It was 1991 and a thriller became the most talked about
movie of the year, so much so that it ended up winning the best film category
at the Oscars. The movie was one of the most terrifying films made and offered
a character (who was actually a secondary character to the main criminal being
sought) that became a name associated with fear and horror as much as Freddy
Krueger. The movie was SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and the character was Hannibal
Lecter. Now 22 years later we get to watch the exploits of Lecter once more
only this time taking place before the film as well as the movies MANHUNTER and
RED DRAGON (both based on the same
novel).
HANNIBAL was a new series appearing last year on NBC and it
arrives on DVD this week. This will be a fantastic thing for fans of the
character because they may have missed the series when it began and for fans of
the show because it will offer some of those items not aired on TV (one episode
wasn't shown because it involved a child's death and would have run shortly
after the Sandy Hook incident).
While the series carries the name of the notorious serial
killer the story doesn't revolve completely around him but around Lecter and
FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Graham is a profiler for the FBI is the
best there is but who also has a problem. When he gets into the mind of the
killers they seek out, he delves so deeply into it that he often has problems
coming back to the real world. This isn't to say he kills anyone, but the
emotional toil this takes on him makes the work difficult at best and damaging
at worst.
When a new serial killer begins his spree Special Agent Jack
Crawford (Lawrence Fishburne) appeals to Will to come out of retirement and
assist him in capturing this new evil. Will has taken a position with the FBI
teaching recruits the finer aspects of profiling and what to look for. While he
doesn't want to help Jack for fear of losing himself in the search, he finally
caves in and does so.
This new killer is the essence of evil. He stalks his prey,
young women, and then after capturing and killing them appears to eat a portion
of them. A cannibalistic killer is something rare and new to this group of FBI
agents. Will does exactly as expected, helping them follow up on clues from
episode to episode. His colleague at the academy Dr. Alan Bloom (Caroline
Dhavernas) warned Jack before hand that Will would need constant supervision.
Wanting to catch the killer Jack allowed things to get out of hand. He finds
help as the investigation progresses when he comes across a psychiatrist of
note that could help Will. His name is Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen).
As the series progresses Will begins seeing Lecter in his
office for counseling but eventually Lecter helps the FBI in their search for
the killer. What the FBI doesn't know is that Lecter has his own reasons for
wanting the man caught. He's competition. And while those of us familiar with
Lecter from the films know that he has a taste for his victims subtle hints of
this are offered here in the series as well.
The show is not for the faint of heart as it offers some of
the most gruesome images ever to appear on national television. At the same
time it offers one of the most complex mysteries ever offered on TV. The
characters are completely formed rather than cardboard cutouts. Before you
reach the halfway point you care about some, fear some and hope that others
will simply survive before the show ends.
The acting is some of the best ever seen on TV and why it
was ignored by the Emmy board is beyond me. Standouts include both Dancy and
Mikkelsen. Dancy's slow decent into madness makes you want to scream at the
television that he shouldn't trust everyone he knows. Mikkelsen's elegant
Lecter is someone that you would love to know and have dinner with if it
weren't for his desire to serve you as the main course rather than offer you a
meal.
The show was successful enough to garner a second season to
begin soon. Before that happens you now have the chance to get caught up with
season one on DVD. It's a show that I would not only recommend you watch but
that you add to your collection as well. That is unless you're afraid of
watching something this intense.
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