190: Manhunter, Part 1 (with James Majure)

Junk Filter

James Majure returns to the pod from Athens, GA for a two-part episode on Michael Mann’s Manhunter, a box office and critical disappointment in 1986 that has emerged over the decades into being extremely influential not only on Mann’s future works but on film and television in general, from genre conventions to forensic procedurals on TV.

In part 1, we discuss the various cuts of Manhunter in existence, the source material, Thomas Harris’ bestselling novel Red Dragon, Mann’s tremendous empathy towards all the characters in his adaptation, the ways Manhunter’s themes keeps turning up in Mann’s later works, and how the Miami Vice series seems to have been a test kitchen for a lot of Mann’s preoccupations as a film stylist.

Plus: a Michael Mann update with the surprise arrival of The Keep to Bluray and the 25th anniversary of The Insider.

Part 2 of our discussion about Manhunter, including the Brett Ratner remake Red Dragon and a mid-series episode of Miami Vice that feels a lot like Manhunter, is available on the Junk Filter Patreon feed.

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"There Was Courage at Disney In How We Approached It": Michael Mann Reflects on The Insider 25 Years Later, by Tamera Jones & Steven Weintraub, in Collider, December 6, 2024

Trailer for Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)

Original music video for The Prime Movers ’Strong As I Am’ from the Manhunter soundtrack, directed by Dante Spinotti