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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Brilliant as a film! I thought this film was great as a film. Compared to the book? Not so good. If you enjoy the book then you will probably not enjoy the film as much. It does follow the book in some ways but the ending is completely different and in my opinion not as good.
The performance Anthony Hopkins puts in as Hannibal Lecter is fantastic as always and although Julianne Moore plays the part of Clarice Starling well I think it would have been better to use Jodie Foster.
If you can watch it as just a film... more info
The Very Definition of "Gratuitous Violence." "Hannibal" is about as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window. It is nothing but a gratuitous 'Paint by Corpses' demonstration of what Hannibal Lecter is capable of, for anyone who was either too lazy or too stupid to understand "The Silence of the Lambs." It's a 'slasher film' for anyone who want's to SEE the graphic violence for whch he was imprisoned. The plot is clearly signposted, the 'twists' (if there are any) are as plain as the nose on your face. But if you actually want to... more info
Gets better with each viewing In this film, the character of Hannibal Lecter reveals more about possibly his most interesting characteristic, his cultured and refined tastes than in any of the other films. His loathing of ill manners and his love of classical opera and art are interesting to behold and form a juxtaposition to his darker side. He shows again that he is a consumate killer and possesses an ability to pre-empt the moves of his enemies. In the hands of a lesser actor, this mix may not have been pulled off with qiuite so much... more info
Oh Mr Scott I love everything that Ridley Scott has ever done. well, with the obvious exception of that thing about the female marine, oh and Tim curry with horns, (but that does have its good points no pun etc). But I also find Thomas Harris a remarkable writer. Yes, I know the subtle nuances of Lecter's character that you find in the book, the memory mansions for instance would be very difficult, if not impossible to film. I thought if anyone could then Ridley Scott could.
Instead our eponymous anti hero comes... more info
![Hannibal - Superbit [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VR2C3ZNQL._SL160_.jpg)
