Manhunter (film) - Legacy

Legacy

Manhunter's focus on the use of forensic science in a criminal investigation has been cited as a major influence on several films and television series that have come after it—most notably CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, also featuring William Petersen, which was "inspired, or at least influenced" by the forensics scenes in Manhunter. Petersen's sympathetic portrayal of profiler Will Graham has also been noted as helping to influence a "shift in the image of the pop-culture FBI agent" that would continue throughout the 1980s and 90s. The film has also been noted as a thematic precursor to the series Millennium, John Doe, Profiler, and The X-Files, and to films such as Copycat, Switchback, The Bone Collector, Seven and Fallen.

The Silence of the Lambs, a film adaptation of Harris' next Lecter novel, was released in 1991. However, none of the cast of Manhunter reprise their roles in the later film, although characters such as Lecter and Chilton return with new actors. Actors Frankie Faison and Dan Butler appear in both films, but as different and unrelated characters. The Silence of the Lambs earned several awards and accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is one of only three films to have won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Screenplay. The Silence of the Lambs was followed in turn by a sequel and two prequels: Hannibal, Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising.

Of these later films, Red Dragon (2002), adapted from the same novel as Manhunter, was released to a generally positive critical reception and successful box office receipts, making $209,196,298 on a $78 million budget. Based on recent reviews, Red Dragon currently has a 68% rating from 183 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, and a 60% rating based on 36 reviews on Metacritic. Manhunter's cinematographer Dante Spinotti also served as the director of photography on this version.