Though Delluc's career was short-lived, it burst vigorously(7 films in 4 years)that it forever left its imprint on french cinema history, and they rightly honoured him by giving the annual Prix Delluc to the best French film of the year. He was responsible for the creation of influential cinema journals like Le Journal du Ciné-Club and Cinéa, founding numerous film societies, writing countless articles and coining the term cineaste. Delluc believed that films should be set in the natural without elaborate posturing, and characters should be portrayed in an intimate way where the past and present, illusion and reality can be correlated, all considered to be avant-garde at its time. He died only a few weeks after the shooting of The Flood at the age of 33.
本片根据英国作家狄更斯1838年的名著《雾都孤儿》改编。
孤儿奥利弗(巴尼?克拉克 Barney Clark 饰)由教会抚养长大,9岁时被送去童工厂拣填絮,后被卖给棺材铺当学徒,屡受欺侮。奥利弗从棺材铺逃跑,步行七十英里到达伦敦,遇见小偷“机灵鬼”(哈利?伊登 Harry Eden 饰),并被收入犹太老头费金(本?金斯利 Ben Kinsley 饰)的盗窃团伙。奥利弗第一次出徒便被诬陷偷窃布朗罗先生(爱德华?哈德威克 Edward Hardwicke饰)的丝帕,并被打昏在地。被好心的布朗罗先生带回家收养,却在替布朗罗先生跑差途中被费金的同僚比尔(杰米?福尔曼 Jamie Foreman饰)抓获。比尔逼迫奥利弗协助他与同伙托比(马克?斯特朗 Mark Strong 饰)入夜行窃布朗罗先生家。小奥利弗不从,眼看命在旦夕……
最近出现了一起凶徒连环杀人案,最令人恶心的是,凶徒每次作案后都将被害者的喉咙割走。FBI探员威尔(爱德华•诺顿 Edward Norton 饰)负责此案的侦察,经过详细调查,威尔分析此人每次都是将被害者的喉咙割走吃掉,然而却没有找到任何凶徒的蛛丝马迹。威尔向患有精神病的犯罪心理学家汉尼拔(安东尼•霍普金斯 Anthony Hopkins 饰)求助,希望汉尼拔能刻画出凶徒的犯罪心理以助破案。 不料汉尼拔精神病发,意图伤害威尔,最后被关进了精神病监狱,此案也就不了了之。多年后,威尔又遇到了一起相同的谋杀案。虽确定了犯罪嫌疑人,但若想清楚推敲出此人的犯罪心理,以将其乘之于法,威尔只好再次找到了汉尼拔。