Red Dragon
Universal Studios (2002)
Crime, Thriller
In Collection
#372
8*
Seen ItYes
(10/23/2009)
025193128621
IMDB   7.3
124 mins USA/English
HD DVD  Region 1   R
Anthony Hopkins Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Edward Norton Will Graham
Ralph Fiennes Francis Dolarhyde
Harvey Keitel Jack Crawford
Emily Watson Reba McClane
Mary-Louise Parker Molly Graham
Philip Seymour Hoffman Freddy Lounds
Anthony Heald Dr. Frederick Chilton
Ken Leung Lloyd Bowman
Frankie Faison Barney Matthews
Tyler Patrick Jones Josh Graham
Director Brett Ratner
Producer Andrew Z. Davis
Dino De Laurentiis
James M. Freitag
Writer Thomas Harris
Ted Tally

A lot could've gone wrong in Red Dragon, but the movie exceeds expectations. Replacing the acclaimed Manhunter as an "official" entry in the Hannibal Lecter trilogy, this topnotch thriller--the second adaptation of Thomas Harris's first Lecter novel--returns to the fertile soil of The Silence of the Lambs, serving as both prequel and heir to the legacy of Lecter as portrayed, with mischievous menace, by the great Anthony Hopkins. Familiar faces and locations reappear (along with Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally) as Lecter coaches FBI profiler Will Graham (Edward Norton) in tracking the horrific "Tooth Fairy" killer (Ralph Fiennes), whose transformative killing spree is inspired by a William Blake painting. By dutifully serving Harris's potent material, Tally and director Brett Ratner craft a suspenseful film worthy of its predecessors, bringing Hopkins full circle as one of the cinema's all-time greatest villains. With overtones of Psycho and a superb supporting cast, Red Dragon succeeds against considerable odds. --Jeff Shannon
Edition Details
Series Hannibal
Release Date 9/12/2006
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles English; French; Spanish
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital +
No. of Disks/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 10/8/2006
Owner Thomas Eisenmann
Store DVD Empire
Purchase Price $22.90
Condition Excellent
Reviewed Widescreen Review
Bit Rate 1509 KB
Anamophic Yes
Links IMDB
Amazon US

Features
Anamophic
Special features include commentary with Director Brett Ratner and Writer Ted Tallly; the music score commentary with Composer Danny Elfman; a textual life history and criminal profile on Lecter that is outlined in a similar way to real serial killers’ profiles; deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Ratner, Tally, and Editor Mark Helfrich; alternate versions with optional commentary by Ratner, Tally, and Helfrich; an eight-minute John Douglas-hosted featurette Inside The Mind Of A Serial Killer; a four-minute interview with Anthony Hopkins on his role as Hannibal Lecter; the 14-minute Making Of Red Dragon; the 40-minute A Director’s Journey: The Making Of Red Dragon, which begins with preproduction and location scouting all over the country, includes behind-the-scenes on-set footage and a visit from the King Of Pop, and ends with the premiere; Brett Ratner’s NYU silent student film (four minutes); four minutes worth of before-and-after visual effects shots; screen and film tests with group audio commentary by Ratner, Cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and Makeup Effects Specialist Matthew Mungle; a brief 45-second special makeup application explanation with narration by Ratner and Mungle; a four-minute stunt featurette on the burning wheelchair, a four-minute look at how the Leeds House crime scene was created; and storyboard comparisons.

Widescreen Review
Story Synopsis:
After retiring from the Bureau, FBI agent Will Graham (Norton) is recruited back once more to hunt down "The Tooth Fairy," a madman who kills whole families and then covers their eyes with pieces of broken mirror. Needing help in finding the killer, Will reluctantly goes to visit Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins - whose portrayal of the character in "The Silence Of The Lambs" earned him an Academy Award® for Best Actor in 1991), the cannibal who almost killed him and sent him into an early retirement. Dr. Lecter feeds Will little bits of information, but of course he knows much more than he's willing to divulge. The killer's name is Francis Dolarhyde (Fiennes), a mild mannered man working at a film processing lab who is wrestling with his own inner demons. Attracted to the blind Reba McClane (Watson), Francis tries to control his murderous urges when he's with her but when he feels betrayed by Reba and he knows the FBI is right behind him, Francis can't help but go after one more family - and Hannibal leads him right to it. "Red Dragon" is based on the book by Thomas Harris. (Tricia Littrell)

Disc Picture:
The VC-1-encoded 2.35:1 HD DVD picture is crisp and detailed, with well-rendered colors, deep blacks, and good contrast. Edge enhancement is not a distraction, but source element artifacts can be seen at times. (Danny Richelieu)

Soundtrack:
While the mix can be exciting and the recording quality is generally quite good, the Dolby® Digital Plus encoding can have a distracting shuffling noise at low levels and hard-edged vocals. (Danny Richelieu)