Directed by:
Jonathan DemmeScreenplay:
Ted TallyCinematography:
Tak FujimotoComposer:
Howard ShoreCast:
Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons, Charles Napier, Tracey Walter, Roger Corman (more)VOD (4)
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A psychopath nicknamed Buffalo Bill is murdering women across the Midwest. Believing it takes one to know one, the FBI sends Agent Clarice Starling (Foster) to interview a demented prisoner who may provide clues to the killer's actions. That prisoner is psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins), a brilliant, diabolical cannibal who agrees to help Starling only if she'll feed his morbid curiosity with details of her own complicated life. As their relationship develops, Starling is forced to confront not only her own hidden demons, but also an evil so powerful that she may not have the courage or strength to stop it! (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
"And Grandma, why are your eyes so big?" – "I have just seen Silence of the Lambs, dear Little Red Riding Hood, and I'm still reeling from it.” I first saw this film in the cinema before it was famous, not many people knew about it and the Oscars were six months away. When I came out of the cinema I observed the other people, everyone looked puzzled, no one even spoke. I arrived home feeling I had seen something special. My mother asked “so, how was it?” And I answered, “mum, believe me, we are going to hear a lot about this movie,” and the following Oscar ceremony proved me right. This film is indeed something special. If possible, watch it in the original if only for the voice of Anthony Hopkins. ()
Looking back, maybe this wasn’t such a ground-breaking movie as it seemed when it was first released. The truth is that neither Buffalo Bill nor the screenplay are at all original - on the other hand, in technical terms this is excellent and has a brilliant and believably urgent atmosphere, excellent music by Howard Shore and a well-adapted screenplay. So this is a good above-average affair. But what gives The Silence of the Lambs its place in cinema history is the relationship, dialogs and quality of acting (or almost living the parts) of Agent Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Even today this is the absolute zenith of cinema, not just in this genre. ()
The flagship of the 90s psychothriller genre, which blended traditional crime thriller with a horror atmosphere and morbid details. The Silence of the Lambs managed to transcend genre limitations, winning five Oscars for its "depraved" genre and garnering enthusiastic reviews from film critics. Several fortunate moments converged during the film's production - a clever script that, despite the bizarre nature of its antiheroes, navigates within a realistic setting; a skillful director who crafted the film's allure not through frantic action or bloody, naturalistic violence, but through a carefully constructed atmosphere brimming with tension, uncertainty, and fear. Naturally, the excellent casting also contributed to its success, with the seemingly fragile Jodie Foster and the typographically precise Anthony Hopkins, who embodied the monstrous charm of Lecter and became the most captivating serial killer in film history. Overall impression: 95%. ()
I've waited 21 years and I still don't feel like I've missed anything crucial. The Silence of the Lambs is "only" a good film and of course, Hopkins' scenes with Foster are strong, but there are not that many of them and as a detective story it goes completely over my head. Yet as a complex franchise, it's certainly tolerable. ()
Even twenty-seven years after it came out, the film hasn’t lost its charm for me. The filmmakers managed to create a perfectly gloomy atmosphere, which made it easy to escalate the suspense. I must say I didn’t find Buffalo Bill very interesting, but who cares anyway. Anthony Hopkins had the whole film to himself, and Hannibal Lecter belongs to one of the must-know characters for any movie fan. Plus, as the owner of Harris' eponymous novel, I appreciate the fact that the filmmakers didn't turn the book into complete nonsense, as is often the case with Stephen King’s work. ()
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Photo © 1991 Orion Pictures Corporation
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