The one thing that I would argue in reference The Silence of the Lambs being a sequel to Manhunter is the fact that the role of Hannibal Lecter in Silence was first offered to Brian Cox, who played "Lektor" in the first film. Ultimately, he turned it down because he "doesn't do sequels" (I guess he eventually broke his own role when he reprised his role from The Bourne Identity) and so they gave it to Gene Hackman instead. The film was then planned as a starring/directing vehicle for Hackman, but he eventually dropped out and Jonathan Demme and Anthony Hopkins jumped onboard.Penelope wrote:I'm pretty loose when it comes to genre definition, but a bit more strict when it comes to what qualifies as a sequel or remake.
In the first case, a sequel is distinctly tied to the original film, not just with the characters, but usually with the same personnel involved--actors, directors, writers, etc; plus, sequels usually come about because the first one was so successful. Neither of these apply, I would argue, to The Silence of the Lambs; none of the principle individuals carried over from Manhunter, and I'm not sure that the masses who went to see Silence were even aware of Manhunter.
In the case of remakes, to me a remake is only such an animal when they are remaking a previous film--the 1962 Mutiny on the Bounty, for example, or The Departed; but something like Marty or The Fugitive isn't so much a remake as an adaptation, in the same vein as adapting a play or a comic book.
I would describe Letters From Iwo Jima and The Lion in Winter not as sequels but rather as "companion" pieces to the earlier films.
Also, production began under the supervision of producer Dino DeLaurentiis, but he was so disappointed with the box-office of Manhunter that he gave up the sequel rights. Then, after Silence became such a hit, DeLaurentiis got the Lecter rights back and made Hannibal, Red Dragon (now officially considered both a remake of Manhunter and a prequel to Silence), and Young Hannibal. I've also noticed that the new "Hannibal Lecter Trilogy" DVD box set that was put out by MGM contains Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal. It conveniently excludes the awful Red Dragon from the canon.
I can see your point about Letters from Iwo Jima being a "companion" piece to Flags of Our Fathers considering that none of the characters cross over into both films (at least I think this is the case, but I have seen neither film, so I don't know). However, wouldn't The Lion in Winter be more of a sequel to Becket since the latter film continues the story of Peter O'Toole's King Henry II?