So....Red Dragon?


sorabji.com: Last movie you saw: So....Red Dragon?
THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016).

By Spider on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 01:25 pm:

    Who's gonna see it?

    I am. I read the book years ago and saw Manhunter, so I feel obligated to check this one out. I've read more bad reviews than good, so I'm not expecting to be delighted. I have serious doubts about the wisdom behind casting Edward Norton as Will Graham....he's just too weasely. Ralph Fiennes as Francis Dolarhyde? Um, no. And are we going to see quietly menacing Hannibal Lecter or unintentionally-hilarious self-parodying Hannibal Lecter? I'm assuming the latter.

    Still, I hope to be entertained.


By J on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 02:04 pm:

    I read the book and saw Manhunter too,and I'm planning to see the movie.I read an interveiw in the paper today where Anthony Hopkins said the only way he would sign on to do the movie was that he made it clear that he wanted to play Hannibal differently than he had in the other two films.This is straight fom his mouth " I didn't want him to be Mr.Cutesy anymore.I didn't want him making jokes all the time.He's still witty of course,but I wanted him to be more frightening. I wanted no winking at the audience.I wanted to show this guy for the psychotic he is.Lets face it;this guy's nuts." So I guess will see.


By Spider on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 03:37 pm:

    Hmph. We'll see.... J, post what you think when you see it. I'm going on Sunday.


By J on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 03:42 pm:

    Sounds good to me:)


By spunky on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 03:47 pm:

    I heard it was more... graphic then Hannibal.
    I do not think I will be able to watch it.
    I still can't get over the scene with liota sitting there with his head cut open and hannibal frying a peice of his brain and feeding to him.
    I just do not think I can....


By Antigone on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 05:06 pm:

    I haven't seen Hannibal yet just fo that reason.


By eri on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 06:06 pm:

    Hannibal was so "graphic" that I puked. The scene when he gutted that guy and shoved him off of the balcony and hung him and you heard his intestines hit the sidewalk was too much. I hated that movie from start. I would like to see the prequel, but not if it is as graphic as Hannibal. The first one was bad enough.


By kazoo on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 07:29 pm:

    More graphic than Hannibal? Now I have to see it. I didn't like Hannibal and don't especially care for graphic movies, but I can stomach them them pretty well and now I'm curious.


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 08:49 am:

    It wasn't that graphic, at least by my standards. It was pretty good. It follows the book faithfully, though I was disappointed that it didn't bring out more of Dolarhyde's interior life. It also didn't stress the kind of abuse he went through as a kid because of his deformity.

    Ralph Fiennes did a good job with Dolarhyde, though he wasn't nearly muscular enough. Dolarhyde is supposed to be this enormously powerful man with gigantic muscles. I won't give anything away, but there's a scene in which he flexes his back, and it's supposed to be an awe- and fear-inspiring scene, but because Fiennes' back is only as muscled as any regular guy (ok, actor), the scene has a...different effect. You could see what a sad person he was.

    That's another difference between this story and the others with Lecter....you feel sorry for Dolarhyde. The book is even better at evoking your sympathy for the guy.

    And call me sick, but I was disappointed that they cut out the love scene between Dolarhyde and Reba. That's important! It shows his buried humanity.


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 10:19 am:

    OK, let me clarify on the "not graphic" bit. Someone gets his lips bitten off (though you don't see it happen, you do see the biter's bloody mouth), you see flickers of the murder victims who have mirrors in their eyes (not very gory), and people get shot and stabbed in the chest. Nothing sick like people eating brains (well, there is a scene at the beginning....but it's very tastefully done).

    Go see it! I want to participate in a discussion!


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 10:20 am:

    Ooh, pun not intended.

    Let me say that it involves a pre-capture Hannibal Lecter. And you know how refined he is.


By spunky on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 10:38 am:

    spider, you're cute...


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 11:03 am:

    Aw, shucks. Will ya go see the movie, please? I had to see it by myself, and I've had no one to talk to about it. :(


By J on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 12:25 pm:

    I was too busy this weekend my husband was painting our garage on Sat.,Sunday took the grandkids to Gameworks and saw Robert Schimmel,but am planning to see it sometime this week.So Spider was Hannibal darker this time?


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 12:41 pm:

    Not...really. You do get to see him before he was captured, and that was cool.


By Spider on Monday, October 7, 2002 - 01:53 pm:

    One more thing: I was disappointed that Fiennes didn't use his trademark Stare of Doom to better effect. You know that part in Schindler's List when his housekeeper is buffing his nails and the camera slides up and you see him staring at her like a snake staring at a mouse? Awesome.


By Spider on Friday, October 11, 2002 - 04:20 pm:

    OK, this is just a reminder....one of you has to see Red Dragon this weekend so we can talk about it.

