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Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, Frankie Faison, Giancarlo Giannini ... see more see more... , Francesca Neri , Zeljko Ivanek , Hazelle Goodman , David Andrews , Francis Guinan , James Opher , Enrico Lo Verso , Ivano Marescotti , Fabrizio Gifuni , Ennio Coltorti , Alex Corrado , Marco Greco , Gary Oldman , Don McManus , Ajay Naidu , Boyd Kestner , Bruce MacVittie , Judie Aronson , Kelly Piper , Mark Margolis , Ric Young

Based on the controversial sequel novel of the same name, Hannibal is the much-anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Anthony Hopkins returns as Dr. Hannibal Lecte... read more read more...r, one of the world's most cunning and feared serial killers, who resurfaces after a decade in hiding to toy with FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore). As Starling's career flounders thanks to a drug bust gone wrong, Lecter attempts to elude a greedy Italian police detective (Giancarlo Giannini) who's willing to alert the authorities to his presence in Florence for a price. In the meantime, a maimed but wealthy former victim of Lecter's named Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) plots to get his revenge on the doctor in a most unusual and grisly fashion. The novel by Thomas Harris was adapted for director Ridley Scott by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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69% liked it

375,795 ratings

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39% liked it

163 critics

R, 2 hr. 11 min.

Directed by: Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer

Release Date: February 9, 2001

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DVD Release Date: August 21, 2001

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Hannibal carrying Clarice Starling to safety Julianne Moore as "Clarice Starling" Hannibal Hannibal Hannibal Hannibal Lecter hannibal Kidnapp Hannibal JULIANNE MOORE Dr. Hannibal Lecter Mason Verger Mason R. Verger Hannibal Hannibal
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Flixster Reviews (15,343)

  • blkbomb
    October 13, 2012
    blkbomb
    Hannibal Lecter: On a similar note I must confess to you, I'm giving very serious thought... to eating your wife. 

    "Break The Silence"

    This initially sounds like an amazing movie. Hannibal is another Hannibal Lector film with Ridley Scott at the helm, Hopkins as Hannibal, and J... read moreulianne Moore as Clarice. Gary Oldman even appears, more or less, as the only surviving victim of Lector's. It's not to say that I didn't get a fair amount of enjoyment from Scott's Hannibal, but I was unsatisfied nonetheless. I didn't necessarily expect a masterpiece, but I did expect a movie better than this one. 

    Hannibal seemed incredibly goofy at times, while staying with the atmospheric seriousness of The Silence of the Lambs for the most part. Hans Zimmer delivers a great little score to bring out the tension that a movie with Lector in it deserves. That's one reason why I have a hard time totally dismissing this film. There was a relative amount of tension all the way through. It wasn't to the degree of Silence, but it was there. 

    In this Hannibal tale, Hannibal is living in Italy as Clarice deals with problems after a drug raid goes haywire. Also Hannibal's only surviving victim has a plan up his sleeves if he can ever get at him. The FBI decides to put Clarice back on the Lector case. The plot was a little messy in this film and things mostly felt either rushed or entirely too slow. 

    I realize I'm not talking this movie up much, but it at least deserves a look for Hopkins as Lector again. His performance isn't his Oscar winning one from Silence, but it's still good. Had he had a slightly less obvious, more subtle, and smarter script to work with; who knows what we'd be saying about Hopkins as it pertains to this movie. Too bad that isn't the case. 

