...and unbeknownst to the world, a cinematic icon was birthed.
Granted, nobody points to Brian Cox as the definitive Hannibal Lecter, and there really is no reason to. Lecter is a background character in Manhunter (renamed so that audiences wouldn’t think it was a sequel to the notorious Michael Cimino bomb The Year of The Dragon), and he justifiably is featured only in passing in this trailer. The focus of the trailer is firmly on William Peterson’s portrayal of Will Graham; it follows him as he investigates a crime, he actually identifies himself within the trailer, and he provides the spine of the two minute pitch we’re getting. All the other characters are incidental (I’m surprised at how little time Tom Noonan’s Dollarhyde gets, confined to quick, almost subliminal shots). Whoever cut this trailer takes full advantage of Peterson’s sensitive, soulful face and manages to make a statement about what the film is solely through his dialogue without letting us in on a word of the plot. The editing of this trailer is so sharp that the small arbitrary uses of a narrator who’s overselling it seems gratuitous and obtrusive.
While it’s sometimes fun to play ‘could have been’ (William Freidkin as Hannibal? I’d totally buy it, but...), I think what we ended up with a really understated and stylish production that’s sold just as stylishly in its trailer. And if it wasn’t for this film, we wouldn’t have gotten the definitive Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham, for DeLaurentiis’ daughter was the executive producer of what is simultaneously the most beautiful and fucked up thing ever shown on network TV.
I miss Hannibal...
Trailer courtesy of Movie Clips Classic Trailers.
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