The Movie: Red Dragon is a prequel to Silence of the Lambs, and the latest one to feature Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. It's suspenseful, it's exciting, and it's dramatic. In other words, much better than the previous movie Hannibal which was little more than a "how many ways can Hannibal Lecter gross out the audience" gore-fest.

Edward Norton plays an FBI profiler, mentored by the great Hannibal Lecter (before he got put away in that prison cell), who after a traumatic work experience, retires... only to be called back into service to help catch a serial killer (Ralph Feinnes). Norton ends up consulting Lecter (who is now in that prison cell) to get help.

Again, a much more exciting plot than Hannibal, with interesting plot twists that did not seem forced or contrived as they often can in thriller type movies. Is it better than Silence of the Lambs? I can't say for sure, as it's been too long since I've seen it, but it's definitely worth watching.

The DVD: There are one disc and two disc special edition versions of this movie (as well as "full screen" and widescreen versions). I'm reviewing the single disc widescreen version here.

The anamorphic widescreen transfer is absolutely beautiful, with nothing to complain about. Audio was equally impressive, pristine sound with subtle, yet effective (as opposed to in your face) use of the surround channels.

Special features include a trailer, audio commentary, a making-of documentary, a separate documentary on real life FBI profiling, a little bit of Anthony Hopkins talking about the character Hannibal Lecter, deleted scenes, plus DVD-ROM junk, all wrapped up in a snazzy themed menu system. As far as I can tell, it's exactly the same as the first disc of the two disc set.