Manhunter

Before The Silence of the Lambs there was the book Red Dragon, which was the basis of this movie. Before Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford there was Dennis Farina. Before Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lektor there was Brian Cox. Before Ted Levine as Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb there was Tom Noonan as Francis “Tooth Fairy” Dollarhyde. And before Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling there was William Peterson as Will Graham.

Cox is good as Lektor, which I imagine it is easy to forget since Hopkins erased most memories of the original with his Oscar-winning performance. He lives in a featureless white room instead of a Medieval dungeon. And he has much less screen time, though he plays a critical part in the plot. I guess this movie isn’t as great as TSOTL, which after all won the Best Picture Oscar, a huge surprise for a thriller movie. But it is damn good, edge-of-seat stuff, with very good writing and performances. I highly recommend it.