Manhunter is a 1980's film that pulls you right into the crime scene as soon as the film starts. Graham is a detective trying to get to the bottom of why this and many other related crimes were committed and by who. But Graham was reluctant to peruse this case because he was retired from the crime business. But regardless of the dangers he agreed to help with getting to the bottom of this case. He soon finds himself in the scene of the crime trying to get inside of the killers mind in order to figure out the motive for his numerous murders. Graham soon finds himself going to visit a man he arrested for some advice, but he soon discovers that was a big mistake because they were communicating though the newspaper and now Grahams family was in danger. At this point in the film the viewers have actually seen the killer but Graham hasn't. We get to see his strange and creepy ways that he seduces a blind woman into thinking they are having a great time but his plan is to murder her.
I recently watched a movie named Sinister, directed and written by Scott Derrickson and it had nearly the same plot with a different outcome at the end. Sinister was about a family who moves into the house of a family who was murdered and the father is trying to get to the bottom of who killed the family so he can finish his book. This gave me a great way to compare and contrast how Michael Mann chose to film Manhunter. Right off the bat the first thing that I noticed was Mann's choice of light. "Over the next 23 years, the two would create a visual language all of their own, a world of cold, blue night; of wide, dwarfing cityscapes"(Carlson). Manhunter was a film with a very dark plot and the main purpose of the film was to find the reasoning and person who committed this murder. But, it did not have the dark sickening feeling of many murder movies and used daylight a lot more than nightfall. However, when the scene calls for it the lighting can turn very unsettling in the blink of an eye, such as in the killers house. Even in scenes such as Grahams house where blue is used to signify the calmness and remoteness of Grahams house the use of chosen lighting is significant. Many of the scenes in this movie were also very strategically done in order to get a message across. For example the beginning of the movie the detective is talking to Grahams wife about letting Graham help with this case, that entire scene is nearly in perfect symmetry. I think this is done to show the significance of the situation and he is also trying to convince Grahams wife just as he was trying to convince Graham a few moments earlier. You can see this used more and more throughout the movie as the situations become more and more serious and this was a great way to show a time of trouble. When I saw a scene with very good symmetry during the film, I knew something serious was about to happen. There was also a lot of symbolism throughout the movie that showed what was about to happen. The scene with the Tiger was played a very large part of the movie because it reminded us who were were dealing with. The killer was a powerful man who could strike at any time and the Tiger was a great reminder to the viewers of that. Overall, I can see why this movie was so rebound during its time and even to this day. The entire film is packed with little details that add up to the big picture and hint at what is about to come. The lighting played a huge role because it set up the scene for what was about to come and gave us an idea for what to expect. And the many scenes with great camera angles added to the experience of Manhunter.
2 Comments
Katie Sanicki
2/27/2017 10:40:55 am
I really like how you made the comparison to the movie Sinister, I agree in that the plots of both films are the same up until the ending. I also like what you said about symbolism of Manhunter, maybe even elaborate on it.
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Brian
2/27/2017 10:44:10 am
I'm glad you pointed out some key techniques that you noticed in the film, Maharshee, whether that be the use of symmetrical framing or of color. I wish you had gone into a bit more detail on those, however. You might have used some screenshots from the film or images gathered from Google to help you make your case, for instance. In addition, I think working the quote about Mann and his cinematographer into the content of your own writing might have worked better - at this point, it seems thrown in without much context or integration. I think that undermines the effectiveness of that quote a bit.
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AuthorI normally only watch comedies and action movies so this should be an interesting change. Archives
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