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Post by Toasted Cheese on Sept 11, 2019 9:35:32 GMT
This was pretty much an instant classic from the moment it hit the cinema screen in early 91' and has still retained its impact. This horror\thriller pretty much set a bench mark in how to present a tight, taut, suspenseful and highly charged dramatic thriller. Has anything else come close?
The direction is consistent and deft, the acting is top notch, the design is creative and atmospheric and Tak Fujimoto's gritty and honed cinematography is superb without drawing too much attention to itself. I also need to add that I think the editing of this film is outstanding and not wanting to take anything away from JFK's skilled handling in piecing together is subject matter, I think Craig McKay was robbed of an Oscar. Lambs should have won 6, not 5.
Jonathan Demme's masterwork.
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Post by jamesbamesy on Sept 11, 2019 11:10:54 GMT
A mystery thriller done right. Well-deserved its Best Picture award.
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Post by ck100 on Sept 11, 2019 12:00:14 GMT
Very good overall although it loses steam once Lecter leaves the picture.
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Post by politicidal on Sept 11, 2019 16:16:54 GMT
It's good but I admittedly enjoyed Red Dragon better.
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Post by lowtacks86 on Sept 11, 2019 16:49:13 GMT
I like it, but I contend "Red Dragon" is better. Hannibal is more threatening in this one (this one he wants to kill the Graham, the other he has a crush on Clarice) and Dolarhyde was a more interesting and even sympathetic villain than Buffalo Bill. As fas as Demme's "masterpiece", I liked "Philadelphia" more (my favorite Tom Hanks film)
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Post by Vegas on Sept 11, 2019 18:14:56 GMT
It's good but I admittedly enjoyed Red Dragon better. Now.. The real question: Which is better... Red Dragon or Manhunter?  
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Post by politicidal on Sept 11, 2019 18:22:01 GMT
It's good but I admittedly enjoyed Red Dragon better. Now.. The real question: Which is better... Red Dragon or Manhunter? Manhunter looks better while Red Dragon was acted better. |
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Sept 11, 2019 22:13:10 GMT
Very good overall although it loses steam once Lecter leaves the picture.Lecter leaves around the 85-90min mark and then the next 25mins is the build up to catching Buffalo Bill, which is what the plot was leading up too. These scenes are expertly realized and then Lecter ends the film with his clandestine reemergence. I think this was a great plot device.
Lecter has around 8 scenes throughout a just under 2hr runtime and they are so brilliantly interspersed throughout the film, which only amounts to about 15-20mins screen-time, that his presence is strongly felt within the whole film. This is how Hopkins managed to nab a lead standing within the film.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Sept 11, 2019 22:18:56 GMT
I like it, but I contend "Red Dragon" is better. Hannibal is more threatening in this one (this one he wants to kill the Graham, the other he has a crush on Clarice) and Dolarhyde was a more interesting and even sympathetic villain than Buffalo Bill. As fas as Demme's "masterpiece", I liked "Philadelphia" more (my favorite Tom Hanks film) I find there is a kind of flatness to the direction of Red Dragon. It was perfunctory. To my mind, the film wasn't as skillfully rendered as Lambs, or even Manhunter, that Red Dragon was a remake of. I didn't get the same chills from the Tooth Fairy, which I feel was better portrayed by Tom Noonan.
Neither Hannibal or Red Dragon could be considered classic, compared to the Lambs and Manhunter would now be considered an 80's cult favorite.
*Not a fan of Philadelphia. One of my least favorite of Demme's. I have not seen all of his films. I think it is too easy and a tad cheesy.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Sept 11, 2019 22:22:21 GMT
Now.. The real question: Which is better... Red Dragon or Manhunter? Manhunter looks better while Red Dragon was acted better. I'd say, a bigger name cast like in RD, doesn't necessarily mean it is better executed, nor acted. RD used graphic violence to get its shocks. Lambs and Manhunter took a less is more approach and it takes a lot of skill to present this successfully and make the violence appear ugly and terrifying, which is its true form, yet the mind is just filling in the gaps.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Sept 11, 2019 22:47:31 GMT
8/10 Damn good thriller.
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Post by Ass_E9 on Nov 21, 2019 19:03:38 GMT
 "Senator Martin, there was no quid pro quo."
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Post by drystyx on Nov 21, 2019 19:50:21 GMT
A typical totally Hollywood cliche movie. Same old Hollywood demon possessed hate formula of "anyone evil enough is an invulnerable demigod."
Overplayed, and would be a comedy if one just reads the script. Yet it isn't directed or acted as a comedy. These maniacs are serious about their delusions.
Typical Hollywood 2/10. Red Dragon is a total 1/10.
Of course the Beavis and Butthead crowd that makes up so much of IMDB will relish this garbage.
No offense.
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Post by Prime etc. on Nov 21, 2019 19:58:48 GMT
I saw this premiered on a cable channel the night before the Oscars. Very convenient to see the Oscar winner the night before.
It probably fails the SJW test now. At the time the idea of a female FBI agent as the lead was probably the summit of political correctness but now the Buffalo Bill stuff suggests a LGBT maniac villain.
I thought the Lecter character was glamorized--he's presented as a surrogate father for Starling in a way. That's creepy.
