Visions in my eyes

CLEAN FIGHT : Manhunter/The Silence of the Lambs

The shared themes and overlapping continuity of Thomas Harris stories has been compared to the works of Emile Zola and Balzac - mostly for his casual use of recurring characters. I'd also include Dickens as a parallel for exploring the same character types across his novels. Hannibal Lecter is obviously the most famous repeat antagonist to emerge from the books, much with the help of Film & TV adaptations and initiating a slightly more modern analogy with The Universal Monsters - or simply Horror Movie franchises in general. Nowadays we'd probably just call it The Hannibal Multiverse. 

If the title of this brawl isn't a clue, I'm comparing the movie versions of these stories: Manhunter from 1986 and Silence of the Lambs from 1991. All other sequels and remakes and spinoffs will be ignored, as will the actual source material; I remember my parents immediately and entirely dismissing Manhunter for not being a hundred percent faithful to the novel, and it's that sorta dogmatic science that can make these kindsa things a lot less fun. And we all need to get more fun out of life. 

I wanna talk about Lambs first because I saw it first and that may play some subconscious role in my very subjective POV. I've told the story dozens of times, how I got to see it at the Drive-In in the summer of '91 which allowed me to have a strong enough opinion to root for it come Oscar season. But in hindsight I think my age at the time is a good objective indicator of how great the movie is; at 8 years old I responded to the suspense, the drama, the humor, the subtexts (mostly), not because the movie is dumbed down but because it's coherent and engrossing in competent ways. A lotta "Psychological Thrillers" can get too big for their britches and become bogged down in ham-fisted metaphors and psychobabble to differentiate themselves from the "Horror" movies - there were a lotta films like that around this time, and except for maybe a bare breast or climactic shootout they were always tedious -- very tedious. Lambs (like most Thomas Harris material) embraces the detecting side of detective work; the case is as fresh to Clarice as it is to us, so progress feels less like exposition and more like unfolding. So what that tells me is that there's no shame in holding the attention span of a child, nor is there ever any need to set the bar lower to appeal to kids. 

But apart from being "easy to follow" the movie had some other things going for it as well. Again, partially due to The Oscars, it was the first time I really took note of Acting with a big A, as in "Wow, these are Academy Award-winning performances!" Though as I got older I began to recognize some hokiness in that - Anthony Hopkins in particular (though that may've been due to his subsequent reprisals of the role). Now I'm in a place where I understand that if you change one ingredient in the movie (in any movie) then you get an entirely different movie, and picturing Silence of the Lambs with a different "approach" from its cast is almost unimaginable; those iconic closeups and line deliveries aren't only locked into the film, they're a permanent fixture of Pop Culture. It's more than fair to give the movie's director some credit for these qualities, but as a kid I certainly didn't understand what his contributions were or how they worked; again, I knew he was good enough to get an Oscar for it but I didn't know what the criteria was. 

It wasn't until my late teens that Directors and Directing became my predominant interest in Motion Pictures -- however it was not the master craftsmanship of Brett Ratner that beckoned me to see Red Dragon in theaters, but rather the pedestrian interest in the franchise fodder that these stories had become. Further still, it was this 2002 adaptation that made me wanna seek out the supposedly "inferior" version with the goofy title. Manhunter had been on my radar for some time anyway; I'd already become a fully fledged Michael Mann fan by that point, and like I said I'd already been aware of it as a big disappointment to my parents so I was never too quick to see it. But this was the sparkling dawn of the DVD era, and so what was $20 to add to my measly Mann shelf? I do remember it turned into a bit of a hunt in and of itself - all Circuit City had was a "Double Feature" set of Hannibal and a fullscreen(!) Manhunter. I wasn't having that, and so in this specific time period that still allowed me to be picky, I went across the mall parking lot to Newbury Comics and found a used copy of the 2-disc "Limited Edition" from Anchor Bay, which came with a facsimile "case file" inside full of Will Graham's notes, a director's cut version, and a big ass blurb from Entertainment Weekly on the front that declared "Superior to The Silence of the Lambs". I was definitely dubious of such a bold claim, but the packaging and presentation alone was at least better than all 120 minutes of Red Dragon. 

Anyone who ever watched this in its cropped 4:3 video version would and should understandably dislike the movie; there is nary a shot from beginning to end that doesn't utilize its 2.40:1 rectangle as the exciting canvas it was designed to be. Decades before he fully embraced handheld (and video) the Michael Mann Signature Style was a lot more about static symmetry and slow zooms and fast dollies and lingering compositions and shamelessly erratic lighting, and this film is his best example of all that. Ergo, not only do I nominate it as his greatest looking movie, but one of the greatest of all time -- if not the greatest. Suffice to say my mild apprehension about the quality of this movie melted away in the neon glows of Dante Spinotti's cinematography and the moody synths of Shriekback and The Reds. 

