Genre Guesstimation – Red Dragon (2002)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Diego of Lazy Sunday Movies.  He has chosen another great genre for this coming month.  We will be reviewing our favorite Psychological Thriller Films.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Oct by sending them to psychodiego@movierob.net  Try to think out of the box! Great choice Diego!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Psychological Thriller Movies…

“And be grateful. Our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real. ” – Hannibal Lecter

Number of Times Seen – 2 (3 Nov 2002 and 9 Oct 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A prequel to the stories of Hannibal Lecter where he is used for the first time to help out the FBI in capturing a deadly serial killer.

My Take on it – This is a great example of a great adaptation of a novel for the screen.

After having already seen The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Hannibal (2001), it was great to see Hannibal Lecter in his early days of captivity during his first “mission” to help out the FBI.

The character is such a complex one and Anthony Hopkins is once again superb in this role.

The rest of teh cats of this film is amazing and really helps raise the bar for this kind of film.

Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mary-Louise Parker and Emily Watson all help in this aspect.

It’s hard to really compare,, but in some ways this film is even better than the Oscar winner that takes place immediately following this one, but thankfully there is no need to really make a decision. 🙂

Having read the book and seen the first attempt at adapting this film in 1986 – Manhunter (1986), this film is definitely one of the best adaptations of a novel for the screen.

Bottom Line – Great adaptation of the Harris novel.  The ability to see Lecter not long after his capture and his first real interaction with an FBI agent in tracking another serial killer is amazing to watch.  Amazing cast helps raise the bar here and in some ways the story is even comparable to The Silence of the Lambs (1991).  Having read the book and seen the original adaptation – Manhunter (1986) shows how superior it is and how some adaptations seem easy than others to adapt to the screen.  Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Anthony Hopkins showed up on set during one of his off days, just so he could watch Philip Seymour Hoffman work. The two actors shared no scenes in the film. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Most definately! This is so much better than the original adaptation of this story.  The use of Norton, Fiennes, Keitel and Hoffman raises the bar so high and it pays off.

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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