Hannibal

Director Ridley Scott's 'Hannibal.' may be a slightly divisive Fillm but for my money it's a brilliant and entirely worthy sequel to the late Director Jonathan Demme's iconic 'The Silence Of The Lambs.'. Is 'Hannibal.' over the top? Yes. Then again 'The Silence Of The Lambs.' isn't exactly subtle either and to be fair, 'Hannibal.' isn't really a whole lot more gory than its predecessor. Is Julianne Moore a good replacement for Jodie Foster as FBI Agent Clarice Starling?Yes. I think that Moore does a wonderful job in the role and luckily she doesn't try to copy anything of Foster's interpretation of the character. This is a different version of Clarice Starling and Moore confidently owns the role with some outstanding acting. In fact no one in 'Hannibal.' could be accused of 'phoning in' their performance. The globe-trotting 'Hannibal.' is wonderfully paced, at just over two hours long it has plenty of room for character development and it has a great cast. Giancarlo Giannini, Gary Olman and Ray Liotta are all very memorable in their roles as Inspector Pazzi, Mason Verger and FBI Agent Paul Krendler respectively. As is the always watchable character actor Željko Ivanek as Dr. Cordell Doemling. And of course Anthony Hopkins is once brilliant as the deliciously evil Dr. Hannibal Lector. It's great to see the character set free upon the world rather than spending most of the Film's duration incarcerated. For me 'Hannibal.' is a notably superior and far more thrilling Film in comparison to the often rather slow and plodding 'The Silence Of The Lambs.'. Although that's not to criticize 'The Silence Of The Lambs.' One's opinion of the two Films depends simply on what kind of Crime Thriller one is looking for. As for this 4K UHD blu release of 'Hannibal.'; you can rest assured that it looks amazing and has a vastly superior image to that of the accompanying 1080p blu ray - which is far less sharp by comparison. The difference in sharpness between the two discs is actually quite remarkable. So if you like 'Hannibal.' then this 4K UHD blu ray is by far the best version to watch.

absolutely brilliant film, very well-made indeed and brilliant acting details in this one that I missed when I watched it before so I'm glad I purchased it and saved it excellent feel very highly recommend

Sucker for these Hannibal movies as I am, it was good sense to allow him freedom after Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs where he was in jail; enough was enough and it had to happen to keep the interest alive. And it works very well, but having said that, as mentioned in my Basic Instinct 2 review, one of my fellow reviewer's would not, perhaps, agree. That he bombed BI2 in that Catherine Tramell wasn't under police surveillance and hence got away with the murders, (or was it Dr Michael Glass?), seemed to irk him, yet here, we have much the same conundrum if you take that reviewer's complaints into consideration. Hannibal is one of America's ten most wanted, so how does he fly from Florence to America after Clarice Starling, then fly away again to end the movie? Were custom's and immigration lax, or just plainly asleep? Well, it's called poetic licence, and these things are allowed to drift from reality in a story/film otherwise it would just grind to a halt. Hannibal managed it somehow, much like Catherine Tramell/Dr Michael Glass in BI2, and it HAS TO happen. But this is excellent as the last (?) in the trilogy. Whether Thomas Harris is content to leave the story there, and if he didn't and wrote a fourth, would Anthony Hopkins come out from retirement (again) to play the part, we don't know? We can only guess and maybe hope?

This may be a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs but it's a different animal to its illustrious predecessor - choosing to try and take us on a different journey which is reasonably successful for the most part. Anthony Hopkins is back of course and on fine form. Jodie Foster is absent which is bad but instead we get Julianne Moore which is good. This time out, Ridley Scott is on board also which is even better. Leaning away from the other serial killer types, this time the film is more about Hannibal himself and his own murderous intentions (the clues in the title). He's essentially on the run of course and is being pursued by the authorities (obviously) but also by an old enemy - played here by Gary Oldman in a typically eccentric turn. Meanwhile the Clarice/Hannibal relationship is explored and developed to a certain extent. Scott shoots it all with a fair amount of style, the performances are first rate and it all builds up nicely and tensely over the generous running time. It's a shame that the quality, menacing but understated build up gives way in the final reel to events that are altogether more ridiculous. I thought it was never less than entertaining though and certainly worth a watch at least. For my money though (like anyone cares) Manhunter is still the best Hannibal Lecter film out there. Just saying.

Brilliant film with some very funny scenes in it had to buy it to finish my collection.

Good film

Once you have had the Lector effect, the bias of that first experience makes it very hard to find the same tension or unexpected again. Julianne Moore as a substitute for Jodies Foster doesn't cut it for me

I'm not sure what can be said about Hannibal. If you haven't seen it, settle in for a gleefully indulgent revival of the Grand Guignol, which everyone involved approaches with such relish that it's impossible not to be won over. The last fifteen minutes are as funny as they are absurdly tasteless, and I often think of Hannibal as the spiritual successor to Vincent Price's output in the 70s. There are some significant cuts and changes from the book, but they all arguably benefit a movie adaptation. The only thing I'd change is Ridley Scott's moth-to-a-flame love of step-printed slow motion, but I suppose it would be cruel to deny the director his own indulgences when everyone else is having the time of their lives. If you have seen the film, and perhaps own a copy, the 4K release is well worth considering. The scenes in Florence look particularly striking, and while the transfer isn't a revelation in the same way as Alien, it's a good upgrade from the Blu Ray version. There are a couple of additional extras compared to my BR copy, but nothing essential. The legacy Scott commentary is a good rambling chat. In summary, I won't hear a word against Hannibal. It's made with aplomb and has lost none of its audacious charm over the last two decades.