Why is there no Chronological order that includes all of the movies? Like Hannibal Rising first and then Manhunter/Red Dragon, Silence and Hannibal. While Silence was the first movie to be made with Hopkins in the role of Lecter, Red Dragon is the first entry in the timeline.Ĭategories: '90s, Films, Horror 4 Responses to What is the best order to watch the Hannibal Lecter movies? *You’ll note that for this viewing order I’ve put the films in chronological order – NOT production order. They may share the same DNA, but they are not quite the same. I quite like watching both takes on the story, and seeing how they differ.

Is Red Dragon better than Manhunter? I guess it’s down to personal preference. Red Dragon is effectively a remake of Manhunter, with Hopkins now the star. The first was a sequel to Silence and the second was a prequel.Īll three films are based on novels by Thomas Harris. That franchise was built around Hopkins, who would reprise the role of Lecter for two additional movies. These awards, plus the film’s commercial success, ensured a franchise for Lecter that would stretch beyond this one movie. It’s rare for a horror movie to pick up Academy Awards, but Silence did it, bagging Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. This is because Silence is not only a fantastic motion picture, with a memorable turn from Sir Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, it is also a five-time Academy Award winner. As such, it remains the only film to feature Cox in the role of Hannibal.įor most people, if you say the name Hannibal Lecter, they will connect it with the movie, The Silence of the Lambs. If you want to watch the Lecktor order then it’s really quite simple as it only consists of this one movie:Īlthough it has become somewhat of a cult favourite in recent years (I personally think it’s great), upon release Manhunter was neither a critical or a commercial hit. It’s clear he was not the focus of this particular project, instead he was merely a background player in a much larger narrative. Unlike a later adaptation of Red Dragon (see below), Hannibal’s involvement in this movie was brief. The movie – an adaptation of the novel, Red Dragon – was directed by Michael Mann and featured Brian Cox in the role of Lecktor.

You may or may not recall, but the cannibalistic killer first cropped up in the 1986 thriller, Manhunter. And no, that’s not a typo when Hannibal Lecter made his first on-screen appearance he was called Hannibal Lecktor. OK, let’s kick things off with the ‘Lecktor’ order.

Hannibal novel series