Hannibal (2001 film)

Hannibal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRidley Scott
Screenplay by
Based onHannibal
by Thomas Harris
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn Mathieson
Edited byPietro Scalia
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 9 February 2001 (2001-02-09)
Running time
131 minutes[3]
Country
  • United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$87 million[4]
Box office$351.6 million[4]

Hannibal is a 2001 American horror film directed by Ridley Scott and based on the 1999 novel by Thomas Harris. A sequel to the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, the plot follows disgraced FBI special agent Clarice Starling as she attempts to apprehend cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter before his surviving victim, Mason Verger, captures him. Anthony Hopkins reprises his role as Lecter, while Julianne Moore replaces Jodie Foster as Starling and Gary Oldman plays Verger. Ray Liotta, Frankie R. Faison, Giancarlo Giannini, and Francesca Neri also star. It’s an international co-production film between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Harris published Hannibal eleven years after the publication of The Silence of the Lambs (1988). Scott became attached while directing Gladiator (2000), and signed on after reading the script pitched by Dino De Laurentiis, who had produced Manhunter (1986), the first Lecter film. David Mamet and Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay, and principal photography commenced in May 2000, lasting sixteen weeks.

Hannibal was released on 9 February 2001, ten years after The Silence of the Lambs. It was highly anticipated and broke box office records in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom,[5] and grossed $351.6 million during its theatrical run, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2001, but received mixed-to-negative reviews;[6] critics praised the performances and visuals, but deemed it inferior to The Silence of the Lambs and criticized its violence. It was followed by a prequel, Red Dragon, in 2002, with Hopkins reprising his role as Lecter and Brett Ratner taking over as director.

  1. ^ a b "Hannibal". AFI Catalog. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  2. ^ Minns, Adam (23 February 2000). "UPI floats Bullwinkle, Hannibal". Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Hannibal (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 February 2001. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Hannibal (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  5. ^ "Taste of success". The Independent. London. 20 February 2001. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference metacritic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).