Red Dragon (2002 film)

Red Dragon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brett Ratner
Produced by	Dino De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis
Screenplay by	Ted Tally
Based on	Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Edward Norton Ralph Fiennes Harvey Keitel Emily Watson Mary-Louise Parker Philip Seymour Hoffman
Music by	Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Edited by	Mark Helfrich
Production company	Dino De Laurentiis Company
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$78 million
Box office	$209.1 million

Red Dragon is a 2002 American psychological horror film based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, featuring psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Hannibal (2001). The novel was originally adapted into the film Manhunter (1986).

The film was directed by Brett Ratner and written for the screen by Ted Tally, who also wrote the screenplay for The Silence of the Lambs. It stars Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, a role he played twice before in The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, and Edward Norton as FBI agent Will Graham. The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In 1980 at Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Hannibal Lecter attends an orchestra performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is irritated by a flute player who repeatedly misses his part. Later, he hosts a dinner party in his townhouse for the orchestra's board of directors. During conversation, the disappearance of the flute player is brought up. When one of the guests asks about the dish Lecter made, he responds that if he tells her, she might not try it.