Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Hannibal Rising (2007) - Harris returns famed cannibal in sub-par origins flick

7/17/2018

Hannibal Rising (2007) - Harris returns famed cannibal in sub-par origins flick

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New Hannibal Lector, Gaspard Ulliel, is restrained in what looks like an iron mask on this dark poster for Peter Webber's Hannibal Rising

As a child, Hannibal Lecter's family die in the atrocities of WWII. As a young man he develops an unhealthily close relationship to his aunt and becomes consumed by thirst for revenge.

Hannibal Rising is written by Thomas Harris (Black Sunday (1975)), his only screenplay, based on his own same-titled 2006 novel, and directed by Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)). It is the 5th movie in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, following Manhunter (1986), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002), being a prequel to them all.
Gaspard Ulliel (Saint Laurent (2014)) is well cast in the titular role as cinema's most famous cannibal, but Harris' script doesn't give us new insights, an exciting plot or any very sensational elements: Hannibal does have an Asian aunt (played by Li Gong (To Live/Huo Zhe (1994))) in Europe in 1949, which remains unexplained, which makes it seem like a bit of a stretch.
The production design is not bad in Hannibal Rising, but in the context of the preceding Lecter films, of which only Ridley Scott's Hannibal is a solid dud and the rest are great, thrilling movies, Hannibal Rising falls through as a both flat and boring origins story.

Related post:

2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Hannibal Lecter franchise: Manhunter (1986) - Perhaps the best criminal profiling picture ever

Watch a short trailer for the film with Japanese subtitles here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 82.1 mil. $
= Big flop (1.64 times the cost)
[Hannibal Rising was released 7 February (France) and runs 121 minutes. It was shot in Lithuania, France and the Czech Republic, including Prague, from October 2005 - ?. The film opened #2, behind Eddie Murphy-starring Norbit, to a 13 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its second week and grossed 27.6 mil. $ (33.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 7.5 mil. $ (9.1 %) and Japan with 6.4 mil. $ (7.8 %). Webber returned with Jasim (2009, short) and theatrically with Emperor (2012). Ulliel returned in L'Inconnu (2007, short) and theatrically in La Troisième Partie du Monde (2008). Hannibal Rising is rotten at 15 % with a 3.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

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Philip Baker Hall has died

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

7/17/2018

Hannibal Rising (2007) - Harris returns famed cannibal in sub-par origins flick

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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