It also seemed heavy-handed that the girl's experience with a lamb slaughterhouse was meant to be symbolic of her loss of a father and that rescuing the victim would "silence" this episode in her life.
But the scene where they go to the wrong house was a good surprise.
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Post by millar70 on Nov 21, 2019 20:58:00 GMT
A typical totally Hollywood cliche movie. Same old Hollywood demon possessed hate formula of "anyone evil enough is an invulnerable demigod." Overplayed, and would be a comedy if one just reads the script. Yet it isn't directed or acted as a comedy. These maniacs are serious about their delusions. Typical Hollywood 2/10. Red Dragon is a total 1/10. Of course the Beavis and Butthead crowd that makes up so much of IMDB will relish this garbage. No offense. Uhhh heh-heh.....uhhhh.... heh-heh.....uhhhh....I thought it was like....uhhhh......heh-heh....like, uhhhh ......a great movie....heh-heh....uhhhh 9/10 |
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Nov 21, 2019 21:18:42 GMT
This was pretty much an instant classic from the moment it hit the cinema screen in early 91' and has still retained its impact. This horror\thriller pretty much set a bench mark in how to present a tight, taut, suspenseful and highly charged dramatic thriller. Has anything else come close?
The direction is consistent and deft, the acting is top notch, the design is creative and atmospheric and Tak Fujimoto's gritty and honed cinematography is superb without drawing too much attention to itself. I also need to add that I think the editing of this film is outstanding and not wanting to take anything away from JFK's skilled handling in piecing together is subject matter, I think Craig McKay was robbed of an Oscar. Lambs should have won 6, not 5.
Jonathan Demme's masterwork.
Great post for a truly great film, adapted from an outstanding novel I might add. It's 10/10 for me but I do have niggles about it, namely as good as Hopkins is, he actually doesn't physically fit the movements of Lecter. After reading the book I was thinking someone more lithe like, such as Malkovich would have been more appropriate, Lithgow even. But it is was it is and Hopkins has cemented his place in classic cinematic portrayals. I like the post about how much screen time Hopkins actually has to win the Oscar, hello Brando in The Godfather! Finally, it gets forgotten just how great Ted Levine is as well, a truly complex character brought to terrifying life. All that said, I take Manhunter over it any day of the week, a fricking neo-noir masterpiece which gets the gritty tonalities of the novel completely 10/10. Red Dragon is a good film, it's just too polished to unnerve, however it gets down pat the police procedural aspect of Harris' source material and that is to be applauded 7/10.
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Post by mstreepsucks on Nov 21, 2019 23:40:31 GMT
8/10 on the grand o meter.
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Post by Winter_King on Nov 22, 2019 10:42:52 GMT
It's a good movie but I've always felt it was bit overrated. Maybe because I saw it later... I often hear comparisons between Silence of the Lambs and Se7en but I've always felt that Se7en was the better movie.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Nov 23, 2019 1:49:59 GMT
It's a good movie but I've always felt it was bit overrated. Maybe because I saw it later... I often hear comparisons between Silence of the Lambs and Se7en but I've always felt that Se7en was the better movie. I haven't seen Se7en for yonks, but it never really rocked my boat, despite a great cast. It is overly stylized for my tastes, heavy handed for shock value approach and I don't care so much for the characters as I do in Lambs. Lambs shock value is born out of a more natural organic approach to its tale.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Nov 23, 2019 1:53:50 GMT
This was pretty much an instant classic from the moment it hit the cinema screen in early 91' and has still retained its impact. This horror\thriller pretty much set a bench mark in how to present a tight, taut, suspenseful and highly charged dramatic thriller. Has anything else come close?
The direction is consistent and deft, the acting is top notch, the design is creative and atmospheric and Tak Fujimoto's gritty and honed cinematography is superb without drawing too much attention to itself. I also need to add that I think the editing of this film is outstanding and not wanting to take anything away from JFK's skilled handling in piecing together is subject matter, I think Craig McKay was robbed of an Oscar. Lambs should have won 6, not 5.
Jonathan Demme's masterwork.
Great post for a truly great film, adapted from an outstanding novel I might add. It's 10/10 for me but I do have niggles about it, namely as good as Hopkins is, he actually doesn't physically fit the movements of Lecter. After reading the book I was thinking someone more lithe like, such as Malkovich would have been more appropriate, Lithgow even. But it is was it is and Hopkins has cemented his place in classic cinematic portrayals. I like the post about how much screen time Hopkins actually has to win the Oscar, hello Brando in The Godfather! Finally, it gets forgotten just how great Ted Levine is as well, a truly complex character brought to terrifying life. All that said, I take Manhunter over it any day of the week, a fricking neo-noir masterpiece which gets the gritty tonalities of the novel completely 10/10. Red Dragon is a good film, it's just too polished to unnerve, however it gets down pat the police procedural aspect of Harris' source material and that is to be applauded 7/10. I need to see Manhunter again. I do prefer it to Red Dragon and while 80's stylized, it is not to the detriment or distraction of the films theme and impact. Red Dragon is a bit flat in parts for my liking, although I don't mind it. I find it a darn sight superior to Ridley Scott's blatant misfire that was Hannibal.
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