Manhunter
Screening on Film
Directed by Michael Mann.
With William L. Petersen, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen.
US, 1986, 35mm, color, 119 min.
Print source: HFA
With William L. Petersen, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen.
US, 1986, 35mm, color, 119 min.
Print source: HFA
Before Hopkins’ Hannibal, Petersen’s CSI, and Farina’s Law & Order, there was Mann’s Manhunter. Beyond its 1980s neon green titles and synth score, the film's incredible set of images recall the visual triumph of even the silent era. In pursuit of a serial killer, Graham (Petersen) draws on extreme powers of empathy to enter not the killer’s mind, but his dreams. This threshold between reality and fantasy, between Graham and Dollarhyde (Noonan), coalesces for the film’s characters in sheets of glass, while it is made manifest for the audience on the screen, where Mann’s images rebound as carefully constructed symbols.