    As it is this was worthwhile film for me. I still enjoyed it despite its many, many faults and the fact that Ridley Scott didn't deliver what was expected. I can pretty much guarantee you will be disappointed in the outcome of this movie if you have seen Silence. If you haven't seen Silence, go watch it. That's a priority. Hannibal is just a shock hungry film that holds on to just enough of the originals formula to be a minor recommendation.
  • garyX
    September 7, 2012
    garyX
    Hannibal Lecter has left the United States and began a new life posing as an art historian in Italy but when a local detective discovers his true identity he returns to old habits. Being a huge Ridley Scott fan I'm probably biased but I prefer this to the over-rated Silence of th... read moree Lambs. It reeks atmosphere and has a grand, almost operatic atmosphere that transcends its pulpy origins. I found Hopkins' more restrained and less glib performance more menacing and I also preferred Julianne Moore's Agent Starling with Ray Liotta's "typical sexist male" as the only weak link in an otherwise very well performed and intelligent Gothic horror show.
  • spielberg00
    August 6, 2012
    spielberg00
    I'm not a huge fan of filmmaker Ridley Scott. Of course, I've thoroughly enjoyed his perfectionist work with the sci-fi genre-but those classics only amount to three films, among the other seventeen he has directed. 2001 must have been the year Scott decided violence was the on... read morely valid answer for finishing a film. It was the year he directed BLACK HAWK DOWN, quite possibly one of the most ruthlessly violent and emotionlessly disgusting war movies ever made. That was in December. Let's skim back to February, the month that saw the release of his HANNIBAL. This sequel clearly wasn't just an intention to follow up THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, it's a celebration of the film's tenth anniversary. Unfortunately, it becomes more of a film that takes a rather different route than its unforgettable predecessor. Whereas Jonathan Demme built suspense in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by keeping everything truly horrifying just barely off screen, Ridley Scott wraps no restrictions whatsoever on our vision, leaving the limits at a human face being fed to dogs, the exposure of a human brain, and pretty much everything in between. We feel more repulsed than thrilled, and we begin to wonder why SILENCE is so controversial for "glorifying" serial killers, and this follow-up isn't.

    read it all with some fava beans and a nice chianti at themoviefreakblog.com
  • samoriley
    June 27, 2012
    samoriley
    Its really difficult to decide whether this is good or not. Personally, it was okay. Although it doesn't feature Jodie Foster reprising her role,Julianne Moore takes her place and portrays a different, but unique Clarice Starling. The violence does almost top 'Silence of the Lamb... read mores', but some of it seem reckless. Anthony Hopkins does return as his creepy and cannibalistic role. Its worth a look, but don't expect it to have the same scares and iconic moments from the 1991 masterpiece
  • ironclad1609
    March 6, 2012
    ironclad1609
    This is probably one of the greatest failures of film history as far as sequels go. Not a bad film per se, but nowhere near the brilliancy of The Silence of the Lambs. Why is that so? I primarily blame the book and script. We all know Ridley Scott knows how to create compelling a... read morend spectacular films. He simply has not much to work with here. Of course author Thomas Harris didn't feel like copying his masterpiece and you have to appreciate it. The new setting of Florence feels too different, the fact that Starling is stuck to her research basement for half the film and we follow an Italian inspector for a while even makes it hard to care for much that is going on in the beginning. Hopkins is still excellent, but even his character does not feel like the Lecter we know. Same goes for Starling, for which Julianne Moore is not to blame. Going a different direction and having characters change for a sequel is fine, entirely failing to add to what was established and play with the elements that were loved is not. What the plot is missing in real suspense it is trying to compensate by gruesome violence and lots of disgusting scenes. The only excellent part of the film is Hans Zimmer's beautiful score he wrote for the (fake) opera the characters listen to. Once it is playing over the end credits, it actually makes you think you've seen a better film than you actually did. Disappointing, even if entertaining.
  • emilkakko
    February 27, 2012
    emilkakko
    Hannibal is most certainly superior work as a film when compared to Jonathan Demme's overrated Silence of the Lambs. Still it is a uneven film with many flaws and over the top moments.
    Ridley Scott has always been great visualist and Hannibal is once again visually stunning work... read more from him. Actually, this just might be one of the more elegant looking horror films i've seen in the past decade.
    Ridley Scott creates a dreamlike atmosphere with this film. It does have surreal moments in it that makes the horror elements more disturbing. I can understand that many were not expecting amounts of black humour that the script from David Mamet and Steven Zaillian has, but the twisted sense of humour that this film has makes it actually better.
    All the technical feats in Hannibal are superb. Photography by great John Mathieson truly is outstanding work and the experimental score by Hans Zimmer does deliver also. When it comes to film editing, there is hardly a better man for that job than Scott regular Pietro Scalia.
    But beneath all the technical feats Hannibal is not that impressive as a film. Especially the screenplay suffers from couple of characters and sideplots too many. It would needed a more coherent storyline than Thomas Harris book has to offer. Now it feels unfocused and a bit all over the place. It is also clear that some of the more gory elements in this film are pointless and does not serve the story. They are simply there to shock audience with gore and that is a cheap way to get reaction from people.
    Hannibal is uneven but also occasionally entertaining film at times. I still cannot shake the feeling that maybe with better screeplay this might have turned even into something very good. Now it is just mediocre as a film.
  • TheGame90
    September 18, 2011
    TheGame90
    Ridley Scott had no chance in competing with The Silcence of the Lambs....so he did something different....And I think he did it good. Anthony Hopkins is cold as ice. And Julianne Moore is okay. It would have been great with Jodie Foster
  • DreamExtractor
    August 8, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Crap compared to the incredible Silence of the Lambs
  • fb100000040220993
    May 1, 2011
    fb100000040220993
    This film experienced a massive drop off in quality compared to it's predecessor, "The Silence of the Lambs". I'm not even sure why a sequel was necessary, especially one as poorly conceived as this. This films blows the subtleties that made the first film brilliant way out of ... read moreproportion. In fact, most of this film was just far fetched. Despite all the gore, it still manages to be boring. Do yourself a favor, like Jodie Foster did, avoid this crap.
  • stevenecarrier
    January 28, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    I am a fan of Ridley Scott's "Hannibal," more so than most people. I like the film, for simply, realizing that it can never be Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs." There was no way this sequel could ever live up to it's Oscar winning predecessor. Scott knew this from the ... read morestart. What he does here is craft a film that, yes acts as a sequel, but also acts as it's own standalone story. "Hannibal" is so different in tone, style and narrative than "The Silence of the Lambs" that is practically forces you judge it on it's own merits. (The presence of Julianne Moore alone dictates this.) The picture Scott has made is quietly thrilling, visually striking and very atmospheric. "Hannibal" is the definition of an elegant horror film. Where "The Silence of the Lambs" was a procedural thriller, "Hannibal" is a psychological horror film. Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman and Ray Liotta are all very good here. The film also adds in a very dark sense of humor to the proceedings, finding it's own way of incorporating the sense of macabre so important to the first film. Overall, I really like "Hannibal", it's engrossing, well made and a very interesting way of crafting a sequel.

