Guilty Pleasure Mondays: Hannibal

After Silence of the Lambs (1991), most people were understandably angry at this film. It is definitely nothing like its predecessor and it certainly isn't as good, but I've always been drawn to Hannibal (2001). It started when I read the novel by Thomas Harris, which, despite its focus on one of my favorite cities, fell short. I think Ridley Scott did a great job at salvaging Hannibal, the character, from Hannibal, the book.

The opening credits are one of the most elegant designs I have ever seen on film, and I usually hate credit sequences. The whole Richmond opening is unappealing to me, but I do like it when we head south to Asheville where Biltmore has never looked as good on film, except for maybe in Richie Rich (1994), but let's leave that guilty pleasure for another day.

Then there are the set decorations, especially Clarice's basement dungeon--a nice parallel to Lambs--that is arresting and provides the perfect contrast to Hannibal's freedom in Florence. The fact that a third of the movie takes place in Florence is probably the ultimate reason I've always enjoyed this film.

Since my days as a ninth-grade student studying Leonardo and Machiavelli in World History, I have always had a thing for Florence. I think the whole Florentine storyline is compelling: a serial killer hiding out in the ancient city, a corrupt cop forced to live beyond his means by a yearning wife, the Capponi library (where my undergraduate institution houses their study abroad program; they moved there after I matriculated in 2004), and Florence herself.

I also enjoy Scott's use of Bach's Goldberg Variations, a Lector favorite, throughout the film. In fact, Hans Zimmer's entire score is fantastic, particularly the opera he composed based on Dante's Commedia.