As I mentioned before, I’m sort of obsessed with Hannibal, so I decided to get in tune with the source material. Before watching the 2002 movie of the same name, I decided I first wanted to read the 1982 Thomas Harris novel, Red Dragon. I thought this would be a good way to compare how Hannibal did and then compare it to the movie afterwards. That way, I wouldn’t accidentally overlap anything that happened.
Well, right off the bat, I have to say that the latter half of Hannibal‘s third season follows this novel almost exactly. A lot of the dialogue is even word for word! That was pretty neat to see. There were some pretty obvious changes, such as Freddy Lounds being a man in the book, where Freddie Lounds is a woman in the show. Same goes with Dr. Alan Bloom (referenced infrequently) in the book verses Dr. Alana Bloom in the show. I thought those were nice creative changes made. I also noticed a very intense lack of Hannibal in Red Dragon, while he was obviously a very integral part of the show named after him.
Otherwise, the story tracks about the same. It picks up three years after Will helps get Hannibal locked up, where there have been two family murders seemingly done by the same person. Jack Crawford needs Will’s special skills to land the killer, even though his new wife, Molly, is hesitant. Will is only able to get so far, so he asks to consult with Hannibal. It’s clear that he thinks the two of them are one in the same which makes Will extremely uncomfortable. But Hannibal is able to provide some invaluable information about the Tooth Fairy/Red Dragon.
The Red Dragon (aka Francis Dolarhyde) is a man who had a terrible upbringing, has a facial deformity, and thinks he is going through a “becoming” into the Red Dragon. In order to do this he needs to “change” families, specifically the wives. He also likes to collect films of his victims. While he goes to collect film one day, he runs into the blind Reba McClaine. She makes Francis waver from his objective, and the Red Dragon is furious. While all of this is going on, Lecter reaches out and urges him to attack Will’s family. Molly and her son are forever changed by this, while Will is really just changed from being back into investigations. You can tell they will never be a happy family again.
At the height of the action, Francis is seemingly going to succumb to the Red Dragon’s wishes and kill Reba, but he fakes his death and destroys the house (but not before taking that painting-eating trip to the museum!). The FBI rests easy thinking their job is done, but Francis ends up brutally attacking Will at his home. The novel ends with Jack reading a letter intended for Will from Hannibal, stating that he hopes he’s not too ugly and that he thinks of him often.
The movie follows the book almost exactly, but since it is such a short time in comparison to television, there are certain details left out. The film itself starts out very odd, and had I not watched the show or read the book, it might have really confused me. The beginning is essentially the end of season two of Hannibal, where Will finally figures Hannibal out and goes to confront him, but Hannibal is one step ahead and slices Will open instead. Where in the show, Hannibal wants Will to survive, it’s clear Hannibal wants it to be fatal in the movie. Will also lives in Florida during his three year hiatus in the book and movie, where he stays in Wolf Trap, Virginia.
The movie also has an absolutely incredible cast. I mean, first things first, you’ve got Sir Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal, and then Edward Norton (love him) is playing Will Graham. The supporting cast is so good it’s almost unbelievable! I’m talking Mary-Louise Parker, Harvey Keitel, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman! These are all class-act actors, so I knew it was going to be a good portrayal regardless. I especially tip my hat to Fiennes as Dolarhyde – just too good!
All in all, it’s crazy to think how a book about a cannibal written in 1982 had transcended so many different decades. Two whole decades after Red Dragon was written is was adapted into a feature film, and then another decade later it was adapted to television. I think that even though Hannibal didn’t get to the source material until late in the game, I appreciated seeing the beginnings of Will and Hannibal’s relationship. I also enjoyed the deviations the show decided to take. Either way, the novel is obviously too good to really tweak too much. This has been a crazy journey, but I am ready to watch Hannibal again when it comes to Netflix on June 5th, to hopefully help persuade the execs to revive this glorious show and give it a fourth season! Hey, crazier things have happened!