Details
Movie Description
Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins will likely be forever associated with their roles in this bone-chilling masterpiece, based on the novel by Thomas Harris and directed by Jonathan Demme. FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Foster) is sent by her supervisor (Scott Glenn) to interview ferociously intelligent serial killer Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lechter (Hopkins) at his cell in a Maryland mental hospital. The FBI hopes Lechter can provide insight into the mind of killer-at-large, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), whose current abductee happens to be the daughter of a senator. Intrigued by Clairice, Lechter demands information about her personal life and in exchange for clues, and the two begin to form a strangely intimate connection, with a girl's life hanging in the balance. Starling is gradually revealed as a woman struggling out of her own darkness, bound to aid the dysfunctional males around her on their own paths of transformation, liberation, and destruction. This is a film of brilliant and disturbing beauty that transcends its B-movie origins (though it does honor them with a cameo appearance by Roger Corman). Its enduring influence has led to a slew of similarly dark-toned serial killer films, and a sequel, HANNIBAL (2001).
Synopsis
Jonathan Demme directs this intense thriller about a young FBI agent named Clarice Starling (Jody Foster), who has been enlisted to tap into the psyche of Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant serial killer. Starling exchanges access to her deepest thoughts in exchange for information to track down another serial killer named Buffalo Bill, who is about to kill again. Bill is known for skinning his victims and has recently kidnapped a politician's daughter.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1 Encoding
Special Features: Includes deleted scenes, storyboards, and audio commentary by the stars and filmmakers.
Theatrical release: February 13, 1991.
Filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
Shooting began on November 15, 1989, and wrapped on March 1, 1990.
Estimated budget: $19 million.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is number 65 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
To perfect the voice of Hannibal, Anthony Hopkins based his speech on the dry voice of the Hal 9000 computer from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar despite being in the film for no more than 30 minutes, the shortest screen appearance for any Best Actor winner.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS actually features the second screen appearance of Hannibal Lecter. Played by Brian Cox, the character first appears in Michael Mann's MANHUNTER, which is based on the Thomas Harris novel RED DRAGON.
Roger Corman plays FBI Director Hayden Burke in the film.
Demme regular Charles Napier plays Boyle.
Chris Isaak appears briefly as a SWAT commander.
Try to catch how many times Anthony Hopkins blinks in various scenes....
The sequel, HANNIBAL, opened on February 9, 2001. Ridley Scott took over the direction, and Julianne Moore played Clarice Starling instead of Jodie Foster. Hopkins again played Hannibal, deliciously.
Industry Reviews
"...Superbly crafted....THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS slams you like a sudden blast of bone-chilling, pulse-pounding terror..."
Rolling Stone - p.87-8 - Peter Travers (03/07/1991)
"...A sombre masterpiece....The film creates a world drained of light, counterpointed by a sinister and unsettling score..."
Sight and Sound - p.62-3 - Lizzie Francke (06/01/1991)
"...[A] superbly crafted, unsettling movie....Demme pumps up the tension to a deafening din..." -- 4 out of 4 stars
USA Today - p.1D - Mike Clark
"...Scary." -- Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - p.71 - Steve Simels (09/30/1994)
"...Hopkins' performance may be the film's bravura showpiece, but Foster's goes the whole distance, steadfast, controlled, heartbreakingly insightful, a fine addition to her gallery of characterizations..."
Los Angeles Times - Sheila Benson (02/13/1991)
"Hopkins's portrayal of the world's most urbane serial killer is a wonder of both actorly invention and villainous instinct."
Premiere - Premiere Staff (04/01/2004)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]till the definitive upmarket serial killer thriller, achieving the almost unprecedented feat of winning all five major Oscar categories..."
Uncut - Stephen Dalton (03/01/2006)
"LAMBS remains a great film. A groundbreaking film." -- Grade: A
Entertainment Weekly - Jeff Labrecque (02/02/2007)
5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] rare horror that transcends the genre and has arguably become a modern classic."
Ultimate DVD - Simon Edwards (03/01/2007)
Quotations
"Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head."--Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn)
"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."--Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins); the classic sucking sound Hopkins made after this line was ad-libbed
"I do wish we could chat a little longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."--Hannibal Lecter
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