Manhunter focuses on the forensic work carried out by the FBI to track down killers and shows the long-term effects that cases like this have on profilers such as Graham, highlighting the similarities between him and his quarry.

Opening to mixed reviews, Manhunter fared poorly at the box office at the time of its release, making only $8.6 million in the United States.

Will Graham is a former FBI criminal profiler who has retired following a mental breakdown after being attacked by a serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor, whom he captured.

Promising his wife that he will do nothing more than find evidence and not risk physical harm, Graham agrees to visit the most recent crime scene in Atlanta, where he tries to enter the mindset of the killer, dubbed the Tooth Fairy by the police for the bite marks left on his victims.

Lounds is forced to tape-record a statement before being set on fire in a wheelchair, his flaming body rolled into the parking garage of the National Tattler as a warning.

[5] Brian Cox, who played jailed killer Hannibal Lecktor, has also expressed disdain for the film's title, calling it "bland" and "cheesy.

"[8] The word manhunter appeared in Stephen King's influential review of the Red Dragon novel published by The Washington Post in late 1981.

[5] This level of research led Brent E. Turvey to describe the film as "one of the most competent blends of cutting-edge forensic science and criminal profiling at the time.

[24] Petersen has stated that Mann wanted to create a visual aura to bring the audience into the film, so that the story would work on an interior and emotional level.

[8] He had begun body-building to prepare for the role and felt that his size intimidated the crew when filming began, as the first scene to be shot was his character's interrogation and murder of another.

[8] Petersen recalled filming the climactic shoot-out scene at the end of principal photography, when most of the crew had already left the production because of time constraints.

[8] Joan Allen related that Mann simulated the impacts of bullets in Dollarhyde's kitchen by throwing glass jars across the surfaces so they would shatter where he needed them to.

[8] Ted Levine, who later played Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, crashed Manhunter's wrap party to spend time with Petersen, whom he knew from their days in Chicago theater.

[26] Spinotti has commented on how Mann's use of mise en scène when framing shots evokes "the emotional situation in the film at that particular time," noting the director's focus on the particular shape or color of elements of the set.

[27] Despite having initially filmed the scenes involving Francis Dollarhyde with an elaborate tattoo across Noonan's chest, Mann and Spinotti felt that the finished result seemed out of place and that it "trivialize[d] the struggle" the character faced.

Spinotti noted that in doing so, scenes which he felt had been captured with a "beautiful" aesthetic were lost, as the production did not have the time to recreate the original lighting conditions.

"[29] Steve Rybin has commented that the music is not intended to correlate with the intensity of the action portrayed alongside it, but rather to signify when the viewer should react with a "degree of aesthetic distance" from the film, or be "suture[d] into the diegetic world" more closely.

[31] In March 2007, a two-CD set titled Music from the Films of Michael Mann was released, featuring four tracks from Manhunter: The Prime Movers' "Strong As I Am," Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," Shriekback's "This Big Hush," and Red 7's "Heartbeat.

"[32] In March 2010, Intrada Records announced that they were releasing the Manhunter soundtrack on CD for the first time, with an extra track, "Jogger's Stakeout" by The Reds.

"Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd and "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" by The Electric Prunes have both been cited by The Reds' vocalist Rick Shaffer as influences on the film's soundtrack.

[30] John Muir suggests that this helps identify the character of Graham with the "goodness" of the natural world, and Dollarhyde with the city, "where sickness thrives.

[53] MGM, current holders of the rights to The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, released the theatrical cut of Manhunter on DVD in a pan-and-scan format in 2004.

[59] Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times was critical of the film's visuals and soundtrack, comparing it unfavourably with Miami Vice and describing it as a "chic, well-cast wasteland" that "delivers very little.

[62] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Steve Winn derided the film, claiming its lack of a strong lead role caused it to "fall apart like the shattered mirrors that figure in the crimes.

"[63] Leonard Maltin gave the film three stars, calling it "gripping all the way through and surprisingly nonexploitive," although adding that "the holes start to show through" if looked for "too carefully.

"[68] British television channel and production company Film4 called it "the most refined screen adaptation of Harris' books," although they found the film's contemporary soundtrack "dated.

[75][76][77] These reappraisals often cite the success of The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels as the reason for the increased interest in Manhunter, while still favoring the earlier film over its successors.

The website's consensus reads: "Michael Mann introduces audiences to Hannibal Lecter for the first time in Manhunter, a modish thriller that fleshes out Thomas Harris' heinous creations with an elegant, chilling detachment.

[81] Petersen's sympathetic portrayal of profiler Will Graham has also been noted as helping to influence a "shift in the image of the pop-culture FBI agent" that would continue throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Of these later films, Red Dragon (2002), adapted from the same novel as Manhunter, was released to a generally positive critical reception and successful box office receipts, making $209,196,298 on a $78 million budget.