| Hannibal Lecter | |
|---|---|
 TheHannibal Lecter series of novels | |
| Created by | Thomas Harris |
| Original work | Red Dragon |
| Owners | Amazon MGM Studios (throughOrion Pictures unit) |
| Years | 1981–present |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) |
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| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Television series | |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | The Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
TheHannibal Lecter franchise is an Americanmedia franchise based around the eponymous character,Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant, cannibalistic serial killer whose assistance is routinely sought out by law enforcement personnel to aid in the capture of other criminals. He originally appeared in a series of novels (starting withRed Dragon in 1981) byThomas Harris. The series has since expanded into film and television, having four timeline-connected franchise films:The Silence of the Lambs (1991),Hannibal (2001),Red Dragon (2002) andHannibal Rising (2007), with three starringAnthony Hopkins.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhunter | August 15, 1986 (1986-08-15) | Michael Mann | Richard A. Roth | |
| The Silence of the Lambs | February 14, 1991 (1991-02-14) | Jonathan Demme | Ted Tally | Ron Bozman,Kenneth Utt &Edward Saxon |
| Hannibal | February 9, 2001 (2001-02-09) | Ridley Scott | David Mamet &Steven Zaillian | Ridley Scott,Dino De Laurentiis &Martha De Laurentiis |
| Red Dragon | October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Brett Ratner | Ted Tally | Dino De Laurentiis & Martha De Laurentiis |
| Hannibal Rising | February 9, 2007 (2007-02-09) | Peter Webber | Thomas Harris | Tarak Ben Ammar, Dino De Laurentiis & Martha De Laurentiis |
The first adaptation was the 1986 filmManhunter, which was an adaptation ofRed Dragon, directed byMichael Mann.Brian Cox stars as Hannibal Lecter (in the film, the surname is changed to Lecktor).
The next adaptation was 1991'sThe Silence of the Lambs, which was directed byJonathan Demme and was the first film to featureAnthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal Lecter.Silence was a success, both critically and financially, and went on to become the third film inAcademy Awards history to win in alltop five categories (Best Actor for Hopkins,Best Actress forJodie Foster,Best Director for Demme,Best Adapted Screenplay forTed Tally, andBest Picture).
Hopkins reprised the role in 2001'sHannibal, a sequel directed byRidley Scott.
Hopkins once again reprised the role inRed Dragon, a prequel directed byBrett Ratner. In 2002, Hopkins revealed that he had written a screenplay for another sequel, ending withClarice Starling killing Lecter, but it was not produced.[1]
In 2007,Hannibal Rising was released. The film is a prequel, directed byPeter Webber and starringGaspard Ulliel as Lecter.
| Series | Seasons | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannibal | 3 | 39 | April 4, 2013 (2013-04-04) | August 29, 2015 (2015-08-29) | Bryan Fuller | NBC |
| Clarice | 1 | 13 | February 11, 2021 (2021-02-11) | June 24, 2021 (2021-06-24) | Jenny Lumet &Alex Kurtzman | CBS |
In 2013, the TV seriesHannibal premiered. Developed byBryan Fuller, it is not a direct adaptation, but based on characters and elements from the novels. Some male characters have become female, such as Freddy Lounds, who is renamed Fredricka "Freddie" Lounds. The series has garnered much critical acclaim since its premiere, winning the 2014 and 2015Saturn Awards forBest Network Television Series, as well as the inauguralBest Action-Thriller Television Series award in 2016.
In May 2012,Lifetime announced to develop a television series centered on Starling after her graduation from the FBI academy, which was to be produced byMGM;[2] the project was never picked up and was shelved.CBS later developed the series of the same name, withAlex Kurtzman andJenny Lumet as producers, as a sequel toThe Silence of the Lambs set in 1993,[3] starringRebecca Breeds as Starling.[4] The show premiered in 2021.
TheHannibal Lecter films, when compared to other top-grossing American horror franchises—Alienvs.Predator,Candyman,Child's Play,The Conjuring,The Exorcist,Evil Dead,Final Destination,Friday the 13th,Halloween,Hellraiser,I Know What You Did Last Summer,Jaws,A Nightmare on Elm Street,The Omen,Paranormal Activity,Psycho,The Purge,Saw,Scream, andThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre—is one of the highest grossing horror film franchises.
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Manhunter | 94% (49 reviews)[6] | 75 (22 reviews)[7] |
| The Silence of the Lambs | 95% (153 reviews)[8] | 86 (20 reviews)[9] |
| Hannibal | 39% (172 reviews)[10] | 57 (36 reviews)[11] |
| Red Dragon | 69% (191 reviews)[12] | 60 (36 reviews)[13] |
| Hannibal Rising | 16% (148 reviews)[14] | 35 (30 reviews)[15] |
| Hannibal - Season 1 (2013) | 82% (68 reviews)[16] | 70 (32 reviews)[17] |
| Hannibal - Season 2 (2014) | 98% (45 reviews)[18] | 88 (14 reviews)[19] |
| Hannibal - Season 3 (2015) | 98% (47 reviews)[20] | 84 (15 reviews)[21] |
| Clarice | 42% (48 reviews)[22] | 56 (33 reviews)[23] |
In 2005, comedian-musiciansJon and Al Kaplan, most famous for their musical re-imaginings of popular films asYouTube musicals, parodiedThe Silence of the Lambs, especially the film version, inSilence! The Musical. It premieredOff-Off-Broadway and has since had acclaimed productions inLondon (2009) andLos Angeles (2012). In 2012, it won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle – Score, Lead Performance, Choreography Award.[24]
In 2016, rock bandConan Neutron & the Secret Friends released their second record,The Art of Murder,[25] a concept album which was "directly inspired by the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris".[26]
Kade Prurnell is an anagram of a character fromHannibal, actually the Ray Liotta character. So it's like, "Your anagrams are showing, Dr. Lecter". We couldn't get the rights to that character, because that character originated inSilence of the Lambs. The character's name was Paul Krendler, and we wanted to call her Paula Krendler, and they said no, because the way the rights go, it's not by the literature, it's actually by the character's introduction. So if a character is first seen inSilence of the Lambs, we're screwed, as far as rights go. In order to change the character so it's not that but sort of services the same mythology in the show and reinvent the character in a way that won't get us sued, [Laughs.] we anagrammed her and made her slightly different from the character in bothSilence of the Lambs andHannibal to our own purposes.
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