Yes, he's back ... and he's still hungry. Hannibal is set 10 years after The Silence of the Lambs, as Dr Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, reprising his Oscar-winning role) is living the good life in Italy, studying art and sipping espresso. FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore, replacing Jodie Foster), on the other hand, hasn't had it so good--an outsider from the start, she's now a quiet, moody loner who doesn't play bureaucratic games and suffers for it. A botched drug raid results in her demotion--and a request from Lecter's only living victim, Mason Verger (Gary Oldman, uncredited), for a little Q and A. Little does Clarice realise that the hideously deformed Verger--who, upon suggestion from Dr Lecter, peeled off his own face--is using her as bait to lure Dr Lecter out of hiding, quite certain he'll capture the good doctor.
Taking the basic plot contraptions from Thomas Harris's baroque novel, Hannibal is so stylistically different from its predecessor that it forces you to take it on its own terms. Director Ridley Scott gives the film a sleek, almost European look that lets you know that, unlike the first film (which was about the quintessentially American Clarice), this movie is all Hannibal. Does it work? Yes--but only up to a point. Scott adeptly sets up an atmosphere of foreboding, but it's all a build-up to the anticlimax, as Verger's plot for abducting Hannibal (and feeding him to man-eating wild boars) doesn't really deliver the requisite visceral thrills, and the much-ballyhooed climatic dinner sequence between Clarice, Dr Lecter and a third, unlucky guest wobbles between parody and horror. Hopkins and Moore are both first-rate, but the film contrives to keep them as far apart as possible, when what made Silence of the Lambs so amazing was their interaction. When they do connect it's quite thrilling but it's unfortunately too little too late. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: The good-looking widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic print is accompanied by a directorial commentary on the first disc. Ridley Scott is no stranger to DVD commentaries by now, and keeps up a pretty constant flow of enjoyable story exposition, although provides few specifics about the actual filmmaking process. He's obviously more than happy to talk about this movie, since on the second disc there are also "Ridleygram" interviews with Scott about the process of storyboarding and a huge chunk of deleted or alternate scenes (including the alternate ending) with optional directorial commentary. There's a wealth of other extras to dip into, including five "making-of" featurettes (73 minutes in all), plus two multi-angle "vignettes" of the film's opening sequences (the fish-market shoot-out and opening titles), and a marketing gallery of trailers, stills and artwork. Surround-sound enthusiasts can select either Dolby 5.1 or DTS soundtracks for the main feature. --Mark Walker
(11 votes)
2.
The Hannibal Lecter Series
"A rare sequel that rises above the original" (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America), this absorbing thriller starring Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore, picks up the trail of the world's most devious killer ten years after he disappeared.
(10 votes)
3.
There is a grace to his life now. An elegance which suits him nicely. And yet, he thinks of her and wonders if his life can ever be complete without her.
Her strength comes from a regimen of discipline and a clarity of purpose. Yet there is a shadow that follows her everywhere. A faint distraction – making her feel...vulnerable.
Ten years later, he is still her most terrifying nightmare.
Ten years later, she is still his fondest fantasy.
Ridley Scott directs a Scott Free production Hannibal, based on the best-selling novel by Thomas Harris, starring Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore, with Giancarlo Gianinni, Francesca Neri and Ray Liotta. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Martha De Laurentiis and Scott, with Branko Lustig as executive producer, the novel was adapted for the screen by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian. MGM will distribute the film in the United States and Universal Pictures is the international distributor.
Hannibal continues the story begun in The Silence of the Lambs. Ten years have passed since Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) escaped from custody, ten years since FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) interviewed him in a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. The doctor is now at large in Italy, gloriously at liberty in an unguarded world. But Starling has never forgotten her encounters with Dr. Lecter – his cold voice still haunts her dreams.
Mason Verger remembers Dr. Lecter too. Verger was Dr. Lecter’s sixth victim, and, though hideously disfigured, has survived. The solitary heir to his family’s fortune, he uses the resources of his inheritance to exact his revenge. Verger realizes that in order to draw Lecter out into the open, he must dangle an irresistible bait: Clarice Starling.
Based on the best-selling novel by Thomas Harris, Hannibal continues the story begun in The Silence of the Lambs. Seven years have passed since Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) escaped from custody, seven years since FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) interviewed him in a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. The doctor is now at large in Europe, pursuing his own interests, savoring the scents, the essences of an unguarded world. But Starling has never forgotten her encounters with Dr. Lecter - his seldom-used voice still haunts her dreams. Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) remembers Dr. Lecter, too, and is obsessed with revenge. Verger was Dr. Lecter's sixth victim, and, though hideously disfigured, has survived. Verger soon realizes that in order to draw the doctor out into the open, he must use someone Lecter cannot resist as bait: Clarice Starling.
(8 votes)
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