Manhunter

Details

Release year: 1986

Storyline

Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.

Top credits

Did you know

• When the production could not get permission to film on board a commercial airplane, writer and director Michael Mann booked his actors, actresses, and crew onto a twilight flight from Chicago to Florida, where the production was relocating anyway. A stripped-down camera, lighting and sound equipment were taken on board as carry-on luggage. Pilots and flight attendants were appeased with gifts of movie crew jackets.

• This movie was originally going to be titled "Red Dragon", the same name as the novel. However, when Year of the Dragon (1985) became a box-office failure, executive producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to avoid a "dragon" title. In May 1991, NBC decided to capitalize off of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by airing the film under the title "Red Dragon: The Curse of Hannibal Lecter."

• A then-unknown Ted Levine came to the wrap party to visit William Petersen, an old friend of his from the Chicago theatre scene. A chance meeting with writer and director Michael Mann led to an audition and his subsequent casting in Mann's Crime Story (1986). Levine had his breakout performance as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb in the second adaptation of the Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Lecter) books, The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $8,620,929

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $2,204,400 (1986-08-17)

User reviews

Technical specs

Sound mix

70 mm 6-Track, Dolby Stereo

Aspect ratio

2.20 : 1, 2.35 : 1

Color

Color

FAQ

• Unlike in "The Silence of the Lambs," the character Dr. Chilton seems fairly innocuous in "Manhunter." Is he portrayed that way in the novel?
• What are the differences between the (Anchor Bay) Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut?
• Is Manhunter based on a book?