The Dragon Vs Lambs Vs Hannibal

NOTE: This review covers the movie and the Director’s Edition DVD (much of which can be applied to the other DVD releases).

People who have seen the other Hannibal Lecter movies tend to want to know how Red Dragon stacks up. I’m sure Hannibal had an audience, but it turned off a lot of Silence of the Lambs fans making them reluctant to see Red Dragon. Maybe that’s not universal, but it’s the way the majority of the people to whom I’ve personally spoken feel - common consensus around here: Hannibal stunk. In my humble opinion RD is better than Hannibal but not as good as Silence… I’ll add a comparison to Manhunter when I’ve had a chance to see it.

That’s all well and good, but you, of course, want to know what brought me to that opinion. RD is more akin to the style of Silence… There is more gruesomeness in what you don’t see than what’s on the screen. It doesn’t rely on shock value like Hannibal and has a strong ending that, not surprisingly, leads directly into Silence…

The ending to Hannibal was the biggest sore spot for me and is probably the biggest reason I say it’s inferior to the others in the series. If you have a different view of Hannibal you may not agree that RD is better. Just realize that if you WERE disappointed by Hannibal, this one stands a better chance of winning your praise.

Steaming guts on the pavement, people with brains exposed – Hannibal was overly graphic for many viewers. RD tones that sort of thing down. It is still disturbing in many ways, but whereas Hannibal sometimes felt like a slasher/horror, RD is more like a Hitchcock suspense/thriller.

So why is it not as good as Silence? John Demme is just a better director. Well, that’s not really the only reason. RD is very broad. It covers 3 people in detail but is more of Agent Will Graham’s movie than Hannibal’s or the Dragon’s. I guess Silence kind of does the same thing with Clarice, Hannibal, & Buffalo Bill, but it still feels more focused. That one seems to be specifically about the relationship with Clarice & Hannibal using Bill as a tool to bring the other two together and give them common ground to tread.
This one is more split with part 1 being Will and Hannibal and part 2 about Will and Dragon so it doesn’t flow as well from beginning to end.

I really thought RD was going to have a lot of focus on catching Hannibal or his development into the killer we know, so I guess there was some initial disappointment in not seeing that. There ends up being more detail about the Dragon than Hannibal. Knowing that the second time I watched it, I actually enjoyed it more.

Silence has more mystery to the story. We learn about half-way through who the Dragon is which is necessary for the further development of the character.

In some ways the first half of RD mirrors Silence; Hannibal is the incarcerated advisor and Will is in Clarice’s position. What is particularly interesting, though, is Hannibal’s reactions to the two people. Clarice is innocent and attractive, Will is experienced and has the honor of being Hannibal’s captor. Hannibal’s approach and attitude changes between them making him more transparent than he would likely want to admit were he real. He’s more manipulative of Clarice and more resentful of Will. The relationship comparisons and the numerous references in RD to Silence… make the movies great companions.

You have a better idea of how it stacks up against it’s own kind, but you’d like to know about it’s own merits, no doubt. The story is good, but it made me feel like it was going to be a whodunit only to shift away from that. Still, it’s a solid plot. The characters are really what make the story what it is. Hannibal with his twisted genius is probably the biggest interest for fans of the other movies. Will wants to be a family man but manages to be pulled into conflict with the most twisted minds in society. The Dragon manages to be horribly vicious and sympathetic at the same time. He’s a tortured soul as much as an evil predator.

The acting throughout the whole movie is outstanding. Even the small roles get a lot of attention (like Ken Leung as the code breaker). Each actor owns the role, even the ones that don’t have a lot to work with.

The music is not as distinctive as some of Elfman’s other works, but he does a great job with enhancing moods. Dragon is best if you’re in the mood for a suspense/thriller.

Content:
There isn’t as much violence and gore as you might think especially if you’ve just seen Hannibal. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some disturbing images, but they are done in quick flashes and the actual violence happens mostly off screen. Some of the language can be bad but not constant. The sexuality is implied, but there is some nudity. Ralph runs around on a couple of occasions showing everything he has. There’s a very brief flash of one of the ladies during a murder scene. All the scenes are more creepy than anything and not at all sexual. It also carries over to the deleted scenes. Even without considering the nudity this is not a good movie for young teens; just the mood and subject dictate that this should be for a mature audience.

The DVD:
I believe there are 3 versions of the release: widescreen & pan & scan versions of the Collector’s Edition, and a Director’s Edition which is, as far as I can tell by reading reviews and specs, the widescreen version with a second DVD containing additional original material. On all versions the case is plastic, but on the DE there’s a rear door. The DE has a gold border around the cover art.

