Hannibal (UK)

What an incredibly boring sequel.
OK, I admit, I never got the chance to see "Silence Of The Lambs", but even given the (missing) context of it, this movie is no good.
The plot takes way too long to progress and several plot holes make things even more difficult to comprehend.
The video transfer is good. There are no compression signs and the picture is clear of scratches and blemishes. There are a few gory scenes, but they are not tasteless (pun intended). The special effects for these scenes are simple yet convincing.
The DTS and DD 5.1 soundtrack are disappointing. The surrounds are hardly ever used and the movie could`ve been a lot richer audio-wise.
The menus are oddly animated.
The extras include a commentary by the director (*yawn*), an extensive picture gallery, 2 behind the scenes featurettes, 14 deleted and extended scenes (including an alternate ending, which is very similar to the original ending) and 3 multiple angles scenes.
While the extras are really extensive, I have a feeling they are just a commercial trick to justify the 2nd disk.
Bottom line - boring, gory at times, a bit flat on the sound department, yet filled with extras. I`d give it a miss.

Plenty of extras, and the film looks great, as you`d expect from a Ridley Scott film. Just a shame the film itself lacks any tension, scares or memorable scenes. The term "a lame duck" springs to mind.

True, hannibal is not an excellent film. It fails to measure up to the standard set by the Silence of the lambs.

However, any film that is able to top that film would have to be an excellent piece of work. While Hannibal is certainly not this, it IS enjoyable, and suprisingly manages to stay on the rails for a long period of time before it starts to crash and burn....

The final half hour are the leaves on the line, as it were. While we have man eating pigs and the like running around, we are not given a reason as to why they are used (although, in the book, we are, so its recommended to read the book for further insight) Indeed, everything that appears in the film, bar the slight modification to the ending, is exactly as what Thomas Harris put down.

Video wise, the MGM Region 1 disc (which I`m reviewing here) is perhaps the best ransfer MGM have ever done. No dirt, flaws, edge enhancement.... blacks are spot on... truly excellent.

Also, the sound is superb. The DTS has the edge as always, and while there is little bass (apart from Han Zimmer`s score) all speakers are given a nice work out.

Features wise, its one of the best packages going if you`re a big film fan. Ridley Scott gives an informative commentary in the vein of his Alien track, sticking to how things were done and not `my film is really wonderful`.
The Multi Angle features are excellent fun. I spent hours playing with the `Anatomy of a Shootout` in particular. Also included is a raft of deleted scenes. Best among these is Clarice`s return to the Baltimore Psychiatric ward from `Silence` and her entering of Lector`s cell itself. Also here is an ending that is actually worse than that that appears in the film.

But we`re not done yet. Also here is a series of 5 documentaries that highlight various areas of the production, including a spot on make up that is actually more gory than the film!
Amongst all these features are the standard stuff - trailers, tv spots (over 20 mind!) production notes and production and art galleries.

In all, Hannibal is a flawed film, sporadically entertaining but a nice change from all the teen horror movie rubbish we`re having to put up with. Anthony Hopkins sadly loses his edge as Lecter (apart from one wonderful moment when he is confronted after a hanging) but Julianne Moore manages to pull off an older Clarice, but fails to convince as Jodie Foster did. Certainly, the film has its faults, but those are the films that I enjoy more than true masterpieces. As a two-disc set, this truly is fantastic stuff for the movie buff. It may not have the bells and whistles for the casual DVD user, but for those of us that insit on a large 16x9 tv and the full surround set up, its essential stuff.

I think everyone`s expectations were very high at the thought
of a sequal to `Silence Of The Lambs` especially with Ridley
Scott behind it. Having read the book `Hannibal` which is top class by the way, this was my most eagerly awaited film since Cape Fear (De Nero Fan) but alas to my horror the film
was a huge dissapointment. To be fair having read the book it was never going to be in the same league (they never are)
But there is so much more that could have been added, more
characters left in, and more background/build up, especially to the climax of the film /book when Lecter is to be fed to the pigs with Starling trying to arrest him. Like all films these days
running time seems to be the be all and end all, at all costs which is a shame, bring back the length of films like `Dances With Wolves` and `Braveheart`.It`s worth it they are classics!

