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The limited Two Disc Set of "Manhunter", released by Anchor Bay, contains two versions of the movie: a remastered Theatrical Version and a non-remastered Director's Cut. Later releases in the USA and some other countries contained a remastered Director's Cut. According to the IMDB the Theatrical Version is different from other Theatrical Versions, hence the name Anchor Bay theatrical cut. Both versions have their advantages and disadvantages. The DC features completely new storyline scenes but misses numerous little sequences that are only in the Theatrical Version. All in all the DC is missing three minutes of footage, so it is advisable to own or at least watch both versions. Also, despite the "Unrated" sign, the DC is in no way more brutal than the theatrical Version. Quite the contrary the finale is a lot more explicit in the Theatrical Version.

The Manhunter 25th Anniversary UK Blu-ray contains both the Original Theatrical Cut and the Director's Preferred Version. This review details the differences between all four known versions of the film: the Original Theatrical Cut, the (Anchor Bay) Theatrical Version, the (Anchor Bay) Director's Cut and the Director's Preferred Version: Manhunter 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Review

Manhunter is based on Red Dragon (1981) by Thomas Harris.

While the original script was titled Red Dragon, the film itself was retitled Manhunter due to Year of the Dragon (1985), which was a box office bomb. They also did not want people to confuse this with a kung fu movie.

Three characters' names are spelled differently from the novel. Hannibal Lecter is changed to Hannibal Lecktor and Francis Dolarhyde is changed to Francis Dollarhyde. Will's stepson in the novel was named Willy, but in this film it's his biological son Kevin.

The sequence of events is different. In the novel, (1) Hannibal's message to Francis is decoded and Will's family leaves Florida (2) then Freddy Lounds interviews Will and gets kidnapped and killed by Francis. In the film, this order is reversed so that the message is decoded after Lounds' death.

In the novel there is the suggestion that Graham deliberately marks Lounds for death by putting his arm around Lounds "like a pet" in the publicity photo; in the film Lounds insists on being in the photo, and puts his arm around Graham.

Francis' backstory that is described in the novel (abandoned by his mother at an orphange, raised by his grandma, killing animals, getting bullied by step-siblings) is completely omitted. His birth date is changed from June 14, 1938 to November 23, 1952. The tattoo of the Great Red Dragon was on his back in the novel.The Freddy Lounds torture scene was originally shot with the tattoo on Tom Noonan's chest, but the scene was refilmed with his shirt on. The blood coming out of Francis' back after the confrontation with Will was to mirror the tattoo.

The scene from the book in which Dollarhyde steals and eats the original Red Dragon painting from the Brooklyn Museum, in an attempt to control the Red Dragon side of his personality, is omitted. In general the whole split personality aspect of the novel is almost absent from the film.

In the novel, Hannibal is both a murderer and a cannibal. In the film, he's just a murderer and his cannibalism is never mentioned.

The final confrontation in the film shows Will Graham going to Francis' home and shooting him to death, saving Reba. In the novel, Francis burns the house and makes Reba think he's dead by having her feel the body of Arnold Lang, a gas station attendant. He later arrives at Will's house in Florida and stabs him in the face. Francis is shot to death by Will's wife Molly, and Will survives. Jack Crawford visits Will in the hospital and destroys a letter that Dr. Lecter had sent to Graham.

Hannibal gets about as much screentime as he appears in the novel, though the telephone conversation with Will was originally a letter he sent to Will.

While the novel takes place in 1980, this film takes place in 1986.

Graham uses a Charter Arms Bulldog 5-shot revolver chambered in 44. Special (NOT 44. Magnum as is popularly supposed). The 44. Special is a much less powerful round comparable to 45 ACP but Graham is issued Teflon Safety Slugs, a specially designed bullet that is guaranteed to kill/incapacitate with a single round. It takes 6 rounds (a 38 Special from one of the New Orleans police officers and 5 44. Special rounds from Graham) to put Dolarhyde down as he is physically massive and hyped up on adrenaline. Graham's choice of pistol is notable in that it was famously the weapon of serial killer David Berkoitz, the "Son of Sam".

Kim Greist, Michael Talbott and Dennis Farina all feature on Miami Vice (1984) and Manhunter. The premise of Manhunter (a psychopathic burglar hunted by a detective who begins to lose his own sanity as he tries to empathise with his quarry) is extremely similar to the premise of the Miami Vice episode Shadow in the Dark (1986), which premiered two months after the movie's release.