What was the book ending to Hannibal?

I just saw the movie the other day and have heard a lot about the different ending from the book. What exactly was the ending?

Go head, tell me in as much detail as you like. I’ll never read it.

SPOILER:

Hannibal drugs, hypnotizes, conditions and corrupts Clarice, ultimately to the point that she’s completely won over.

She joins him in eating the FBI guys brain; they flee together and she becomes his willing and devoted sidekick. Barney spots them at the opera in one Euro city (he’s touring the world looking at all the Vermeers) and bugs the hell out of Dodge before he gets recognized.

They end up on the lam indulging in good taste and quietly vicious violence, etc.

It was a huge leap of faith to buy it, but not as much as the horrid movie ending. My $0.02

She wasn’t his sidekick, she was his companion/lover. Barney spotted them at the opera in Brazil, in Rio to be specific.

Where does it say that they indulged in “quietly vicious violence?” They indulged in quite a lot of sex, but there is nothing in the last few pages that even suggests that they perfromed violent acts, with the exception of what happened to Krendler, and that is more poetic justic then anything else.

I bought it. :slight_smile:

And personally I thought she was pretty willing. He exercised his control, but I think she was intelligent enough to know what she was doing. I think she just wanted to go with him. I can’t say I blame her…

You’d think just by virtue of not being a crusty old man with a propensity for human flesh I’d get this kind of adulation, but nooooooo…

While we’re on the subject, what was the movie ending?

Starlin rescued Lector, but got shot with a dart and then Lector rescued her, and took her to his safe-house. Lector then tricked Krendler into coming over and served Clarice his brains. But the police were coming, as Clarice had called them and Lector ended up having to choose between killing Clarice and cutting off his hand. He chose to lose the hand and escaped via boat. The last scene showed Lector on an airplane.

Now that I have you all here…
Two things I continuously mention about the movie and book:

In SOTL Lecter opens his handcuffs with part of a ball point pen in a few seconds.

Harris has based this series of novels on real stuff, notably the FBI profiling technique. The guy who developed profiling has also developed an interest in miscreants who “turn” women to their nefarious ends; they cause wives or lovers to help them in their criminal activity. I wonder of this isn’t a phenomenon that Harris studied and used in Hannibal.

Oh yeah, Krendler deserved all he got.

Starling did willingly become Lecter’s companion. Her career in the FBI was in the toilet, and she was unfulfilled because of it. Given his wealth, intelligence, and lifestyle, life with Lecter was stimulating, challenging, and exciting. Which is what I think she really wanted all along.

I agree that there was nothing in the book to make you conclude they committed acts of violence after that. They dressed well, saw fascinating things about which they discussed in foreign languages, and no doubt dined at fine restaurants; what they did other than that is entirely up to the reader to fill in.

I had issues with pretty much every other part of Hannibal, book and movie, but the book ending is one thing I didn’t dislike.

Speaking of which, have you guys heard anything about the upcoming Red Dragon, an apparent remake of Manhunter? It’s coming out this fall. The cast looks decent.

Red Dragon (2002)
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0289765

The full trailer’s out at Apple’s website

Looks decent.

I had a look at the trailer, and most of it looks pretty okay. I can’t quite buy Edward Norton as Will Graham. I always had a visual of Graham as being older and a little less pretty-boy. You know, a little more jaded.

If you get a chance see Manhunter; other than the cheesy 80’s soundtrack it’s pretty good. The Graham in it is (IMO) spot on, too.

Yep. Took me ages to track that down on VCR, but when I finally did, I enjoyed it.

I thought the Hannibal movie ending seriously compounded the grossness factor the entire film wallowed in. Lecter serving Krendler’s brains to the little boy on the plane was just totally out of line. Silence of the Lambs was never that nasty, which is part of the reason I found Silence to be a better movie (it was subtle, slow, and gave my imagination more free rein, instead of laying everything out for me). I preferred the book ending, because it wasn’t set up for a sequel like the movie. I thought it a fitting ending for the metaphorical Starling-Lecter romance. And I think it was Krendler’s house they went to, not a safe house.

I thought it was Krendler’s summer home.

Did you know they used a robot of Ray Liotta to do some of the brain stuff? He even says he’s not sure which part is him and which is the robot.

I thought the ending was amazing, the last 20 minutes or so was great.

I had a big problem with the movie ending. I just really cannot buy that Hannibal would have cut off his own hand. And he didn’t have to kill Clarice, he could have just chopped her hand off instead of his own.

I have a big problem with Thomas Harris agreeing to that ending. It kills another movie since it diverges so much from the novel.

Brondicon,

what “unreleased” version of Hannibal did you see??!! If I recall correctly the scene with Lector “serving Krendlers brains to the little boy on the plane” NEVER HAPPENED. It couldn;t have happened since Krendler was still alive at that point and Lector wasn’t even back in the US. Lector had had a very elegant and entirely human-free meal prepared for him to take on the plane.

Retvim,

You obviously missed the entire point of the movie, which is that Lector is in love with Starling and he would rather hurt himself then hurt her. He could have easily left her to be eaten by the wild pigs and escaped but he didn’t because he A) Has a grand if twisted conscience and sense of manners. and B) He was in love with her.

Carnivorousplant,

Harris had no input on any of the movies besides signing off the rights and collecting dump trcuks full of cash. He has stated numerous times that he has never seen any of the movies because they would influence how the characters were written and he thinks this would be grossly unfair both to him and to the reader.

And I agree with him.

I though he had collaborated on the ending of the movie.
Hunh.

BTW we have a statue of that pig at the zoo here. There is a box to place money in for a children’s charity.
:slight_smile:

…So no one knows if he would like Brain Cox or Anthony Hopkins.