Manhunter (1986)
Long-time readers will be aware of my love for Michael Mann’s movies, and Manhunter has just been released in the US as a 2-disc special edition. One disc contains the US theatrical release, remastered, remixed and beefed up with extras. It’s a great transfer, and there are also some excellent extras, including recent interviews with William Petersen, Brian Cox etc.
The only ommission is a commentary, but Mann doesn’t seem to do them anyway (OK, he does now, he didn’t when I wrote this). This disc is also available on its own. The second disc contains Mann’s cut, and runs a few minutes longer. The main difference is a striking scene towards the end of the movie, which seems to have been cut out of the theatrical release in a rare moment of poor judgment.
This second disk is taken from a negative which has been living in Mann’s garage for 15 years, so it’s only just better than VHS, but is essential for completists, who should also be aware that the UK theatrical (and DVD) cut is different from both these versions.
Rating: 
[imdb]0091474[/imdb]