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Critic Reviews

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

The weight-watchers script sensibly dispenses with several characters to serve a brew that's enjoyably spicy but low on substance. Full Review

Peter Rainer
September 26, 2002
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

Hannibal Lecter is the ostensible cannibal of this franchise, but the real cannibals are his creators. I wouldn't be surprised if the next time, they have him endorsing his favorite Chianti. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 19, 2002
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Hannibal definitely grabs at the emotions, but not the one it's after. You come in hoping to have the wits scared out of you and leave with your temper barely in check. Full Review

David Edelstein
February 12, 2001
David Edelstein, Slate

Simply a fat slab of sadism. Full Review

Desson Thomson
February 9, 2001
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Hopkins, who is electrifying in almost anything he does, reprises the mastery he brought to Silence of the Lambs. Even in a movie as patchworky as this, he's always compelling. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
February 9, 2001
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

It is not bad on its own terms, and it is certainly engrossing, but it comes nowhere near the power and sordid glory of the original. Full Review

Mike Clark
February 9, 2001
Mike Clark, USA Today

Hannibal won't even be a footnote when the year's best movies are grabbing the ink in December. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
February 9, 2001
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Bears many of the wounds of the book's confusion. Full Review

Mark Rahner
February 9, 2001
Mark Rahner, Seattle Times

Isn't in the same class as the original, but as sequels go, it's no Porky's 2, either.

Mick LaSalle
February 9, 2001
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

There are disgusting movies that are worth seeing -- Silence of the Lambs, for one -- and others that are merely disgusting. Then there's Hannibal, which exists in its own category. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Dr. Hannibal Lecter: I mus't confess you, I'm giving very serious thought to eating your wife.
    • Mason Verger (uncredited): I have immunity from the Justice Department, and I have immunity from the Risen Jesus. And nobody beats the Riz!
    • Dr. Hannibal Lecter: [in a letter to Clarice] Your job is to craft my doom, so I am not sure how well I should wish you. But I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun. Ta-ta, 'H.'
    • Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Mason Verger doesn't want to kill me any more than I want to kill him. He just wants to see me suffer in some unimaginable way. He is rather twisted, you know.
    • Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Bowels in or bowels out?
    • Clarice Starling: This is from the Guinness Book of World Records, congratulating me on being the female FBI Agent who has shot and killed the most people.
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Hannibal Trivia

  • What meal does Dr. Hannibal Lector request on the night of his escape?  Answer »
  • Which actress accepted the role of Clarice Starling in the film Hannibal, after Jodie Foster (who played this character in the prequel, The Silence of the Lambs) turned it down.  Answer »
  • What was the name of Hannibal King's vampire hunters group in "Blade: Trinity"?  Answer »
  • Who wrote the books 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Hannibal' which were later made into movies starring Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter?  Answer »
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