10 Reasons Hannibal Was The Best Show On TV
3. Deviation From The Films
One thing Hannibal does borrow from the original source material is the iconic tropes and lines which helped make films like Manhunter—and Silence of the Lambs especially—so successful.
Hannibal subverts these however, breathing new life into some of cinema’s most famous moments. The effect is rejuvenating, giving the moments a kind-of revisionist aspect. Thus, as shown above, the famous face-mask (donned so memorably by Anthony Hopkins in Jonathan Demme’s multi Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs), is instead worn by Will Graham, the hunter becoming the hunted.
Similarly, Dr Lecter replies to a question about who was at the door with “a census taker”, a subtle nod to Hopkins’ famed line about eating a census takers’ liver “with some fava beans and a nice chianti”. These little touches help Hannibal acknowledge the canon while all the time moving away from it.