Blu-ray Review: ‘Hannibal’ is Best Drama on Network TV

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CHICAGO – Has there ever been a network TV show more cinematic than “Hannibal”? Especially when one watches it commercial-free in “binge” format on the newly-released Blu-ray, one can even more distinctly appreciate the fact that the first season of Bryan Fuller’s incredible show, the best on network TV, plays like long film. Scratch that. Most horror films aren’t this well-performed, written, and executed. It actually feels most like its true inspiration, Thomas Harris’ novels, in the way it unfolds over chapters but also works as a cohesive whole. I love this season and the Blu-ray does it justice.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Just as Jonathan Demme did with “The Silence of the Lambs” (which, by the way, you can see for $1 at the Studio Movie Grill on Wednesday, October 2, 2013, followed by a discussion moderated by yours truly), “Hannibal” plays with genre. It is surely horrific, especially with a degree of gore never-before-seen on network TV. It is darkly humorous, particulaly in the way Hannibal Lecter (a brilliantly malevolent-but-charming Mads Mikkelsen) is always feeding his guests remarkably complex dishes that may or may not be human. It is Southern Gothic and FBI procedural. It has a case-of-the-week structure but also a captivating overall arc about the mental disentgration of Agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and the case that changes everything that links from first episode to last. The program is perfectly acted throughout, even in guest roles like the one wonderfully played by Gillian Anderson, and beautifully directed. It’s proof that shows can still be creatively vital on network TV. Now, if only people would watch it. Maybe this Blu-ray can bring the second season audience this great program so richly deserves.

The Blu-ray is very strong with interesting special features spread out over the three discs. Some of the featurette material is a bit too EPK, talking-head but the commentary tracks, especially the last one, which includes Fuller and Dancy, are excellent. They don’t just offer anecdotes but discuss how their techniques as creator and performer contributed to the mood, atmosphere, and other intangibles. You know, the stuff other network TV shows ignore.

Hannibal: The Complete First Season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 24, 2013
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Synopsis:
FBI Agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) hunts the most notorious serial killers. Graham is both gifted and cursed with an extraordinary ability: he can think like his prey, seeing what they see and feeling what they feel. What he doesn’t know is that his new partner is the most notorious serial killer of all. While pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) teams Graham with a highly respected psychiatrist - a man with a taste for the criminally minded: Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). Dr. Lecter tests Graham every step of the way, toying with him and playing a game all his own, while they work to unravel the mystery and catch the killer. Like only Lecter can, he twists Graham’s mind, daring him to question everything he knows about others…and himself.

Special Features:
o Audio Commentaries With Cast And Crew
o Hannibal Reborn
o A Taste For Killing
o The FX Of Murder
o A Symphony Of The Slaughter
o Gag Reel
o Deleted Scenes
o Pilot Episodes Storyboards
o Includes Unrated Episodes

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com