Customer Reviews
Brilliant as a film! - By: Sam, 18 Jul 2008 
I thought this film was great as a film. Compared to the book? Not so good. If you enjoy the book then you will probably not enjoy the film as much. It does follow the book in some ways but the ending is completely different & in my opinion not as good.
The performance Anthony Hopkins puts in as Hannibal Lecter is fantastic as always & although Julianne Moore plays the part of Clarice Starling well I think it would have been better to use Jodie Foster.
If you can watch it as just a film without comparing it to the books then I would highly recommend it.
The Very Definition of "Gratuitous Violence." - By: James Uscroft, 09 Oct 2007 
"Hannibal" is about as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window.
It is nothing but a gratuitous 'Paint by Corpses' demonstration of what Hannibal Lecter is capable of, for anyone who was either too lazy or too stupid to understand "The Silence of the Lambs."
It's a 'slasher film' for anyone who want's to SEE the graphic violence for whch he was imprisoned. The plot is clearly signposted, the 'twists' (if there are any) are as plain as the nose on your face. But if you actuallly want to watch a man being foribly fed parts of his own brain, then please be my guest.
Gets better with each viewing - By: Mr. A. S. T. Bateman, 10 Aug 2007 
In this film, the character of Hannibal Lecter reveals more about possibly his most interesting characteristic, his cultured & refined tastes than in any of the other films. His loathing of ill manners & his love of classical opera & art are interesting to behold & form a juxtaposition to his darker side. He shows again that he is a consumate killer & possesses an ability to pre-empt the moves of his enemies. In the hands of a lesser actor, this mix may not have been pulled off with qiuite so much success but Hopkins does it very well indeed.
Possibly one of the most memorable aspects of this film is the score. The music in the film is exquisite with many of the large scale operatic pieces being written for this film directly.
When I first saw this film, I was dissapointed as following Hannibal's escape in Silence of the Lambs, I expected that he might go on a killing spree in this film. To expect this is to underestimate the intelligence of the character. He is not the seedy opportunist slasher in the mould of Michael Myers, he is a man who loves the exotic fragrances of the best perfume houses of Paris, the views of the Duomo in Florence, the taste of fine food & wine. The benefit of seeing the film a few times & of age have revealed that upon escape, Hannibal would have sought out safety abroad, create a new identity for himself & generallly keep a low profile so that he can indulge in his passions. It is only when he is challlenged & cornered or exacts revenge for ill manners shown to Clarice that his darker side for which he is more notorious emerges.
The film gets better with every viewing. The cinematography & direction is first rate as one would expect from Ridley Scott & alll these factors combine to make Hannibal an extremely worthy film.
Oh Mr Scott - By: K. C. Simm, 09 Mar 2007 I love everything that Ridley Scott has ever done. well, with the obvious exception of that thing about the female marine, oh & Tim curry with horns, (but that does have its good points no pun etc). But I also find Thomas Harris a remarkable writer. Yes, I know the subtle nuances of Lecter's character that you find in the book, the memory mansions for instance would be very difficult, if not impossible to film. I thought if anyone could then Ridley Scott could.
Instead our eponymous anti hero comes across as a little bit ,dare I say it, soft. This is not the murderously intellectual aesthete that we have come to know & love from the book & from the film Silence of the Lambs. This is a somewhat watered down version missing even his most basic thought processes. Hopkins does well enough, the music is gorgegous. but the movie overalll misses out because we are not given the chance to understand why Hannibal loves. I missed Jodie Foster as well.
If this was not an adaptation of such a wonderful novel it would have worked but come on Mr Scott you can be multi layered when you want.
This is not very good - By: P. Booth, 19 Dec 2006 
An unsubtle over played film that is probably one of Ridley's worst efforts. Hammy perfomance from Anthony Hopkins & an overwrought performance from Moore make this a film that has little joy. There is no suspense & the idea that we should feel in any way troubled by any of the goings on is laughable. There are some good points, a great score from Hans Zimmer & decent cinematography, but on the whole not worth the effort of the combined talents who on a good day with good scropt could have produced a fabulous film.
