HANNIBAL’S REQUIEM
To inquire about this edit, email krausfadr at gmail dot com and include the word fanedit in the subject line.
An alternate cut of Hannibal Rising (Unrated version) by krausfadr, a completely redone version of the earlier edit, Hannibal Rising: Epic Cut.
The film’s original release was plagued by pervasive expository, unnecessary setups, and early revelations that undermined the mystery of Hannibal’s journey to uncover his past. The introduction, attempting an epic story of Hannibal’s childhood during WW2, faltered because his parents were so poorly portrayed— as well as the villains, reduced to unconvincing caricatures.
Add in over the top moments of characters sneering, hissing, sniffing, and dialogue like, “I bet your asshole tastes just like a violet,” and the result was as subtle as an atomic bombing.
The main goals of this edit are to:
• rescue these characters (and us) from drowning in a sea of expository dialogue
• remove excessive setups and flashbacks
• reduce over the top moments and dialogue
• refine the story progression without revealing too much too soon
• trim overacting, especially of Dortlich and to a lesser degree, Hannibal
• make Hannibal’s parents more likable (or at least less annoying)
Original unrated length: 2h 10m. Edited length: 1h 58m
- Cut original title and added new title, “Hannibal’s Requiem.”
- Cut young Hannibal’s VO line “let’s go” as the bombs start dropping. His voice sounded different than the rest of the film.
- Cut the father nervously pointing to the obvious spot where supplies needed to be loaded.
- Cut the father stating during the evacuation of the Lecter castle, “The cart is packed. Everything is ready.”
- Reduced shots of the letters in the bedroom drawer.
- Cut the father’s weird military briefing dialogue to his children during the wagon ride.
- At the lodge, trimmed the father’s practice [gulp, here’s my next line] acting, telling the peasant to hurry back to the castle.
- Cut the mother’s sing-song line “mamma’s pearls.”
- Cut the mother’s “pearls before swine” line. She was acting bizarre and explaining the film’s amateur symbolism.
- Grutas doesn’t have to signal for the peasant to surrender, motioning, wide-eyed with his already pointed gun. The peasant just surrenders.
- Cut the SS Major’s line to the burly chef, “You are a Jew.”
- Less of henchman Dortlich’s distracting toothy grin with the peasant.
- Reduce Grutas sniffing the peasant.
- In the forest scene the father no longer comments about wild game or gives inept orders to find some food.
- Cut the family’s indoor reactions as the tank storms the lodge.
- Rearranged scene progression so the father heroically runs to save his children sooner, rather than stupidly running straight into gunfire.
- Cut some reaction shots to the plane about to crash.
- Sped up the plane slamming into the tank.
- Cut the father’s extended crawling.
- Cut VO from the mother as she stumbled after the plane explosion.
- Cut young Hannibal looking up to the sky in anguish after his mother dies.
- Grutas doesn’t explain why they need to shoot the medics.
- Cut Dortlich’s line “isn’t that the SS major?”
- Cut Grutas’ line to the wounded SS Major: “and now I am in business for myself” to give the scene more dramatic impact.
- Retimed and enhanced the gunshot SFX for the SS Major’s execution.
- Trimmed the battlefield thief running.
- Trimmed Dortlich’s over-the-top face as he shoots at the thief.
- Trimmed Grutas in the ambulance, surveying the snowy lodge.
- Trimmed Dortlich’s harassment of young Hannibal and Mischa when the gang bursts into the lodge.
- Cut Kolnas saying, “give me that” to young Hannibal as he disarms him.
- Trimmed the henchman explaining all the identities they’ve used as cover.
- Grutas does not have a tantrum and throw things, aggravated there’s no food. Moved his “we are starving” line.
- Cut Grutas’ line about peppercorns and explaining the maggots we see are maggots.
- Cut Grutas’ slo-mo eating of the bird.
- We don’t hear Mischa coughing as Dortlich tears out family photos.
- Cut the gang hungrily leering at the children, suggesting too early they might become a meal. Now Act 1 ends with the more subtle burning of Mischa’s photograph.
- Cut the orphanage bully’s line about Hannibal being “just another orphan.”
- Cut the orphanage headmaster’s line about Hannibal “hurting the bullies.”
- Cut part of the bully’s line about Hannibal’s “short and nasty life.”
- Cut the bully screaming on the ground with the word “sing” carved in the dirt floor. He steps on the trap, screams, and that’s it.
- Trimmed the Soviet border guard’s alarmed descent from the tower— to tighten up the action.
- Cut the “who’s there” line by the house guard to Hannibal as he arrives unannounced at Lady Murasaki’s chateau in France.
- Lady Murasaki and Hannibal don’t exchange glances through the window.
- Significantly trimmed Hannibal’s bedtime nightmare sequence at the chateau.
- Cut the flashback when Hannibal slices his thumb while trimming the plant. We need no strong early hints of Mischa’s fate.
- Cut the sexually playful sword fighting lessons.
- Cut the expository definition of Vichy given by the police chief interviewing Hannibal and Lady Murasaki.
- Cut the police chief’s lines about Hannibal becoming a doctor and being careful with his hands, a clumsy set up for an unnecessary early hint that Hannibal will go to medical school.
- Cut Hannibal’s line “Paul Momund… the butcher” as he confronts the butcher in the forest. We know who he is.
- The butcher doesn’t threaten to slit Hannibal’s pants.