The menus are pretty creative featuring an art motif of looking at murder casefiles and other documents. The highlights are like notations on the page. There is a nice bit of intro animation like you’re walking onto Lecter’s cell block. The door opens, you enter and walk down the hallway to the chair where Will and Clarice sit. All the time Lecter is talking to you. It looks great but is too lengthy if you’re just trying to get in and get going. Once in the menu there is some animation and music.

Disc 1:
There are 2 commentaries, one by Brett Ratner and Ted Talley (screenwriter). It ranges from dull to OK. Perhaps the most interesting thing here is hearing the differences between making a comedy and making a drama.

The other is by Danny Elfman. In and of itself it’s not very interesting; there isn’t a lot of new information and there is a lot of silence between music cues. What makes this great is the fact that you’re hearing the entire score uninterrupted. Yeah, Danny talks about his cues, but he does it during the breaks and clams up for the music. So really it ends up being a commentary and an isolated score in a single feature. Very cool.

The deleted scenes have an interesting set up. I say “deleted” but they are actually divided into 3 sections: deleted, extended, and alternate (small but influential changes in scenes you’ll recognize). Some of the scenes are too brief so that about the time you’re getting into what’s happening it’s over, but others are longer and more involved. There aren’t any large sections of deleted material; it’s just here and there snips. They all feature an optional commentary and each section has a play all capability. It’s all pretty fun if you got into the movie.

One of my favorite features is the interview with John Douglas, a real-life profiler of serial killers. I love features that go beyond the movie into educational realms. I would have loved to see more of this.

Another interview is with Anthony Hopkins. I liked it a lot also. It has some good info and is an interesting look at the actor.

The obligatory behind the scenes feature is mostly just a long promo. There isn’t a lot of new info in it.

Another BTS type feature is the production notes. It includes a summary with info about the story, plot, characters, and actors. It has some nice visuals.

The “FBI File” is a lot of reading, but is an extensive look at Hannibal’s activities throughout the movies and beyond.

There are 15 cast and crew bios if you like that sort of thing and a recommendations page.

Disc 2:
That’s your standard release. Now, if you get the Director’s Edition, you get another disc. So look through this list of extras and see if any of them sound good enough to make you want to get the DE version.

They make up for their lame behind the scenes feature on D1 with a longer, in-depth one. This is the kind of BTS stuff I like to see! We get to see some candid shots of Brett scouting in pre-production, the cast practicing scenes, and some of the more interesting moments such as Michael Jackson’s visit to the set. Run of Run DMC (who makes a cameo in the movie) graces us with a fun and funny appearance here.

Probably one of the more potentially exciting extras is the student film. After all, what better feature is there than additional, hard-to-find shows? Unfortunately this one has no title, no sound, and no point. It’s in black & white which is not necessarily a bad thing but doesn’t help when everything else sucks. It is definitely nothing to get excited about!

There is a collection of video tests that includes pre-production shots of everything from fire to tattoos. It includes narration and is pretty good except that the wardrobe section gets to be too long.

There are a few more specific behind the scenes features. One of which is make-up application. It focuses a lot on the inserting of mirrors into the murder victims’ eyes – very gruesome.

Another one is the burning wheelchair. Meet the stuntman, see the suit.

The last one is the crime scenes setup. It repeats some of the make-up feature, but also includes other scene set-up elements. I expected more out of this one since it’s kind of hyped up on the box which talks about real investigators helping with the set-up. I thought there would be more time with them talking about real crime scenes (more educational stuff like the John Douglas interview, in other words) when really it’s not all that in-depth - not enough, at least.

There are 4 storyboards (the art played beside the video). They are OK but nothing spectacular.

You get 2 trailers and an Easter Egg. On the main menu hit the left arrow to hear an audio clip of Hannibal.

Final Recommendation
And that’s it. Like I’ve already said it’s a must see for Silence fans and a great movie for any suspense/thriller movie lover. It’s also worth seeing more than once and has enough features to make it a worthwhile purchase. If you find a good price on this 2-disc edition it may be worth it, but I don’t recommend paying a whole lot extra for it unless you are just a die-hard fan.

It gets 4 stars for being a well made movie. Compared to Silence of the Lambs it’s really more like 3.5* but the isolated score and John Douglas interview encourage me to round up.

PS
I love to throw out these little ironic bits in my reviews so here’s one for Red Dragon. The murders Will investigates take place in Birmingham and Atlanta. I used to live a little over an hour from Birmingham, now I live about the same distance from Atlanta.