This DVD comes in a neat box with 2 DVD`s with a evil pic of
Lecter on the front. The picture quality is excellent, which is
what we should come to expect from a recent release. The sound is good also with eree background noise and a good music score. Extras, there is a few! loads of deleted scenes
the usual trailor, TV spots etc. A making of, and a muti angle
option for the opening scene which both i have yet to see,
so little time. Overall this is a top quality DVD with plenty to offer and certainly worth a buy, even just to watch the brilliant
Hopkins play the chilling `Dr Lecter` a must for any worthy DVD collection, at the end of the day the only thing that lets this DVD down is the film itself, which could have been made so much better. Shame

when people said there was going to be a sequel to silence of the lambs i really wanted to see the out come,with ridley scott
directing it sure had to be a blast!,but it wasnt as good as i
thought it would be the best bit would be ray liottas horrible
death as for the extras there is plenty to keep you going
including at least 20 tv spots which start to bug you after 5
but the 75 minute documentry is the best,covering every thing
in it,the alternate ending gives you the creeps and some of the deleted scenes.

I watched this at the Cinema and thought it was a much underrated film, although it didn't top its successor it was a very entertaining film.
Set ten years after the events of SOTL, Clarice Starling (played miserably by Julianne Moore), is on the heels of everyone's favourite Cannibal (played excellently by Sir. Anthony Hopkins) who has escaped to Florence to live out the rest of his life, but how long will his comfort last?
Picture: -

The quality of the DVD is top notch, with a 1:85.1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer of a new film so little or no dirt, no sign of compression, which is expected from a film not so long ago was in the cinema.
Sound: -
You've got the option of DD5.1 and DTS, and if you have a DTS system I advise you to watch the film in this (well your not stupid are you) as the Fish market shoot-out is awesome, and totally immerses you into the scene.
Extras:-
The extras, is what makes this a bit special.
This 2-Disk special edition is packed with extras, the first disk has DTS + 5.1 + Full Commentary by Ridly Scott, the second has loads including:-
Documentaries,
Multi-Angle Featurettes
And over 30 minutes of Deleted scenes.
While I haven't had the time to watch everything, from what I have seen I'm very pleased with.

Overall: -
Not as good as Silence, but a very good film in its own rights.

Many people describe this film as a disappointing sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs". Well for every Lambs you have I raise you a "Manhunter". Being a Manhunter fan, I was very disappointed with Silence, lack of tension, camp villain, even camper Hannibal, monotone directing from Demme, the list goes on. I immediately read the Hannibal book when it came out and it seems to me that Harris was mad and bemused. Mad that his book would be pick up and filmed within a minute of publishing and bemused because of the huge celebrity status lavished upon a criminal psychopathic cannibal. It seems Hannibal was Harris' answer to these things. He made a book that was impossible to film, in structure, length and content.

Ridley Scott was left in a bad situation, but he manages to pull the film off quite admirably. He totally ditched some of the most ridiculous points of the book, ie, Verger's sister's sperm plot and has made the 500-page book flow quite nicely in 2hrs. Hannibal is violent, but this is a film about serial killers. What were you expecting? Hannibal having a tea-party with the Care Bears? Personally, I found Verger's make-up and his demise far more gruesome than the infamous ending.

Video: Filmed in 1.85:1, which I believe is the first time Scott has used the format. Sadly, he doesn't equip well to it. It sure looks nice and has some brilliant cinematography but it doesn't stand up to the usual Scott standard. However, the transfer is brilliant. No defects, little edge enhancements and fabulous colours and contrast. The film is filmed in a blue-ish hue and the print displays this immaculately. Another great transfer from 2000 and Columbia Tristar/Universal.

Audio: This is a very strong and quite starting soundtrack. The opening shoot-out is fantastic with lots of directional play and surrounds. The boar scenes are startling is play loud. Hear those boars's roar. Bass is also very strong. Hans Zimmer's score is very good and contains music that Dr. Lector would probably listen to. Dialogue is clear, as standard for 2000 release.

Extras: Disc 1 contains a Ridley Scott commentary. I always look forward to a Scott commentary (can't wait for Blade Runner!), because he is simply of the best. This commentary contains no crap, no backslapping and no "Oh, how great is that". In this commentary Scott talks about the adaptation and why certain things were changed, as well as the usual technical information. This is a fantastic commentary and may change your mind on the film itself.

Disc 2: The major extra on this disc is the 1hr 10minute documentary "Breaking The Silence", which you can also watch separately as 5 different featurette. This is not PR guff. There is sheer honestly in this documentary about the troubles of the production. We also get a look into the music and special effects. My ONLY problem with this documentary is in the last few minutes. No one at the premiere had any bad words to say about the film? I find the hard to believe. Still this is one of the best DVD documentaries out there.

Multi Angle featurettes contain "Anatomy of a shoot-out", a look at the fish market shoot-out. "Ridley Grams", in which Ridley talks about his storyboards. And "Title Design", a exploration at the opening title. These are all very fascinating features and some of the best use of Multi Angle out there.

