Manhunter

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Manhunter

R

1986

2h 0m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

124 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) is called out of early retirement to assist on a serial murder case involving a killer known as the "Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan). Graham enlists the help of imprisoned serial killer -- and cannibal -- Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox), who is the reason Graham took an early retirement. Soon, Graham and the FBI are entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Tooth Fairy, Lecter and an interfering journalist (Stephen Lang).

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Critics Consensus

Michael Mann introduces audiences to Hannibal Lecter for the first time in Manhunter, a modish thriller that fleshes out Thomas Harris' heinous creations with an elegant, chilling detachment.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Sep 24, 2026

4/5

Manhunter is a brash, queasy, bold thriller; yet for me, it is a curtain-raiser for the main event.

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Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

Aug 15, 2026

Mann is a real film-maker -- one who tells a story through what you see and, worse, what you imagine. It's a serial-killer thriller of quite unusual mood, intelligence and surprise.

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

Aug 15, 2026

It's only later, safely out of its grasp, that you begin to notice that for all its perverse fascination, and save for two superlative performances, Manhunter has delivered very little.

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Trevor Leavell

Pop Culture Leftovers

Sep 25, 2026

This new cut isn’t anything radical like Scott’s final cut of Blade Runner. An exceptional grade elevates Dante Spinotti’s moody photography to new, striking levels, making it feel like you’re watching the movie for the first time all over again.

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Jack Hawkins

HeyUGuys

Sep 24, 2026

4/5

The new 4K restoration is the definitive version of a genre stalwart, sharpening its painterly cinematography.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Sep 1, 2026

3/4

Manhunter is celebrated as a pioneering psychological thriller and a precursor to the now-common forensic procedural. But some of Mann’s choices, and several extratextual factors, still prevent me from fully connecting with it.

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Lyle

Jul 27, 2026

Excellent restoration!

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Callie B

@atolgiraffe Oct 10, 2026

I feel like I've betrayed Mads and Hugh :(

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Oliver C

@OliverClose Oct 7, 2026

Manhunter is crime cinema stripped to its nerve. Michael Mann fills the frame with cold light, hard edges, and men who live too close to darkness. William Petersen gives Will Graham a haunted center, while Tom Noonan makes Francis Dollarhyde a figure of raw menace. The writing cuts deep. The dialogue says little and means more. The case becomes an obsession. The hunter enters the mind of the hunted, and the line between them starts to disappear.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 25, 2026

Manhunter = a*4* star Movie!

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 Sep 22, 2026

While "The Silence of the Lambs" was bloodily dampened to amplify its supposedly tactically crafted disturbance, this indirect filmic predecessor shows director Michael Mann furthering his craft with influential chills professionally executed but stylistically hindered over imbalance focus. (B)

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J H

@UpstateNYThriller Sep 3, 2026

8.6/10 1980 Serial Killer Great movie Movie about retired FBI agent who is looking for new ritual killer. Original iteration of Hannibl Lecter

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Michael Mann

Director

William Petersen

Will Graham

Kim Greist

Molly Graham

Dennis Farina

Jack Crawford

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Brian Cox

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Synopsis

FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) is called out of early retirement to assist on a serial murder case involving a killer known as the "Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan). Graham enlists the help of imprisoned serial killer -- and cannibal -- Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox), who is the reason Graham took an early retirement. Soon, Graham and the FBI are entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Tooth Fairy, Lecter and an interfering journalist (Stephen Lang).

Director: Michael Mann
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Screenwriter: Michael Mann
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Columbia, Sony Pictures Classics
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 22, 1986, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jul 24, 2026
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $256.0K
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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