Fails the Bechdel test
Red Dragon
2002. Directed by Brett Ratner, written by Thomas Harris and Ted Tally.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 8 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
After escaping death by the skin of his teeth while on the hunt for the elusive madman, Dr Hannibal Lecter, the now-retired and emotionally scarred FBI agent, Will Graham, finds himself back in action. Reluctantly, as yet another monstrous serial killer known as "The Tooth Fairy" terrorises Baltimore, Graham turns to Lecter, the evil mastermind who's been under lock and key for three long years, to lend a hand in this challenging and time-sensitive case. But, to delve deep into the demented mind of a killer, one must first face his inner demons, and Will already knows that his insane imprisoned assistant is a gifted manipulator. Can Graham find the horrifying Red Dragon in time before another family suffers?
- Released
- 04 Oct 2002
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 4 wins & 10 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Graham 214 lines, man
- Lecter 109 lines, man
- Crawford 102 lines, man
- Reba 72 lines, woman
- Dolarhyde 57 lines, man
- Lounds 33 lines, man
- Oolarhyde 23 lines, man
- Molly 21 lines, woman
- Bowman 16 lines, man
- Chilton 11 lines, man
Full cast, 62 people
- Edward Norton as Will Graham
- Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter
- Ralph Fiennes as Francis Dolarhyde
- Emily Watson as Reba McClane
- Harvey Keitel as Jack Crawford
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddy Lounds
- Anthony Heald as Dr. Chilton
- Mary-Louise Parker as Molly Graham
- Tyler Patrick Jones as Josh Graham
- Ken Leung as Lloyd Bowman
- Frankie Faison as Barney
- Lalo Schifrin as Conductor
- Tim Wheater as Flautist
- John Rubinstein as Dinner Guest
- David Doty as Dinner Guest
- Brenda Strong as Dinner Guest
- Robert Curtis Brown as Dinner Guest
- Mary Anne McGarry as Dinner Guest
- Marc Abraham as Dinner Guest
- Veronica De Laurentiis as Dinner Guest
- Michael Cavanaugh as Forensic Dentist
- Madison Mason as Police Commissioner
- Bill Duke as Police Chief
- Cliff Dorfman as Cop
- Phillip B. Fahey as Cop
- Tom Verica as Charles Leeds
- Marguerite MacIntyre as Valerie Leeds
- Thomas Curtis as Billy Leeds
- Azura Skye as Bookseller
- Jeanine Jackson as Dr. Hassler
- William Lucking as Byron Metcalf
- Katie Rich as Woman Detective
- Alex Berliner as Photographer
- Ellen Burstyn as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
- Mary Beth Hurt as Museum Curator (uncredited)
- James Pickens Jr. as Male Zoo Doctor (uncredited)
- Frank Whaley as Ralph Mandy (uncredited)
- Tanya Newbould as Chromalux Secretary
- Elizabeth Dennehy as Beverly
- Joseph Simmons as Janitor
- Mark Moses as Father in Video
- Norman Fessler as Driver (uncredited)
- Alex D. Linz as Young Dolarhyde (voice)
- Jordan Gruber as Sean Leeds
- Morgan Gruber as Susie Leeds
- Richard Pelzman as Locksmith
- Andreana Weiner as Dr. Bloom's Secretary
- Stanley Anderson as Jimmy
- Terence Rowley as Superintendent
- Gianni Russo as Newsie
- Al Brown as Tattler Guard
- Edward Nickerson as FBI Agent
- Kyra Helfrich as Child in Video
- Frank Bruynbroek as Chef
- Dwier Brown as Mr. Jacobi
- Grace Stephens as Jacobi Child
- Lucy Stephens as Jacobi Child
- Kevin Bashor as Jacobi Child
- Hillary Straney as Museum Secretary
- Christopher Curry as Mr. Fisk
- Conrad E. Palmisano as Deputy in Car
- Tony Reynolds as FBI Agent
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 11% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 136
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 34 |
| 7 to 9 | 4 | 25 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 to 15 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 to 21 | 1 | 16 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 35 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 42 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 29 |
| 34 to 36 | 10 | 8 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 7 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 1 |
| 43 to 45 | 6 | 39 |
| 46 to 48 | 11 | 12 |
| 49 to 51 | 12 | 9 |
| 52 to 54 | 3 | 0 |
| 55 to 57 | 15 | 12 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 14 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 5 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 6 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 16 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 32 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 5 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 2 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 6 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 5 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 40 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 48 |
| 94 to 96 | 22 | 8 |
| 97 to 99 | 7 | 4 |
| 100 to 102 | 3 | 16 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 6 |
| 106 to 108 | 5 | 16 |
| 109 to 111 | 1 | 18 |
| 112 to 114 | 3 | 4 |
| 115 to 117 | 5 | 12 |
| 118 to 120 | 11 | 17 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 5 |
| 124 to 126 | 1 | 4 |
| 127 to 129 | 1 | 4 |
| 130 to 132 | 0 | 5 |
| 133 to 135 | 3 | 11 |
| 136 to 136 | 0 | 3 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 18 are women's.
135 lines from women, 623 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
16 women and 41 men in the cast. 8 women and 17 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 9 of 847.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 132 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 20% of the words (3,174), men 80% (12,917). Women have 18% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
1
Two men
53
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Brett Ratner (man)
- Written by
- Ted Tally (man)
- From the novel by
- Thomas Harris (man)
- Produced by
- Martha De Laurentiis (woman), Dino De Laurentiis (man)
- Shot by
- Dante Spinotti (man)
- Edited by
- Mark Helfrich (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Kristi Zea (woman)
- Costumes by
- Betsy Heimann (woman)
- Cast by
- Francine Maisler (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 28 men, 30 not listed
-
Production
9 women, 9 men, 11 not listed
-
Art
6 women, 12 men, 10 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 5 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 17 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 18 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 3 men, 7 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Emily Watson 35, Mary-Louise Parker 38
Men
Tyler Patrick Jones 8, Ken Leung 32, Edward Norton 33, Philip Seymour Hoffman 35, Ralph Fiennes 39, Anthony Heald 58, Harvey Keitel 63, Anthony Hopkins 64
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $78 million
- Box office
- $209 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 136 scenes and 847 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