Over 30 minutes of deleted scenes are also included. There are some truly good scenes in here and you'll understand them better thanks to the Ridley Scott commentary that you can select for them.

The "Marketing Gallery" contains endless amounts of trailers, TV spots, galleries and posters.

Overall: I think this is better than Silence, simply because it doesn't take itself seriously and Ridley would kick Demme of the planet in the director stakes. Though neither is a patch on Michael Mann's masterpiece "Manhunter". The DVD itself is fantastic with brilliant presentation and superb extras.

Feature:

Hannibal the sequel to 1990`s Silence Of The Lambs is not as bad as people think. Ridley Scott tries his best and it pulls off
Anthony Hopkins is good as the nice DR Hannial Lector and though Julianne Moore is no Jodie Foster she still puts her all into the role of FBI Agent Clarice Starling. The adaption it`s self is good writers David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) and Steve Zaillian (Schindlers List) try their best from the book.

Sound:

As we have all come to expect from Columbia we have a top notch sound transfer, with DTS really giving the film a boost, especially in the actio scenes.

Picture:

Top notch and crystal clear!

Extras:

a good 75 minute documenatry called `Breaking The Silence` a brilliant Commentary by Ridley Scott, some interesting multi-angle features and the marketing gallery.

An incredible DVD that happens to contain an incredibly well made movie with an incredibly poorly conceived plot. Although breathtakingly beautifully filmed, the basic story lacks any of the emotional tension that made the Silence of the Lambs so frightening. Rent it, watch it and return it.

Plot- Set 10 years after escaping from prison, Hannibal Lecter resides in Florence, Italy. He takes a position as curator for the Palazzo Vecchio. A policeman sees him and plans to turn him over to Lecter`s former victim, Mason Verger who seeks the ultimate revenge. Clarice Starling finds herself on the trail of one of the most FBI`s most wanted. From then on, the film becomes a clichéd cat and mouse chase plot like with most modern crime thriller.

In my opinion, this is the worst of the Hannibal Lecter trilogy. I was suprised that it did not get a Razzie award or at least a Razzie nomination. It`s boring, the plot is some-what weak and the acting is below average. Unless you like the Lecter trilogy, this is one release which must be avoided under any circumstances.

Video- The plus side in this tragic film is the video department. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Hannibal is a modern film and therefore,a good image. Colours are vibrant and well defined. It`s relatively free of edge enhacement, although there may be minute presence of edge enhancement.

The downside is this: For a modern film, there are some dirt and flecks that appears from time to time which can be a bit distracting then again. Most oldschool directors are known to leave a little bit of film grains and flecks to make it film-like unlike the new generation directors who like to give their films a pristine look. The image is a wee bit soft at times.

Audio- You get a choice of DD 5.1 or DTS. The mixes are fairly lively throughout from Hans Zimmer`s score(fits the film perfectly) to ambient noise. You really won`t notice much difference if you used DTS. It`s not an action thriller, so don`t expect a lot of oomph in your speakers.

Extras- A great audio commentary from Ridley Scott on 1st disc. He gives his usual anecdotes and gives useful insights into the film, worth listening to. Subtitles are also available.

2nd disc contains 5 featurettes or an hour plus documentary if played together. They cover every aspect of the film. Features interview with many of the cast and crew. It`s relatively good documentary but I`ve seen better.

Next, you get multi angle featurettes including Scott`s famous Ridleygrams which helped convince Fox to double the budget for Alien.

There are 13 deleted scenes(w/commentary) including the famous Il Mostro Case which had to be cut because it was too complicated. All are presented in 1.85:1 letterbox and are slightly poorer than the main feature. In total, they clock in at 34 mins.

An alternative ending(w/commentary) is included in this DVD but adds little value. In this ending, it shows Hannibal getting away with it in "one piece".

The package is rounded of with promotional material such as trailers and concept posters.

There is also an easter egg found in the featurettes section.

Overall- Hannibal is very disappointing and doesn`t live up to Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal`s sinister character has gone out the window and replaced with a comic and clichéd character. Extras make up for this but overall impression doesn`t give this 3/10. Empire dislikes it, so I dislike it too. Why isn`t Ridley Scott going back to quality film making and not tripe like this one or turn down the role to direct Hannibal? Where did it all go wrong? It may have broke UK box office records according the 2001 Guiness World Records in the UK but it broke the hearts of die hard Silence of the Lambs fans. I consider that movie to be box office poison. The plot is totally un-original and it ranks in the Worst 100 films of all time. In 5-10 years time, I`m not suprised to find a remake of this tragedy and then another remake of a remake.

Quote:
I`m giving serious thought...to eating your wife - Hannibal Lecter

I think not.