I am about to pay tribute to one of the most memorable characters in modern cinema, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. This here is a cannibal, a criminal, a genius, and a devoted lover and manipulator. How teasing.
In The Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal Dr. Lecters word craft and mental domination made my heart skip a beat, such a perfect canvas of malicious brilliance! Something you cannot overlook, really, it thrusts itself in your mind and forces you to acknowledge its greatness, even if you do not like gore, rather, especially if you do not like gore.
A must it is to note that Sir Anthony Hopkins plays the role of Dr. Lecter in all three movies: The Silence of The Lambs 1991, Hannibal 2001, and Red Dragon 2002. His emergence as the optimum, elitist pick for the role is beyond words. There is no denying he was tailored to embody it, or that, in play, it was tailored to fit none other than him. He happens to be my favorite actor.
That twisted love-hate relationship between Hannibal and Clarice is captivating. She fears him yet she trusts him, and he delivers her at the end of Hannibal by chopping off his hand rather than hers after being chained together; an unforgettable scene for those who watched the movie. The way he talks to her, Hello, Clarice, and the way his speech picks speed at times in an intimidating fashion, always calmly, so calm, so dangerous, the thrill of it bites you in the neck.
Words, words, words; you must watch the movies to see Lecter in all his glory and might. But a note on the side, if mutilation and vicious cannibalistic attacks disturb you, stick to those words. I would hate being sued because of my recommending my favorite movie to others, I cannot afford it. (Rated R).
Should you be interested in the screenplay of The Silence of The Lambs or that of Hannibal, find the first here and the second here.
I quote Dr.Lecter, from Hannibal, before offering a piece of cooked human brain (that of Paul Krendler) to a curious child on an airplane:
As your mother tells you, and my mother certainly told me, it is important, she always used to say, always to try new things.
In a letter to Clarice: Your job is to craft my doom, so I am not sure how well I should wish you. But I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun. Ta-ta, “H.”"
I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.
I think Silence of the lambs was the best in the trilogy, Indeed one of the very best crafted movies of our time, a timeless classic and one of my all time favourites :)
I refused to watch any of these movies because I don’t like violent movies.. although Silence of the Lambs is one of the most well recongnized movies of all time.. but common.. too much blood.. I can’t handle it..
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091474/" title="Manhunter - IMDB">Manhunter</a> was the first film…it was redone as Red Dragon.
<p>I never watched Manhunt actually, my hamartia, Muppetlord.</p>
<p>Bakkouz, I salute your taste in this. </p>
<p>But if you take the blood out, Mona, there won’t be any material left in the movies. They revolve around a cannibal of a serial killer, blood is essential but it is not why I would advise anyone to watch them. It’s the mental scheming and devilish genius of Dr. Lecter that are so gripping. </p>
Very disturbing.
<p>I am guilty. I haven’t seen any of this trilogy.</p>
<p>I always promise myself that the next time I’m off to rent a movie I’ll get it, and I completely forget each and every time!</p>
<p>"…it thrusts itself in your mind and forces you to acknowledge its greatness."</p>
<p>Sigmund Freud would delight in this sentence. :)</p>
[...] Not to break off the arguably-sickening chain of posts in category Love, I have to devote a second one to Hannibal. The first one, “Is this Clarice? Why, hello Clarice,” can be accessed by clicking on the title. [...]