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Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson ... see more see more... , Mary-Louise Parker , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Anthony Heald , Bill Duke , Ken Leung , Stanley Anderson , Azura Skye , Frankie Faison , Tyler Patrick Jones , Aaron Michael Lacey

Following the phenomenal success of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, Anthony Hopkins returns as brilliant madman Hannibal Lecter in this thriller based on the novel in which author Thomas Harris... read more read more... introduced the character. Will Graham (Edward Norton) is an FBI agent with a rare gift for tracking serial killers who brought Hannibal Lecter to justice; however, his confrontation with Lecter proved to be a bloody, near-death experience, and afterward Graham retired from the Bureau, moving to Florida to spend his time with his wife, Molly (Mary-Louise Parker), and their son. However, a particularly grisly killer is on the loose, and Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel), Graham's one-time mentor at the Bureau, asks him to return to duty to find him. The "Tooth Fairy" is a vicious murderer who kills entire families at once, covering the eyes of his victims with bits of a shattered mirror. Graham finds he needs help putting together the pieces of the "Tooth Fairy" case, and he calls upon Lecter looking for advice. Lecter, at once vaguely helpful and self-serving, as usual, offers scraps of information to Graham which help him zero in on the killer. But Lecter knows more than he's telling; the "Tooth Fairy" is actually Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), a troubled and withdrawn man who admires Lecter's violent panache and corresponds with him. Dolarhyde works at a film processing lab, where one of his co-workers, a blind woman named Reba McClane (Emily Watson), seems to be quite attracted to him. As Dolarhyde wrestles with both his murderous impulses and his feelings for McClane, Lecter plays Graham and Dolarhyde against one another so that, as the FBI agent comes closer to catching "the Tooth Fairy," Dolarhyde moves in on his next victim -- Graham's family. Red Dragon marked the second time Harris' novel of the same name had been brought to the screen; five years prior to The Silence of the Lambs, Michael Mann adapted the book for the screen as Manhunter, which starred William Petersen as Graham and Brian Cox as Lecter. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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74% liked it

248,603 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

184 critics

R, 2 hr. 5 min.

Directed by: Brett Ratner

Release Date: October 4, 2002

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DVD Release Date: April 1, 2003

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Stats: 10,279 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (10,279)

  • EightThirty
    November 23, 2011
    EightThirty
    24/11/2011 (ONLINE)
  • cosmo313
    October 13, 2011
    cosmo313
    Some of this is a little uneven, and could have been better, but this is a decent and enjoyable thriller nonetheless. It's cool seeing Hannibal in a pre-Starling story, even if they didn't do a credible job of making Hopkins look younger.

    He still does a good job though, and do... read morees Norton. Fiennes is creepy as shit, and he does a mostly good job, but he had the potential to be excellent. Still though, pretty good. Watson is nice, and she puts in some good work, but I find myself really enjoying Hoffman's work here. He's terrific at radiating sleaziness.

    Ratner's direction is okay, but he doesn't have quite the same level of artistry as Demme or Scott. The script is okay, but I think could have been a touch or two better.

    Even with it's issues, I like this movie. From what I remember, it follows the book a little better than a lot of adaptations, even if many liberties are taken. This isn't too bad, so go ahead and give it a watch if you want.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 28, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    I have never seen Manhunter, but I hope it was as good as this. The plot was amazing, I felt like when I had first watched The Silence of the Lambs and how much Hannibal Lecter creeped me out. The cast was amazing, Anthony Hopkins was born for this role, and Ralph Phiennes dese... read morerved a lot of award nominations for his role. The movie was great, it was confusing at points, and although its not as good as The Silence of the Lambs, its much better than Hannibal and this is a great film and a must watch for fans of the greatest villain ever put in film.
  • blkbomb
    May 15, 2011
    blkbomb
    Red Dragon deserved much more praise than it got. It opens with an amazing first sequence and doesn't slow down throughout. The movie offers an amazing cast. Although it's not as good as Silence of the Lambs, it's a great entry to the Hannibal Lecter series.
  • theunknownhobo
    January 20, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    My favorite of the three Harris books by far and indeed my favorite of the movie adaptations of the chronicles of everyones favorite cannibal. Ed Norton was amazing in this movie as was another of my favorite actors Ralph Fiennes, as the "toothfairy". What makes this movie more c... read moreompelling than its counterparts is its apparent and sometimes blatant lack of humour. You would have to be a strong person not to laugh at Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs and likewise with some of the quips that Hannibal makes in the self titled third movie. This movie is as serious as it is dark, but also has a humanistic undertone that gives you a relationship with the serial killer that is original and sometimes beautiful. Miles above the rest of the franchise, bravo!
  • BEACHBUNNI
    December 27, 2010
    BEACHBUNNI
    By now, Anthony Hopkins can play Hannibal Lecter without even blinking he is just brillant~! "Red Dragon" turns out to be a Haunting Thriller with very convincing performances,sort of a remake of "Silence of the Lambs" so does feel familar...i give it a 4 star rating as it kept... read more my attention~!
  • adammahler1
    August 12, 2010
    adammahler1
    if only every film school grad was this adequate... Red Dragon lauds and tries to dovetail with Silence of the Lambs, without the good taste to steal one bit of style. It invokes Silence of the Lambs like a namedropper works a party. The filmmaking has no style of its own, and gr... read moreeat actors inhabit this atmosphere of genericness by doing their most paint-by-number work.

