Hannibal (2001 film)
Hannibal is a 2001 American psychological horror crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and based on the 1999 novel by Thomas Harris. A sequel to the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, the plot follows disgraced FBI special agent Clarice Starling as she attempts to apprehend cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter before his surviving victim, Mason Verger, captures him. Anthony Hopkins reprises his role as Lecter, while Julianne Moore replaces Jodie Foster as Starling and Gary Oldman plays Verger. Ray Liotta, Frankie R. Faison, Giancarlo Giannini, and Francesca Neri also star.
Hannibal
- Dino De Laurentiis
- Martha De Laurentiis
- Ridley Scott
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through MGM Distribution Co.; United States[1])
- Universal Pictures International (International)[2]
- 9 February 2001
132 minutes[3]
- United States[1]
- United Kingdom
English
$87 million[4]
$351.6 million[4]
Harris published Hannibal eleven years after the publication of The Silence of the Lambs (1988). Scott became attached while directing Gladiator (2000), and signed on after reading the script pitched by Dino De Laurentiis, who had produced Manhunter (1986), the first Lecter film. David Mamet and Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay, and principal photography commenced in May 2000, lasting sixteen weeks.
Hannibal was released on 9 February 2001, ten years after The Silence of the Lambs. It was highly anticipated and broke box office records in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom,[5] and grossed $351.6 million during its theatrical run, but received mixed-to-negative reviews;[6] critics praised the performances and visuals, but deemed it inferior to The Silence of the Lambs and criticized its violence. It was followed by a prequel, Red Dragon, in 2002, with Hopkins reprising his role as Lecter and Brett Ratner taking over as director.
Plot[edit]
A decade after tracking down serial killer Jame Gumb,[a] FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling is blamed for a botched drug raid that resulted in the deaths of five people. Starling is contacted by Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who has been missing since escaping custody. A wealthy child molester, Verger was paralyzed and disfigured by Lecter and has been pursuing an elaborate scheme to capture, torture, and kill Lecter ever since. Using his wealth and political influence, Verger has Starling reassigned to Lecter's case, hoping her involvement will draw Lecter out.
After learning of Starling's disgrace, Lecter sends her a letter. A perfume expert identifies the fragrance on the letter: skin cream with ingredients only available to a few shops in the world. In Florence, Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi questions Lecter about a case. Lecter is now masquerading as Dr. Fell, a library assistant curator and caretaker.
Recognizing Lecter from the police surveillance tape Starling requested, Pazzi learns of Verger's $3 million personal bounty on Lecter. Seeking the money, he attempts to capture Lecter alone. Lecter severs the femoral artery of the pickpocket Pazzi recruited, then baits Pazzi into a room of the Palazzo Vecchio, disembowels him, and hangs him from the balcony. He also kills a Verger henchman.
Verger bribes Justice Department official Paul Krendler to accuse Starling of not disclosing a note from Lecter, leading to her suspension. Lecter gets Starling to come to Union Station while speaking with her through mobile phones. Verger's men, having trailed Starling, capture and bring Lecter to Verger. Verger intends to feed Lecter alive to a herd of mutated wild boars bred for this purpose. Starling infiltrates Verger's estate and frees Lecter but is shot by a guard. The boars devour the two guards but ignore Lecter. Verger orders his physician Cordell Doemling to shoot Lecter, but Doemling shoves his hated boss into the pen instead as Lecter offers to take the blame. Lecter then carries an unconscious Starling away while Verger is eaten alive by his own boars.
Lecter treats Starling's wound at Krendler's secluded lake house before drugging Krendler. Starling, disoriented by morphine and wearing a cocktail dress Lecter put on her, awakens to find Krendler seated at the table for an elegant dinner. She watches in horror as Lecter opens Krendler's skull, removes part of his brain, sautés it, and feeds Krendler's own brain to him. Starling tries to attack Lecter, but he overpowers and kisses her. She uses the distraction to handcuff his wrist to hers. Hearing the police, Lecter raises a cleaver over her hand. After, Starling surrenders to the FBI with both her hands intact.
