Hannibal Lecter Appearances
Hannibal's adaptations into film are kind of unique, because you'd be hard pressed to find another character to have so suddenly and drastically been redefined in a way that completely overshadows everything about the property he's from. But we'll get to that...
Thomas Harris's 1981 novel Red Dragon was adapted into the 1986 neo-noir psychological horror film Manhunter by writer/director Michael Mann, starring William Peterson as Bill Graham, and featuring beloved scotish actor Ronny Cox as 'Lecktor'. The movie is decent (although my wife, who loves the novels, HATES it). It's worth pointing out that when Silence of the Lambs came out, there were Manhunter fanboys who wrote it off for not being enough like the original.
Before we get to the obvious conclusion for the best version of Hannibal, we should also stop and talk about Mads Mikkelsen's very competent take on the character in the extremely good and wildly loved 2013-2015 TV series. This is apparently one of the properties Pika is regularly "asked" to include in GND.
Also, the 2007 movie Hannibal Rising, an adaptation of Harris's 2006 novel, attempted to tell the origins of Hannibal. Gaspard Ulliel's performance is definitely good, but it's also the best part of an otherwise forgettable movie...
... Of course there's really only ever one take on the character that matters. Sir Anthony Hopkins played him in Johnathan Demme's 1991 movie Silence of the Lambs, and his Oscar-winning performance defines both the character and his career. The later books changed to make him the protagonist. Manhunter was eventually retold in 2002's Red Dragon with Hopkins as Lecter. the American Film Institute named him the greatest villian in American cinema. He's really good, is what we're saying.