What editions are available?
- Theatrical Cut (120 min.)
- Director’s Cut (124 min.)
Half a decade before Anthony Hopkins captivated audiences with his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, the brilliant but psychotic psychiatrist had his debut in Michael Mann’s Manhunter played by Brian Cox. Mann released a director’s cut of Manhunter in 2000 on DVD. Both the theatrical and director’s cuts are on the Shout! Factory Blu-ray release although the director’s cut is only in standard def. The UK Blu-ray release from Optimum has the director’s cut in high def.
Very late in the commentary track Mann talks about his preferred cut of the film:
“This cut was actually put together soon after the picture was released in 1986… but the cut was made, originally, I re-cut it for The Movie Channel. So that’s probably 1987, within a year of the release of the picture. And I always preferred this version to the one that had been released theatrically.”
Source: Michael Mann’s commentary track from Manhunter Director’s Cut from Shout! Factory
The director’s preferred edition: Director’s Cut
Comparison of the editions with courtesy of Movie-Censorship.com
List of different editions with courtesy of DVDCompare.net: DVD | Blu-ray