MY CHOICE: The style and aesthetic of Manhunter isn't exactly subtle by any means; it's colorful, it's sexy, it's sleek, it's cool. It's quite literally Miami Vice The Movie, 20 years before Miami Vice The Movie. And if that were the only requirement we could could pack up and leave now. But one quibble I've never been able to shake is how distant this movie feels from the Thomas Harris atmosphere that we didn't know we needed until Jonathan Demme and Tak Fujimoto seemed to perfect exactly how I feel it should be. Manhunter is an endless joy for me to watch for many reasons, but the suspense and spookiness and grossness of quirky serial killers doing weird serial killer things really came through with Demme - who also has his own not-so-subtle style; the grey dreariness of the setting, the actors staring directly into the lens, the icky extreme closeups of moth goo and nipple rings and ripped-off glitter fingernails, Howard Shore's haunted castle music, the diverse supporting cast of Demme regulars and seasoned character actors. Manhunter is a huge, impressive flex of technique and approach and panache and I absolutely have hearts in my eyes when I'm watching it, but Lambs feels like a richer, more personalized and succinct work that stays with you on a visceral level that you can feel deep within yourself. 

- Paul

STATIC SHOTS

SUMMER SNACKS II: The Fattening

Mouth is alive with juices like wine. Everywhere I look I see sweet & salty temptation -- and I don't really go anywhere which means we're probably one deadly sin away from a plague of gummy frogs falling from the sky. When that happens I'll be ready - I have pillow cases to catch as many as I can. In the meantime, here's a second installment of Summer Snacks to quench our ongoing Violent Fantasies. Get out what's inside of you. 

- Paul

Doritos Twisted Queso

For all the flavors they throw at us, Doritos pretty much stays in their lane; all of their seasoning usually leads back to "tortilla chip adjacent" so the concept of a Dorito tasting exactly like "melted cheese dip" lands smoothly on the Frito-Lay runway. I highly recommend dipping them in salsa - combined with the mild cheddar flavor you're getting the entire Southwestern chip dip experience with each bite. 

Hostess Double Chocolate Meltamors

A "NEW" Hostess product can often just be some seasonally-colored sprinkles, but these are the real-deal-banana-peel, straight from the drawing board and into your gas station. Chocolate-filled cake isn't exactly groundbreaking for a Hostess property, but this one actually has the printed serving suggestion of microwaving for best results. So I threw it in for 15 seconds and it became a messy delight. 

Dr. Pepper Blackberry

I've been having a hard time finding new sodas (that aren't goddamn Mountain Dew flavors), but I've had my eye on this one for a while so I got to use this list as an excuse. Blackberry beverages will only ever remind me of Clearly Canadian - that is if they're done right, and the Dr. did this right, giving more than a hint of blackberry to make it a more worthy experience than just drinking what is nearly a regular Dr. Pepper with a little berry drawing on the label. 

Sour Cream & Funyuns

I was more excited for these than anything else on the list, but it should be a big clue that I didn't save it for last. As Jesse Pinkman said, "Funyuns are awesome", and while that's irrefutable, all of their attempts to deviate or improve has only hurt their credibility. I understandably expected these to be the sweet & sour explosion that the name suggests, but instead are noticeably blander than the plain ol' Funyuns. 

Lifesavers Gummies Neons

I love all kinds of Lifesavers Gummies, but I've never heard of Neons before so it was a total knee-jerk purchase -- plus the "neon" angle fits right in with our specific summer theme (yes that still play into it). The fun thing about Lifesavers Gummies is that there's no color code on the back, and while sometimes the flavors are obvious, sometimes it's a real guessing game. And before you know it the bag is empty. 

Kool-Aid Popping Candy

No one ever says "You know what I have a craving for right now? Pop Rocks!" Once I experienced the novelty of exploding candy at some point in the previous century I had no real need to revisit it -- but that's not what these are about. These are about fulfilling that forbidden fantasy of guzzling Kool-Aid powder straight from its colorful packets. I can't be the only one who wants that.

Hostess Orange Crème Pop Twinkies

Nothing about this seemed appealing - from the yellow/orange color clash to the concept of citrus snack cakes, my expectations were low, if not downright fearful. But the thing with Twinkies is that they're mostly "cake" and the filling is very nonintrusive. Regardless of that, the cream (or crème) isn't actually sour like the orange juice subversiveness I was expecting (for some reason) but more like the orange ice cream it promises. Still, I won't miss these when they're gone. 

Cap'n Crunch's Orange Creampop Crunch

Apparently this is the official Orange Creamsicle Summer and we're just finding out now. Again, I imagined this tasting like I'd swapped out the milk for OJ, but it's nowhere near that traumatizing. Honestly the sugary assault of original Cap'n Crunch flavor is so loud that it just about drowns out the attempt at fruity flavors. I'd say it would just be easier to buy the original but then we wouldn't get this awesome depiction of the Cap'n in his Love Boat attire and sleazy tangerine-tinted shades. Might just be the best image we get to see this season. 

Jell-O Pudding Cups

What you're looking at is 4(?) chocolate candies that went on a Summer car ride from the Route 13 State Line Convenience Mart in Brookline, New Hampshire to my home in Bennett Land, which clocks in at around 30 minutes. (I don't believe in air conditioning.) After reshaping itself like the T-1000 it somehow still maintained its gooey pudding center, which for real tasted like Jell-O chocolate pudding. I highly recommend these - just don't dillydally after you've bought them. 

Melody Pops

Apart from stuffing them with bubblegum and Tootsie cement, mainstream lollipops don't employ a lotta surprises - for my money they peaked when they entered the world of costume jewelry. However, a fun one that's been around since I was a kid is whistle pops - or, under the Chupa Chups label, Melody Pops. If you don't know or can't figure it out from the name, it's a lollipop shaped like a whistle - accurately enough that they're entirely functional. At any rate they're sugary nostalgia wrapped in cute wrappers and I'm comfortable advocating such things.

Take it, kid...