On a flight, Lecter, his arm bandaged in a sling, shares Krendler's cooked brain with a curious boy watching him eat, saying it is important to "try new things.”
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
Hannibal was filmed in 83 working days over 16 weeks.[34] The film began production on 8 May 2000 in Florence, Italy.[34] The film visited key locations in Florence and various locations around the United States.[33] Martha De Laurentiis said the film has almost a hundred locations and that it was a "constant pain of moving and dressing sets. But the locations were beautiful. Who could complain about being allowed to shoot in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence? Or President James Madison's farm in Montpelier or the amazing Biltmore Estate in Asheville?"[33] Eighty million dollars and a year and a half in production were spent before Scott got his first look at Hannibal in the editing room.[35]
Music[edit]
Ridley Scott worked very closely with composer Hans Zimmer, during post-production on Hannibal.[8] Scott believes the music to a film is as important as dialogue—"It is the final adjustment to the screenplay, being able to also adjust the performance of the actors in fact."[8] Zimmer, and Scott sat in during the editing process with editor Pietro Scalia to discuss scenes in the film and "not music".
The character Mason Verger had his own theme, which become more "perverted" as the film progressed, according to Zimmer.[8] Dante's sonnet was put to music by Patrick Cassidy titled Vide cor Meum for the opera scene in Florence.[37] Tracksounds.com wrote positively of Zimmer's score. "Zimmer truly crafts a score worthy of most fans' full attention ... the classical elements, and yes, even the monologue combine to make this an intense listening experience."[38] In a poll by British Classic FM listeners to find the greatest film soundtrack of all time, Hannibal ranked at No. 59.[39] Strauss's The Blue Danube is also played at several points in the film.
Themes[edit]
Romance[edit]
Scott has said he believes the underlying emotion of Hannibal is "affection". "In some instances, you might even wonder or certainly from one direction—is it more than affection? It is dark, because the story is of course essentially dark, but it's kind of romantic at the same time."[8] Scott openly admits to a "romantic thematic" running through the film.[8] He told CNN that: "Hannibal was quite a different target, essentially a study between two individuals. Funny enough, it's rather romantic and also quite humorous, but also there's some quite bad behaviour as well."[12] During the opera scene in Florence, Lecter attends an operatic adaptation of one of Dante's sonnets, and meets with Detective Pazzi and his wife, Allegra. She asks Lecter, "Do you believe a man could become so obsessed by a woman after a single encounter?" Lecter replies: "Yes, I believe he could ... but would she see through the bars of his plight and ache for him?" This scene, in the film, is one which Scott claims most people "missed" the meaning of. It was in reference to Starling—to their encounter in The Silence of the Lambs.[24] The New York Times, in its review of the film, said Hannibal, "toys" with the idea of "love that dare not speak its name".[36]
Composer Hans Zimmer believed there were messages and subtext in each scene.[8] He said, "I can score this movie truly as a Freudian archetypal beauty and the beast fairy tale, as a horror movie, as the most elegant piece, on corruption in the American police force, as the loneliest woman on earth, the beauty in renaissance ..."[8] Zimmer ultimately believes it to be a dark love story, centering on two people who should never be together—a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.[8] During post-production, Scott, Zimmer and the editor passionately argued about the meaning of Starling's tear during a confrontation with Lecter. They could not agree if it was a tear of "anguish", "loneliness" or "disgust".[8] Scott told the New York Post that, the affair of the heart between Lecter and Starling is metaphorical.[40] Rolling Stone magazine said in their review, "Scott offers a sly parody of relationships—think 'When Hannibal met Sally'."[19]
Retribution and punishment[edit]
Scott has said he believed Lecter, in his own way, was "pure", whose motivation is the search for "retribution and punishment".[24] "There is something very moral about Lecter in this film," said Scott in his audio commentary. "The behaviour of Hannibal is never insane—[I] didn't want to use that excuse. Is he insane? No, I think he's as sane as you or I. He just likes it."[24] Scott did say, however, "In our normal terms, he's truly evil."[24] Scott also brings up the notion of absolution in reference to Lecter towards the film's end.[24] Verger has one overriding objective in life: to capture Lecter and subject him to a slow, painful death.[41]
Corruption[edit]
