Manhunter

Watched it for film club, welcome to my all time favorites you magnificent thing. I keep going back to this film and it continues to charge me up and move me deeply simultaneously. There are a total of 4 cuts of this movie and I’ve seen them all with the directors cut being slightly more engaging with the lengthier procedural scenes and a more ambiguous, sinister ending. I think I still prefer the theatrical cut because of the ending and final line read but I don’t really care how you assemble these scenes, I think this is a true masterpiece of the 1980s. Showing not only the heights of some stylistic tendencies of the time but establishing a sub genre of frantic detective work using the aid of other killers, something that would explode over the next 20 years. I think there is a true undeniable look and feel to this entire film whether you find a connection with anything is certainly dependent on the viewer and their interests, as for something that uses colors, sound to convey a mood more than anything this has to be up there with one of the best ever. So much attention to detail from the interior colors, how characters ties blend with the scenes even Mann having people use elevators in buildings across the street for lights to appear in the proper moments all stuff that have been mostly done away with today for budgetary reasons or people being burnt out by this hard nosed style. By the end of this shoot almost the entire cast and crew had left, unwilling to continue 18 hour shooting days at Mann’s command so the final sequences was done with only a handful of people. Exceptional performances from William Petersen who has to convey an extreme sense of guilt and urgency in a quiet way, often talking to himself but doesn’t get to use narration. You see a performance like this and understand why Scorsese wanted to cast him as Henry Hill in Goodfellas but Petersen didn’t want a career with that sort of fame. You can see the struggle to not let his family be absorbed into this pure evil since he fully commits to having to go there mentally himself, all in the name of saving another family that he’s never met. Sometimes you’re compelled by something more and have to act which is something so expertly shown here. I’ve just found this better and more emotional every single time I think about it, the different cuts/scenes have only enhanced everything. A very spiritually searching film that’s often really strange even with how tranquil some things feel throughout some heinous crimes being explored. I think all of the dialogue is incredible like the cut stuff where Graham is asked “are you sympathizing with him?” and he says: *“Absolutely. My heart bleeds for him as a child. Someone took a kid and manufactured a monster, but at the same time as an adult he’s irredeemable. He butchers whole families to pursue trivial, fantasies. As an adult someone should blow this sick fuck out of his socks.” * I grew up in a Red Dragon house which I still enjoy immensely but as an adult I’ve become Manhunter truther and I think everyone should be privileged to the great becoming. “You owe me awe!” * *Michael Mann Ranked