Intrada Soundtrack Forum

In the dance floor that is the world of film music collecting, the FSM board is the moshpit.

Anyway, to bring the conversation back to Manhunter, I want to thank Michael McMahan for informing me that the nifty vibraphone cue in Lecktor's cell was from the Klaus Shulze album and for those Amazon links to the pieces that weren't included on this record.

I picked this up on cassette after I saw the film, which I first saw as a "hybrid" of both the theatrical version and the director's cut assembled by Royal S. Brown to include all the material from both. It's interesting to compare the two; I may have been spoiled by seeing "The Professor's Cut," but it does seem that either individual version of the film is missing elements; Graham's empathy for Dollarhyde and his need to "see" the family one last time are two scenes that are key to the themes of this film, but they appear in different cuts!

While I enjoyed Danny Elfman's score for the remake, I have to say that the soundscapes created by Michael Mann in his 80s output were truly unique and compelling. Even though the music in Manhunter comes from a variety of different sources, it all seems quite organic in the film (which also explains why the record is as cool as it is, in my opinion). =

The scene in which Dollarhyde brings Reba to the tiger is a perfect example of the difference between the two films: in Manhunter, accompanied by Shriekback's "Coelocanth," it is a visceral and erotically charged experience for Reba motivated by a true inspiration of kindness, while in Red Dragon, accompanied by Elfman's own "Tiger Balls," it seems more of an intellectual moment for both characters. Don't get me wrong, I like Elfman's take on the material, particularly how he maintains his own style while making it consistent with Howard Shore's approach in Silence of the Lambs (I feel that he also did this with great aplomb with Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible music, albeit there with direct references to his predecessor's thematic material), but the way that Mann used hypnotic music with his electric visuals was unique.

So Roger and Doug, here's one grizzled FSM veteran who is quite pleased to have Manhunter on CD at last, and "Jogger's Stakeout" is being added to my "Warming Up" playlist (I'm getting my off of my copious posterior and getting into shape).