Talking with a Mouth Full (of People): Quotes from Characters

[Captanne]

That's canon -- it's word for word from Manhunter and the novel, "Red Dragon".  Personally, I preferred Cox's line delivery.

 

Have you seen this?

 

Edited September 8, 2015 by Captanne

[Bruinsfan]

Most of that was taken directly from Red Dragon, wasn't it?

[Captanne]

I'm not sure -- I didn't get that impression when I saw it.  He's edited lines that are used by all three so it should be pretty balanced between the different interpretations of the same character.  (I may not have noticed because I never saw Red Dragon -- I was annoyed by a remake of my favourite movie -- so seeing Sir Hopkins again was interesting.  I had only seen his version in SotL which I thought was overrated.  I enjoyed his version and enjoyed SotL -- I just didn't think it was all that.  You know?  Was it really worthy of 4 top Oscars?  Not for me, it wasn't.  Maybe I need to see it again.)

 

Biran Cox -- in his five seconds of air time (I kid) -- was by far my favourite Hannibal.  Hands down.  No comparison.  He still terrifies me.  "God is great, Will.  He dropped a church roof on a full congregation in Argentina the other day.  Did you read about that, Will?"  (I paraphrase.)

 

GAH, he was fabulous.

 

(I saw him again in the short lived HBO Kings and he was just as wonderful opposite Ian McShane.)

Edited September 8, 2015 by Captanne

[krankydoodle]

Thanks for the video--I'll have to put watching Manhunter and reading the books on my to-do list.
 
And thank you for posting so many quotes, ElectricBoogaloo!

[Captanne]

Manhunter is AMAZING.  It's not that dated but just remember that it was state of the art when it was made and that it's extremely stylized.

 

In the same way that Bryan Fuller made Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter his own; Michael Mann did the same thing in the early 80s.  Michael Mann is probably most famous for Miami Vice and if you ever saw that you can make perfectly legitimate style comparisons.  

[Crossbow]

Yes, all those lines are taken directly from the novel.

[paramitch]

So I'm such a goober because I couldn't bear to watch the final two eps live and waited a few weeks, finally caught the finale last week, and am still in HannibalWithdrawal now that it's all over.

 

I even started a rewatch from the beginning about 10 days ago after watching it just to see what else I could catch (and I've never gone back and rewatched until now. And it's been fantastic.

 

Hannibal: Mason is discourteous. And discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me.

Will: And are you thinking about eating him?

Hannibal: Whenever feasible, one should always try to eat the rude.

Will: Free range rude.

 

Hannibal: Margot's happiness is more important than her suffering.

Mason: You say that as those the two are mutually exclusive.

These were all so wonderful and so moving and so damn funny. This show doesn't always get enough credit for its wit and black humor. Mason's are especially hilarious.

 

Hannibal: Love and death are the great hinges on which all human sympathies turn. What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others lives beyond us.

 

Hannibal: The most beautiful quality of a true friendship is to understand and be understood with absolute clarity.
Jack: Then this is the clearest moment of our friendship.

These quotes fascinate me (and have caught me so much on my full rewatch of the show) because they show me quite clearly that no matter how bad Hannibal may be, no matter how terrible are the things he does, I will never subscribe to the idea that this Hannibal doesn't feel empathy. I think, as Will's inverse/dark twin, I think these quotes (and Mads' performances) frequently show us that Hannibal does feel empathy; he is frequently moved by others, and I think he does feel things deeply. Which of course makes Hannibal, like Dolarhyde, every bit as tragic in his own way. At least, to me. I abhor what they do, but to echo book-Will, I feel for the wounded children they once were.

 

Alana: I do like a good finger-wagging.

Hannibal: How is Margot?

But you forgot the best part! My favorite part of that is Hannibal's response: "I remember. How is Margot?" SO naughty!

 

Alana: Would you have told me the truth?
Hannibal: In my own way, I always have.

Again, this is fascinating because it's also evidently Mads' perception of the character. He's given several interviews in which he has said he plays Hannibal as honest; he doesn't see a disparity between Hannibal's emotions and his actions. It's really interesting.

 

In the book, he asks her to ride with him, then pauses to consider what a normal human being would say, and comes up with "for my pleasure." Because that's what he thinks sounds normal.

It took me a bit to come around on Armitage's Francis because he's so much rougher around the edges and more damaged, but I now think he's my favorite (Noonan a close second). I think his roughness comes across as more fearful than scary with Reba on rewatch, and I love the paradox between speaking Francis and silent Francis -- the speaking Francis is so hesitant and damaged, while the silent Francis is sleek, elegant and graceful, almost glamorous.

 

Bedelia: You righteous, reckless, twitchy little man.

There's nothing better than Will and Bedelia twitching bitchily back and forth at one another over Hannibal. So funny!

 

Meanwhile here are some of my favorites -- I don't think any of these are repeats:

 

Will: "I feel like I dragged you into my world."

Hannibal: "No. I got here on my own. But I appreciate the company."

 

Jack: Let me tell you what I think. I think that the work you do here has created a sense of stability for you. Stability is good for you, Will.

Will: Stability requires strong foundations, Jack. My moorings are built on sand.
Jack: I'm not sand. I am bedrock. When you doubt yourself, you don't have to doubt me too.

 

Hannibal: At a time when other men fear their isolation, yours has become understandable to you. You are alone because you are unique.

Will: I'm as alone as you are.
Hannibal: If you followed the urges you kept down for so long, cultivated them as the inspirations they are, you would have become someone other than yourself.
Will: I know who I am. I'm not so sure I know who you are anymore.

 

Hannibal: I want you to believe in me. I want you to believe the best in me. Just as I believe the best in you.

 

Hannibal: This killer wrote you a poem. Are you going to let his love go to waste?

 

Hannibal: No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love we see potential in our beloved. Through that love we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloved's potential comes true.

Edited September 27, 2015 by paramitch