...like a fine gourmet meal that a diner has poured ketchup over for flavoring.
Video:
In terms of picture quality, "Hannibal" fares moderately well, the 1.74:1 ratio screen image borderline good. There´s nothing overtly wrong with it, but it exhibits slightly less-than-perfect definition with a small touch of grain. It´s dark, as Scott´s films are wont to be, and detail in shadows is only adequate.
Audio:
The audio comes via Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, or Dolby Surround. The DD 5.1 soundtrack is typical of a modern Hollywood product, wide ranging in frequency and dynamic response, with excellent front-channel separation and rear-channel directionality. Everything from gunfire to music is rendered with equal aplomb.
Extras:
Now, since this is a two-disc Special Edition, you would expect a host of goodies, and the folks at MGM, usually stingy about such things, pay off. The first disc contains the film; the three audio choices I´ve mentioned; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; and an audio commentary with director Ridley Scott. The second disc contains the bulk of the extras. They include a set of five documentaries called "Breaking the Silence," totaling some seventy-six minutes in all; a featurette called "The Art of Storytelling" using multi-angle features; an additional featurette, "Anatomy of a Shoot-Out"; and yet another featurette exploring the film´s opening title design. Then, there´s an alternative ending with a written introduction and optional director commentary; and thirteen deleted scenes, again with introductions and optional director commentary. Finally, there are quite a few posters and stills; cast and crew information (where we learn, by the way, that Frankie Faison, Lecter´s old guard, was the only actor to appear in all three Lecter films, starting as a cop in "Manhunter"); production notes; thirty-two scene selections; two theatrical trailers; and fully nineteen TV spots. If you care about the film at all, which I admit I did not, you´ll enjoy the extras.
Parting Shots:
Maybe I should mention in closing a few more nagging concerns I had with the story line, like how Lecter managed to elude capture all these years. His face is on every "Ten Most Wanted" list in the world, yet he´s managed to come and go among society, even traveling across the seas, without anybody recognizing him. Also, how has he been making a living after his escape from incarceration? Where does he get all his money to live so comfortably in Florence? Is he up to his old tricks? And we´re told that after ten years he obtains a job at a prestigious Florence library and museum. Didn´t the library do a background check on this "Dr. Fell"? Oh, well, only in the movies, I suppose.
In counterpoint, I did like the irony of the next-to-last scene, as Clarice is put in the rather unenviable position of having to rescue her nemesis. But then the ending itself so overindulges in the lurid and grisly, it makes "Re-Animator" look like child´s play. So, what are you going to do? I mean, how can you take seriously a film that makes its audience wince in pain every few minutes for no other reason than to gross them out? That´s the stuff of lesser directors. Scott knows better than anyone the value of letting his viewers use their imagination. Why didn´t he?
In terms of picture quality, "Hannibal" fares moderately well, the 1.74:1 ratio screen image borderline good. There´s nothing overtly wrong with it, but it exhibits slightly less-than-perfect definition with a small touch of grain. It´s dark, as Scott´s films are wont to be, and detail in shadows is only adequate.
Audio:
The audio comes via Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, or Dolby Surround. The DD 5.1 soundtrack is typical of a modern Hollywood product, wide ranging in frequency and dynamic response, with excellent front-channel separation and rear-channel directionality. Everything from gunfire to music is rendered with equal aplomb.
Extras:
Now, since this is a two-disc Special Edition, you would expect a host of goodies, and the folks at MGM, usually stingy about such things, pay off. The first disc contains the film; the three audio choices I´ve mentioned; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; and an audio commentary with director Ridley Scott. The second disc contains the bulk of the extras. They include a set of five documentaries called "Breaking the Silence," totaling some seventy-six minutes in all; a featurette called "The Art of Storytelling" using multi-angle features; an additional featurette, "Anatomy of a Shoot-Out"; and yet another featurette exploring the film´s opening title design. Then, there´s an alternative ending with a written introduction and optional director commentary; and thirteen deleted scenes, again with introductions and optional director commentary. Finally, there are quite a few posters and stills; cast and crew information (where we learn, by the way, that Frankie Faison, Lecter´s old guard, was the only actor to appear in all three Lecter films, starting as a cop in "Manhunter"); production notes; thirty-two scene selections; two theatrical trailers; and fully nineteen TV spots. If you care about the film at all, which I admit I did not, you´ll enjoy the extras.
Parting Shots:
Maybe I should mention in closing a few more nagging concerns I had with the story line, like how Lecter managed to elude capture all these years. His face is on every "Ten Most Wanted" list in the world, yet he´s managed to come and go among society, even traveling across the seas, without anybody recognizing him. Also, how has he been making a living after his escape from incarceration? Where does he get all his money to live so comfortably in Florence? Is he up to his old tricks? And we´re told that after ten years he obtains a job at a prestigious Florence library and museum. Didn´t the library do a background check on this "Dr. Fell"? Oh, well, only in the movies, I suppose.
In counterpoint, I did like the irony of the next-to-last scene, as Clarice is put in the rather unenviable position of having to rescue her nemesis. But then the ending itself so overindulges in the lurid and grisly, it makes "Re-Animator" look like child´s play. So, what are you going to do? I mean, how can you take seriously a film that makes its audience wince in pain every few minutes for no other reason than to gross them out? That´s the stuff of lesser directors. Scott knows better than anyone the value of letting his viewers use their imagination. Why didn´t he?
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]7786[/release]