Part of the story involves the character Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini), a Florentine policeman who learns "Dr. Fell's" true identity and realizes that this knowledge could make him rich. His escalating abandonment of morality allows him to countenance and facilitate the death of a Romani pickpocket, egged on by the desire to have the best for his much younger wife.[24] There is a moment in the film when Pazzi becomes corrupted, despite being what Scott describes as "very thoughtful".[24]
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
The first trailer appeared in theaters and was made available via the official website in early May 2000, over nine months before the film's release. As the film had only just begun production, footage was used from The Silence of the Lambs. A second trailer, which featured footage from the new film, was released in late November 2000. In marketing the film, Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was chosen as the unique selling point of Hannibal. "Mr Hopkins is the draw here", said Elvis Mitchell in a 2001 The New York Times article.[36] A poster released in the UK to promote Hannibal, featuring Lecter with a "skin mask" covering the right side of his face, was quickly removed from circulation as it was deemed "too shocking and disturbing for the public."[42]
Upon its release, Hannibal was met with significant media attention,[37][43] with the film's stars and director making several appearances on television, in newspapers and in magazines.[44] In an article for CBS News, Jill Serjeant stated that "the long-awaited sequel to the grisly 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs is cooking up the hottest Internet and media buzz since the 1999 Star Wars 'prequel'."[44] Stars Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore made the covers of a number of magazines, including Vanity Fair,[45] Entertainment Weekly,[46] Premiere,[43] and Empire.[47]
Distribution[edit]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distributed the film in the United States and Canada, while Universal Pictures International handled international sales,[2] with United International Pictures handling distribution in most international territories except for Germany, Italy and Japan.[48]
Home media[edit]
Hannibal was released on VHS and DVD on August 21, 2001,[49] and on Blu-ray on September 15, 2009.[50] A new transfer of the film was released on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on May 7, 2019.[51][52]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Hannibal grossed $58 million (U.S.) in its opening weekend from 3,230 screens. At the time, this was the third-biggest debut ever behind 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 1999's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[53] It went on to surpass Scream 3 to have the highest debut in February.[53] That record was surpassed by The Passion of the Christ in 2004.[54] The film also had the largest opening weekend for an R-rated film, beating Scary Movie.[55] Hannibal would hold this record until it was taken by The Matrix Reloaded in 2003.[56] Furthermore, it managed to beat out the Special Edition release of Star Wars to have the highest winter opening weekend.[57] Final domestic box office gross (U.S.) reached $165,092,268, with a worldwide gross of $351,692,268.[4] The film spent three weeks at number one in the U.S. box office chart, and four weeks at number one in the UK, and was the year's third highest-grossing film in that country behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.[58] In Italy, it grossed $4.6 million in its opening weekend, setting a record for a US release, beating The Blair Witch Project.[59] It also set a record opening week in the Netherlands with $1.3 million in six days, beating Independence Day. It also had the second biggest opening in Spain with $4.1 million in 6 days.[60] Hannibal was the tenth highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.[61] Hannibal also made over $87,000,000 in U.S. video rentals following release in August 2001.[62]
Critical response[edit]
The reviews for Hannibal were mixed-to-negative.[25][53][63] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 39% based on 172 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While superbly acted and stylishly filmed, Hannibal lacks the character interaction between the two leads which made the first movie so engrossing."[64] On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 57 out of 100 from 36 reviews.[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F.[65]
