes to Manhunter, good job, Michael. And despite all my praise I would very much be curious to see how would the film look under the direction of Lynch in all his 80s glory, given he was considered for the post.

-"What you movin' in slow motion for, man?"