''Red Dragon'' is a must-see for fall 2002
Red DragonWHY WE CAN'T WAIT For the first time, audiences get to see the nefarious Hannibal Lecter before he was caught. So, compared with the meal that this prequel offers, the Chianti and fava beans in ''Silence of the Lambs'' may look like a light snack.
SOURCE MATERIAL The first installment of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter trilogy, ''Red Dragon.'' But it's NOT, ''Dragon'' producers insist, a remake of Michael Mann's 1986 ''Manhunter,'' based on the same book.
WHAT'S NEW ''Manhunter'''s William L. Petersen (''CSI'') is replaced by Ed Norton; ''Manhunter'''s creepy Tom Noonan (''Eight Legged Freaks'') is swapped for Ralph Fiennes; the blind love interest, Joan Allen in ''Manhunter,'' is played by Emily Watson; and Lecter, portrayed by Brian Cox (''L.I.E.'') in ''Manhunter,'' is played -- of course -- by Anthony Hopkins.
BURNING QUESTION Will this version match the subtle suspense of Mann's earlier adaptation and ''Silence of the Lambs,'' or will it go for the outrageous gore, à la 2001's ''Hannibal''?
COME FOR A strapping, young Lecter, achieved by Anthony Hopkins -- 11 years AFTER ''Silence''
STAY FOR The first ever glimpse of his capture. (It was left out of ''Manhunter.'')