Time magazine wrote: "A banquet of creepy, gory or grotesque incidents is on display in Hannibal. But this superior sequel has romance in its dark heart." Empire magazine gave it two out of five stars, calling it "laughable to just plain boring, Hannibal is toothless to the end."[66] David Thomson, writing in the British Film Institute magazine Sight & Sound, praised the film. "It works. It's smart, good-looking, sexy, fun ... dirty, naughty and knowing."[63] Thomson does make clear he is a great fan of director Ridley Scott's work.[63] He adds: "It is, literally, that Hannibal Lecter has become such a household joke that he can't be dreadful again. It seems clear that Anthony Hopkins and Scott saw that, and planned accordingly. That's how the movie was saved."[63] Variety magazine in its review said "Hannibal is not as good as Lambs ... ultimately more shallow and crass at its heart than its predecessor, Hannibal is nevertheless tantalizing, engrossing and occasionally startling."[67]
A negative review in The Guardian claimed that what was wrong with the film was carried over from the book: "The result is an inflated, good-looking bore of a movie. The Silence of the Lambs was a marvelous thing. This, by contrast, is barely okey-dokey."[68] Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, and described Hannibal as "a carnival geek show elevated in the direction of art. It never quite gets there, but it tries with every fiber of its craft to redeem its pulp origins, and we must give it credit for the courage of its depravity," and although he was "left with admiration for Scott's craft in pulling [it] off at all, and making it watchable", and praised the Mason Verger character as "a superb joining of skill and diabolical imagination," as well as Hopkins' performance as Lecter, which he described as "fascinating every second he is on the screen," he concluded, "I cannot approve of the movie, not because of its violence, which belongs to the Grand Guignol tradition, but because the underlying story lacks the fascination of Silence of the Lambs."[69]
Differences from the novel[edit]
According to Variety magazine, the script for Hannibal was: "quite faithful to the Harris blueprint; fans of the tome may regret the perhaps necessary excision of some characters, most notably Mason Verger's muscle-bound macho sister Margot, as well as the considerable fascinating academic detail, but will basically feel the book has been respected (yes, even the climactic dinner party is served up almost intact, with the only surprise twists saved for its wake)."[67] Time Out noted: "The weight-watchers script sensibly dispenses with several characters to serve a brew that's enjoyably spicy but low on substance. So much story is squeezed into 131 minutes that little time's left for analysis or characterization."[70] Producer Dino De Laurentiis was asked why some characters, notably Jack Crawford, were left out of the film: "I think if you get a book which is 600 pages, you have to reduce it to a script of 100 pages. In two hours of film, you cannot possibly include all the characters. We set ourselves a limit, and cut characters which weren't so vital."[71]
In the book, Mason Verger runs an orphanage, from which he calls children to verbally abuse as a substitute for his no longer being able to molest them. He also has a sister, Margot, whom he had raped when they were children and who is a lesbian. When she disclosed her sexual orientation to her family, their father disowned her. As she is sterile due to steroid abuse, Verger exerts some control over her by promising her a semen sample with which to impregnate her lover, who could then inherit the Verger fortune. At the book's end, Margot and Starling both help Lecter escape during a shootout between Starling and Verger's guards. Margot, at Lecter's advice, stimulates her brother to ejaculate with a rectally inserted cattle prod, and then kills him by ramming his pet moray eel down his throat.
The book's controversial ending has Lecter presenting Starling with the exhumed bones of her father, which he "brings to life" by hypnotizing Starling, allowing her to say goodbye. This forges an odd alliance between Starling and Lecter, culminating in their becoming lovers and escaping to Argentina. At the novel's end, Barney sees them at the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires.
Also gone from the film are the flashbacks to Lecter's childhood, in which he sees his younger sister, Mischa, eaten by German deserters in 1944. These flashbacks formed the basis for the 2007 film Hannibal Rising (written concurrently with the 2006 novel of the same name) which portrays Lecter as a young man.
Hopkins was asked in an interview on the subject of whether or not he believed the idea of Starling and Lecter heading off into the sunset as lovers (as happens in the book). "Yes, I did. Other people found that preposterous. I suppose there's a moral issue there. I think it would have been a very interesting thing though. I think it would have been very interesting had she gone off, because I suspected that there was that romance, attachment there, that obsession with her. I guessed that a long time ago, at the last phone call to Clarice, at the end of SotL, she said, 'Dr. Lecter, Dr. Lecter ... '."[72]
Other media[edit]
Prequels[edit]
The film was followed by two films which are prequels based on novels by Thomas Harris (although the novel of Red Dragon isn't itself a prequel as it was written before Hannibal):