    There's another film that remains a specter here more than Demme's Silence of the Lambs. Michael Mann did Manhunter as a style piece from the same novel. Mann's work, with its dream-like compositions, holds up very well, minus only a few 80s'isms. Red Dragon tries to assert its difference from the earlier movie by ... claiming shared pedigree with Demme's movie every 4 minutes. Lines that had eerie resonance in Manhunter are lifeless in Red Dragon. William Peterson as Will Graham seems scarier than Anthony Hopkins doing an impression of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Only improvement: the Tooth Fairy has better dialogue with the reporter. Biggest disappointment: same cinematographer as Manhunter. Did he figure, having already made art with the material, that the second time he'd just imitate a hack, just to try out what that was like? The director was already there.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 8, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Red Dragon is a remake of sorts to the 1986 film, Manhunter. This film follows even more closely the story of the book, and to be honest it's a great and very well done adaptations. The film is tense, suspenseful, thrilling and scary. Every element that you're looking for in a Ha... read morennibal Lector film is here. Whats most surprising to me is that this film was directed by Brett Rattner the director responsible for those Dreadful Rush Hour films and X-Men:The Last Stand, what crap those film were. Well Rattner does a great job in this film, it's to date his best and only good film. The cast of the film is phenomenal and the return of Anthony Hopkins yet again makes this a terrific Horror Thriller. Red Dragon is a well made, well adapted film thats just as good as the novel. Brett Rattner really shines directing this film, enjoy his adaptation of Red Dragon, because it's rare he does anything good.
  • ythelastman89
    January 6, 2010
    ythelastman89
    I know i'm essentially in the minority, but I loved this movie. I think it is on par with Silence of the Lambs. The cast is phenomenal, everyone from Edward Norton to Mary-Louise Parker was on top of their game. While this is a very different story than the other Lecter films, it... read more is my personal favorite. I love the Tooth Fairy and the fact that he is acting on his mother's wishes, much like in Psycho.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 7, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    A great Thriller with CLASS

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Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
February 7, 2007
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Frank Whaley and Philip Seymour Hoffman play minor characters so annoying they might as well wear T-shirts reading 'Eat My Brain.' Full Review

Richard Roeper
October 7, 2002
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Wonderful performances and some really chilling moments. Full Review

David Edelstein
October 5, 2002
David Edelstein, Slate

The beats are the same, but the eerie vibe has been lost in translation. Full Review

October 4, 2002
Washington Post

Everything's a little too familiar.

October 4, 2002
Washington Post

Elegant, dark, alluring, frightening, mesmerizing.

Peter Howell
October 4, 2002
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

It's highly entertaining, fast-paced and ultimately without deeper meaning, just like most other Hollywood blockbusters these days. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
October 4, 2002
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

The actors have a good workout and Hopkins earns his enormous paycheck, but at day's end it all feels like a revved-up, market-driven rehash of a once-thrilling film. Full Review

John Anderson
October 4, 2002
John Anderson, Newsday

Limited tension, lots of laughs, just what you want from a psychological thriller. Full Review

Eric Harrison
October 4, 2002
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

Red Dragon is closer in tone and story to Silence than to the campy, over-amped Hannibal. Full Review

Susan Stark
October 4, 2002
Susan Stark, Detroit News

In both the writing and cutting, it does not achieve the kind of dramatic unity that transports you. You end up simply admiring this bit or that, this performance or that. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Hannibal Lecter: Our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.
    • Hannibal Lecter: Our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.
    • Lloyd Bowman: What about sweating Lecter?
    • FBI Agent Will Graham: We tried sodium amatol on him three years ago to find where he buried a Princeton student; he gave them a recipe for dip.
    • Reba McClane: If there's anything I hate worse than pity, it's fake pity. Especially from a walking hard-on like Ralph Mandy.
    • Francis Dolarhyde AKA The Tooth Fairy: I have no pity.
    • Francis Dolarhyde AKA The Tooth Fairy: You felt so good.
    • Reba McClane: So did you D.
    • Hannibal Lecter: If i tell you, I'm afraid you won't even try it.
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Red Dragon Trivia

  • 'Red Dragon' and 'Man Hunter' are both prequels to the story told in which movie?  Answer »
  • This prequal to the oscar winning "Silence of the Lambs" returns Hopkins to his role as Hannibal Lector along side Edward norton.  Answer »
  • ___ Eye ___ Dragon ___ Corner ___ Planet  Answer »
  • Who links this movies? The end of the affair Harry Potter and the goblet of fire Red dragon The english patient  Answer »
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