Manhunter 1986

A collection of completed Requests and Submissions as of December 28th 2014. This is for reference only.

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Mike_Brown
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Manhunter 1986

Post by Mike_Brown »

Michael Mann made several versions of Manhunter. There was not just one "theatrical" cut and one "director's" cut. I probably don't know about all of them, but I can talk about what I have:

1. 2001 Anchor Bay DVD (Region 1) disc 1 = 2:01:40 theatrical cut = hybrid cut
2. 2001 Anchor Bay DVD (Region 1) disc 2 = 2:04:36 director's cut = 3rd Showtime cut, SD source
3. Shout! Factory BD (All America) disc 1 = 2:00:05 theatrical cut
4. Shout! Factory BD (All America) disc 2 = 2:04:19 director's cut with SD-sourced scenes inserted

I do not have time to do a full comparison, but just comparing the two "director's" cuts, i.e. #2 and #4 above:
  • The image on the DVD is zoomed in, and the aspect ratio is slightly different (stretched a tiny bit).
  • Color grading varies in some scenes. Example: blue night scenes on the BD are much less saturated; on the BD, Graham's shorts in the beach scenes near the end are almost colorless, but do have their correct bright color in the final scene.
  • Some scenes on the BD are cut at a very slightly earlier or later frame.
  • At 0:00:01 on the DVD, opening credits for Dino De Laurentiis and Richard Roth are green; they are white on the BD.
  • At 0:25:09 on the DVD, there is a scene with Graham and Dr. Chilton; this is not on the BD.
  • At 0:59:16 on the DVD / 0:57:48 on the BD, a car passes by the archway before Graham steps into view; the BD omits this.
  • At the end (2:00:13 on the BD), the credits are redone on the BD and scroll much slower past the frozen frame, allowing the song "Heartbeat" to finish instead of fading out early.
Brent_Reid
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Re: Manhunter 1986

Post by Brent_Reid »

Every few years, I decide I'm finally gonna bite on a BD of this film. Then after spending an hour or more getting more and more tied in knots about all the different cuts and transfers, I give up. I have, and enjoy, the later Hannibal trilogy, and wonder if Manhunter is worth all the effort.

I realise it's mostly Michael Mann's fault, as he just can't leave well enough alone! I skipped his revisionist "Director's-Definitive-Edition-until-the-next-time" version of Heat as he did nothing good to it, compared to the original version.

Is there any one Manhunter disc that stands above all the others? Regardless of the featured cut, I'd settle for one with any and all deleted scenes in the extras.
Rick_Curzon
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Re: Manhunter 1986

Post by Rick_Curzon »

Sadly, the OOP Shout seems best but is fetching stupid money.
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