A Fistful of Psychopaths.

• Position: Movies starring psychopaths - Review

It has always been a truism that a good movie hero needs a formidable villain as an adversary. The furthest edge of cinematic evil has invariably been the true psychopath, one whose acts have no rational explanation other than in his own twisted mind. Audiences have been thoroughly repulsed by these repugnant creatures throughout film history--until recently. Call it the Hannibal Lecter Syndrome, if you will, but movie psychopaths have begun to dominate the pictures they are in, rather than being simply the object of the chase. As Anthony Hopkins' Oscar for "The Silence of the Lambs" is ample evidence of, such roles are juicy attention-getters. A quintet of films recently out on DVD demonstrate this trend.

Manhunter (Anchor Bay Entertainment, 124 minutes, $39.98) introduced Hannibal Lecter to the screen in 1986, although for some reason he is billed here as Doctor Lecktor. In this prequel to "Silence" and "Hannibal," Lecter plays more of a consultive role, aiding (for his own reasons) the FBI agent who captured him and is now in pursuit of Francis Dolarhyde, mordantly nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy." Tom Noonan's portrayal of Dolarhyde, who has butchered two families and is researching a third, is as physically and intellectually chilling as a thrill-seeking audience might desire.

The special, numbered Limited Edition (just 100,000 issued) contains two different versions of the movie--full- and widescreen--both the director's cut, plus a dossier containing what allegedly are investigators' notes and photos from the film. A special featurette, "The Manhunter Look," engrossingly reveals the ways the cinematography and sound were used to add to the eeriness. Cast interviews are more interesting than usual, especially British character actor Brian Cox, who plays Lecter in the movie, revealing that he was the fourth choice for the role--after Brian Dennehy, John Lithgow, and Mandy Patinkin! Moreover, William Petersen, who stars as FBI agent Will Graham, relates how none of the other actors were allowed to interact with Noonan until the scenes in which he appeared with them, their unfamiliarity adding to the tension.

Seven (New Line Home Video, 127 minutes, $29.95) arrives in a remastered version that is more than the usual cleaning up of the negative. The original 1995 film was so dark, audience members would complain to theater managers that the projection bulb needed replacing. The DVD has been considerably lightened so that scenes are sharp and...