- Trimmed Hannibal’s evil sneers and some of the butcher’s stumbling around.
- Cut Hannibal’s line to the butcher “do you see how your mouth stains the air?” Also cut Hannibal holding up the bad drawing that then receives improbable blood spray.
- Trimmed the sneer Hannibal makes after the beheading.
- Cut the inspector’s VO line to the driver “wait for me” as he arrives outside the coroner’s office.
- In the coroner’s office, the police chief doesn’t kiss the inspector’s ass.
- Cut the cook’s shoehorned culinary lesson to Hannibal about fish cheeks. Also Lady Murasaki does not come in the kitchen.
- Moved nighttime establishing shot of the estate to use later.
- Cut the inspector’s line “It’s monstrous” when reading Hannibal’s polygraph tape. It was a bit early for him to come to that conclusion.
- When Hannibal mocks the inspector, asking him if he composes verse, removed the line “and keep it under your pillow.”
- Cut before Lady Murasaki removes her motorcycle helmet in a painfully obvious reveal.
- Added the moved establishing shot of the estate but in reverse with the light going off.
- Cut the line of the accountant advising Lady Murasaki she will have to let the staff go.
- Cut the flashback of Hannibal gone wild when Hannibal and Lady Murasaki view the museum painting of the sacrifice of Isaac. Used different music from the soundtrack to help splice one continuous scene back together here.
- Darker music when Hannibal continues the conversation in the museum.
- Cut part of Lady Murasaki’s line about memories being a knife that can hurt you. We know knives hurt.
- Cut portions of Hannibal’s sodium pentathal flashback clearly showing Mischa was murdered. The main purpose of this flashback is for Hannibal to learn the dog tags identifying his targets are at the lodge. Also now it suggests Mischa could have died of pneumonia.
- Moved the young Hannibal rescued in the snow portion of the flashback to a later scene (the deposition).
- Cut Dortlich’s line “the lodge” that narrated Hannibal about to reach the lodge.
- Rearranged Dortlich arriving at the lodge and watching Hannibal. His motivation is not opportunistic theft.
- Cut Hannibal’s overacted primal scowl after he subdues Dortlich at the ruined lodge.
- Cut Hannibal’s line “Mischa” when burying the child’s skull and teddy bear. We know who he’s burying.
- Cut discussion of the bubbling bathtub and Mischa’s death during Dortlich’s rope interrogation.
- Changed a line during the interrogation to remove the initial discussion of singing, complete with a singing flashback.
- Cut the flash to Grutas’ face during Dortlich’s rope interrogation. We know who he is.
- At the Dortlich murder scene, fixed continuity error of investigating officer removing his glove which was already removed in the previous shot.
- The investigating officer doesn’t say that Hannibal picked mushrooms and made a brochette with Dortlich’s missing cheeks.
- Cut Lady Murasaki’s line, “you smell of smoke and blood” when Hannibal returns to France. She’s not a bloodhound or a walking bad fortune cookie.
- Hannibal tells Lady Murasaki he found his captors but not that they killed Mischa. When she asks him where they are he doesn’t answer.
- Cut flashback to Mischa’s bracelet when we see it on the Kolnas’ little girl at the restaurant.
- Cut Grutas’ line to Kolnas, “bring me a covered dish next time.”
- Cut some of the short henchman’s not so subtle spy camera shots of Lady Murasaki walking in public.
- During the formaldehyde tank execution scene, cut the little henchman’s line about Grutas killing Mischa quickly.
- Moved full flashback scene of young Hannibal rescued in the snow to the end of Hannibal’s deposition. Now Hannibal feels fully set free by his testimony.
- Cut the inspector’s egregious exposition about how Hannibal is an insane monster whose heart died with Mischa and one day doctors will study him.
- Trimmed Hannibal splashing a flammable liquid from a bottle into Grutas’ bathtub.
- Grutas doesn’t struggle with the woman he kills in the bathroom.
- Cut Grutas’ extra gross lines about Lady Murasaki’s asshole and his line “take her away.”
- Grutas doesn’t pound the cage and tell the captives, “get out.”
- Cut Grutas’ speech about biting women and gold.
- Cut the hokey dialogue before Grutas licks the captive Lady Murasaki’s face. Added engine noise and some camera movement.
- Cut the scene where Grutas struts and tells Lady Murasaki in VO that Hannibal is a cannibal.
- Cut Grutas’ line referring to Hannibal’s balls as a “velvet bag.”
- Trimmed Grutas’ assault on Lady Murasaki in front of Hannibal. He doesn’t lick her face this time.
- Reduced Hannibal’s reaction time with the broken sword so he’s not casually watching Lady Murasaki about to be raped.
- Replaced the last Mischa flashback with a cuter scene of her and Hannibal.
- Cut Hannibal’s anguished, over-the-top scream to the heavens.
- There’s less struggle and gloating as Hannibal now gets right to carving Grutas’ chest.
- Slightly trimmed the chest carving session.
- Cut Hannibal explaining the letter M is for Mischa.
- Reduced Lady Murasaki’s reaction time to stab the ship captain and the captain slumping. Cut him bleeding out.
- Hannibal tears out the cheek but we don’t see it in his mouth.
- Cut Lady Murasaki on the bridge with the inspector as well as the boat explosion.
- The red ocean waves now crossfade with the car driving down the snowy rural road.
- Changed the children’s song in the final scene, and changed the end credits music.