Ridley Scott’s Underrated Bloody Thriller Is Officially Getting Its Due 25 Years Later

When Thomas Harris released his long-awaited sequel to The Silence of the Lambs in 1999, a cinematic adaptation was a foregone conclusion. In fact, legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis had optioned it for $10 million before the novel even hit the presses. It was also clear that significant cuts would have to be made to the graphically violent book, and that even with those cuts, the MPAA would likely prove a stumbling block. No stranger to titanic productions or violent material, Ridley Scott had his blockbuster adaptation, Hannibal, out by 2001, and the film was a monstrous success.

Now, 25 years later, the dust has settled over Hannibal’s then-controversial casting changes, deleted subplots, tone, and gore; the same story even made it to the small screen in Season 3 of Bryan Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen‘s masterful take on Harris’s character, also called Hannibal. But Scott’s film is still a decadent delight full of sumptuous location work, deliciously campy performances, and some of the most graphic violence the MPAA ever allowed — and it’s also free to stream today on YouTube, Tubi and Pluto.

‘Hannibal’ Had a Long Road to the Big Screen — And It’s Been Divisive for Decades

Image via MGM

Harris’ novel featured a startling change in tone from The Silence of the Lambs — not only did it turn the Lecter saga into a globe-trotting epic, but it upped the ante on the depravity of even its side characters, and, most notoriously, ended with Lecter and Clarice Starling riding off into the sunset as lovers. Jonathan Demme, the director who made Oscar history with the first film, declined to be involved after reading the novel and finding it too grotesque, but De Laurentiis was able to wrangle Scott, who was just finishing Gladiator. Once it was confirmed that Jodie Foster would not reprise her role as Starling, speculation raged about who could replace her. Scott eventually settled on Julianne Moore, who was given the blessing of Anthony Hopkins himself, according to The Guardian.

The script itself proved problematic as well, with the consensus being that the ending just wouldn’t work on screen. The Silence of the Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally passed, a David Mamet draft was rejected, and, finally, prestige writer Steven Zaillian took it on, resulting in a controversial 131-minute film based on a controversial 500-plus-page novel. Although Hannibal made a killing at the box office, it was divisive not only with critics, but with fans, who resented the change in tone but also some of the changes from the novel — including its ending.

Ridley Scott Made the Ultimate $87 Million Guilty (and Gory) Pleasure

Unlike The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal is a shamelessly maximalist entertainment, with Scott frequently filming in gorgeous Italian piazze and the Uffizi gallery. It also features much more of Hopkins’ gentleman cannibal, more lip-smacking villainy, and more gore. Gary Oldman‘s uncredited performance as pedophile billionaire Mason Verger is played to the rafters, while the makeup effects are pure nightmare fuel. Today, Hannibal almost plays like a particularly slow-paced Michael Bay take on the Lecter legend; more is more.

Indeed, even with some of the novel’s most extreme scenes and plot elements removed (gone are secondary villain Mason Verger’s bodybuilding sister and his death via cattle-prod sodomy and electric eel, as well as Starling and Lecter’s sexual relationship), Hannibal is still exceptionally over-the-top and gory for a Hollywood blockbuster. The dinner table finale — featuring Ray Liotta‘s hateful FBI superior feasting on his own brain while grinning like an idiot — is still the stuff of mainstream horror legend.

It’s not hard to understand why many were put off by Scott’s campy horror epic, especially if they were expecting something more sensitive and thoughtful, along the lines of the first film. But it’s still a lavish, gory blast, even if it has more in common with Italian giallo films than American serial killer procedurals. Existing fans or those who haven’t yet had the pleasure are in luck, as Hannibal is now streaming free on YouTube, Tubi and Pluto.

Release Date

February 9, 2001

Runtime

132 Minutes