    No, it wasn't that great... I am not asking you to see it on its own merits. But I want to discuss it, OK? OK????

    :)


By spunky on Friday, October 11, 2002 - 04:29 pm:

    Find me a babysitter...
    :-)


By J on Friday, October 11, 2002 - 05:06 pm:

    I saw it the other day,it was certainly better than Hannible,and I thought it was more serious Hannible.


By Pug on Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 05:11 pm:

    Still haven't seen it, yet....finally saw "Manhunter", though. For all the jazz about it being better than "Silence of the Lambs" I really don't think it was----I didn't feel like it delved deeply enough into the characters. Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter? Nah....but the movie probably puts him in more proper perspective...the biggest complaint I think I've heard is that the book & "Manhunter" are about Graham and Dollarhyde and the murder case and then somewhere in the backstory you get Lecter. Whereas, in this movie it's somehow about Lecter and Graham and Dolarhyde. I can see them doing that just to cash in on the franchise. Still, I like all of this enough to catch "Red Dragon" at some point....I have heard that it's all-around better than "Manhunter".
    What's the deal w/Dolarhyde's deformity? As far as I can tell from "Manhunter", he's a really big guy with a harelip and poor social skills.
    I liked "Hannibal" okay---I just thought it was cheesy that they wimped out on Harris's ending. I mean, Clarice Starling bounces back and stands up for this institution that has fucked her up the poop-chute? YEAH. AS IF...


By Spider on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 08:37 am:

    I rented "Manhunter" yesterday but have only watched the DVD extras and I forget much of the movie, but I can tell you you're right about the book being Graham vs. Dolarhyde with only a sprinkling of Lecter.

    Dolarhyde had a cleft palate and other problems that weren't surgically corrected till he was a grown man. His mother gave him away at birth, the kids in the orphanage or foster home were really mean to him, his hard-assed grandmother found him and took him home with her to the old-folks home she ran. A few people are kind to him, but something happens to make him think they're laughing at him, so he goes and kills all the chickens in the coop, and he feels much better. That gives him a taste for killing.

    He had a few speech impediments, and wouldn't say the S sound normally. When he becomes the Dragon, his impediments are gone.

    I'll watch Manhunter tonight. I thought this was interesting -- in the little interview extras on the DVD, Tom Noonan (played Dolarhyde) said he would not let anyone on the set see him, except for Joan Allen (Reba). He stayed in different hotels, took different flights, worked on a different schedule, etc. from all the other actors, because he didn't want anyone to become comfortable with/around him. He would sit in his trailer in the dark, and when the director came in to talk to him, they would both sit in the dark.

    Noonan has kind of faded out of acting, and one of the catalysts for that decision was when he was in the grocery store and the woman in the line behind him recognized him and ran screaming. That hurt his feelings.


By Spider on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 10:01 am:

    PS. My first sentence may be unclear. I saw Manhunter years ago and forget most of it. I rented the DVD yesterday but have not yet watched the movie. Thank you and goodnight.

    PPS. I seem to be developing an unexplainable attraction to William Petersen.


By THE PILGRIM on Saturday, February 7, 2004 - 12:59 am:

    red dragon IS the book, as intended by t. harris- manhunter, while being stylisticaly superior-simply IS NOT.


bbs.sorabji.com
 

The Stalking Post: General goddam chit-chat Every 3 seconds: Sex . Can men and women just be friends? . Dreamland . Insomnia . Are you stoned? . What are you eating? I need advice: Can you help? . Reasons to be cheerful . Days and nights . Words . Are there any news? Wishful thinking: Have you ever... . I wish you were... . Why I oughta... Is it art?: This question seems to come up quite often around here. Weeds: Things that, if erased from our cultural memory forever, would be no great loss Surfwatch: Where did you go on the 'net today? What are you listening to?: Worst music you've ever heard . What song or tune is going through your head right now? . Obscure composers . Obscure Jazz, 1890-1950 . Whatever, whenever General Questions: Do you have any regrets? . Who are you? . Where are you? . What are you doing here? . What have you done? . Why did you do it? . What have you failed to do? . What are you wearing? . What do you want? . How do you do? . What do you want to do today? . Are you stupid? Specific Questions: What is the cruelest thing you ever did? . Have you ever been lonely? . Have you ever gone hungry? . Are you pissed off? . When is the last time you had sex? . What does it look like where you are? . What are you afraid of? . Do you love me? . What is your definition of Heaven? . What is your definition of Hell? Movies: Last movie you saw . Worst movie you ever saw . Best movie you ever saw Reading: Best book you've ever read . Worst book you've ever read . Last book you read Drunken ramblings: uiphgy8 hxbjf.bklf ghw789- bncgjkvhnqwb=8[ . Payphones: Payphone Project BBS
 

sorabji.com . torturechamber . px.sorabji.com . receipts . contact