The Silence of the Lambs (film)

The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, adapted from Thomas Harris's 1988 novel. It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who is hunting a serial killer named "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine), who skins his female victims. To catch him, she seeks the advice of the imprisoned Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. The film also features performances from Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, and Kasi Lemmons.
The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, and grossed $272.7 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1991 worldwide. It premiered at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear, while Demme received the Silver Bear for Best Director. It became the third and most recent film (the other two being 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) to win Academy Awards in the five major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was the first (and to date only) horror film to win Best Picture.
The Silence of the Lambs is regularly cited by critics, film directors, and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential films. In 2018, Empire ranked it 48th on their list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The American Film Institute ranked it the sixty-fifth greatest film in American cinema, as well as the fifth-greatest and most influential thriller film, while Starling and Lecter were ranked among the greatest film heroines and villains. The film is considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. A sequel, Hannibal, was released in 2001, followed by two prequel films, Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007).
Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee at the Quantico Academy, is recruited by Behavioral Science Unit chief Jack Crawford to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant yet cannibalistic serial killer imprisoned at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Under the guise of soliciting his participation in a psychological survey, Crawford secretly aims to leverage Lecter's insights to apprehend "Buffalo Bill", a psychopath who murders young women and removes their skin.
At the hospital, Dr. Frederick Chilton, the facility's manipulative director, makes unwelcome advances toward Starling before escorting her to Lecter's cell. Initially courteous, Lecter grows dismissive upon deducing Crawford's ulterior motive. As Starling departs, inmate Miggs flings semen at her, provoking Lecter's disgust. He summons her back and offers a clue in the form of an anagram that leads her to a storage unit containing a severed head in a jar. Later, Miggs is found dead in his cell, having swallowed his own tongue—an act implicitly orchestrated by Lecter as retribution for his assault on Starling. Lecter agrees to assist the investigation in exchange for a transfer away from Chilton. Meanwhile, another victim is discovered with a death's-head moth lodged in her throat—the same species later found inside the severed head.
When Buffalo Bill abducts Catherine Martin, daughter of U.S. Senator Ruth Martin, Crawford authorizes Starling to offer Lecter a fraudulent deal: a prison transfer in return for actionable intelligence. Lecter instead demands a quid pro quo, extracting personal details from Starling. She reveals that her father, a police officer, was murdered when she was ten, leaving her orphaned. In exchange, Lecter reveals that Buffalo Bill is not a genuine transsexual but believes he is, possibly having been rejected from gender-reassignment clinics. Unbeknownst to Starling, Chilton records the conversation and later exposes her deceit, offering Lecter a new arrangement: relocation to Tennessee in exchange for information. Lecter complies and is flown to Memphis, where he provides Senator Martin with accurate details about Buffalo Bill's appearance but falsely identifies him as "Louis Friend", toying with her desperation.
Starling deciphers "Louis Friend" as an anagram for "iron sulfide" (fool's gold) and confronts Lecter in his Tennessee cell. Lecter demands deeper revelations, offering a final cryptic clue—"we covet what we see every day"—before Starling, compelled by his probing, recounts a traumatic childhood incident: after her father's death, she lived on a relative's Montana farm, where she failed to save spring lambs from slaughter, their screams haunting her nightmares. Lecter intuits that saving Catherine might silence this trauma, and, satisfied by Starling's candor, he returns the Buffalo Bill case files. That night, Lecter orchestrates a gruesome escape by using a smuggled pen to unlock his restraints and murder his two guards. He later peels the face off one of the guards and wears it as a disguise, fooling paramedics into wheeling him out of the building.
Analyzing Lecter's annotations, Starling deduces that Buffalo Bill knew his first victim, Frederika Bimmel, a tailor from Ohio, and independently follows the lead. Visiting Bimmel's home, Starling finds unfinished dresses and patterns matching patches of skin removed from the victims, realizing that Bill seeks to construct a "suit" from human flesh. Crawford cross-references Lecter's notes with medical records, identifying Jame Gumb—a rejected transsexual applicant deemed too violent—as the prime suspect. While Crawford's team raids Gumb's vacant Illinois residence, Starling interviews Bimmel's acquaintances, arriving at a house where Gumb poses as "Jack Gordon". His facade crumbles when Starling spots a death's-head moth.
Pursuing Gumb into his basement, Starling discovers Catherine trapped in a dry well. Gumb stalks her using night-vision goggles but betrays his position by cocking his revolver. Starling fires blindly, killing him. Catherine is rescued, and Starling graduates from the FBI Academy.
During her celebration, Lecter calls from Bimini, Bahamas, asking Starling if "the lambs have stopped screaming." He assures her he has no intention of pursuing her, requesting that she return the favor—a vow she declines. He announces he's "having an old friend for dinner" before trailing Chilton into a crowd, implying his next victim.
In the years following its release, The Silence of the Lambs was subject to much film criticism regarding its themes of human sexuality and sexual politics. Throughout the film, Clarice Starling's gender is emphasized as a distinguishing feature, as she is a minority amongst her numerous male peers, though film scholar Barry Forshaw notes that "any feminist agenda is never bluntly formulated verbally".
Some gay male critics and feminists felt that the film's portrayal of Buffalo Bill negatively associated the LGBT community with deviance, psychopathy, and violence. Despite this, Bill's sexual orientation is never explicitly stated in the film, and Hannibal Lecter expressly states Bill is "not really transsexual". Director Jonathan Demme argued that this criticism was misguided, telling The New York Times that "I got all this unfounded abuse... [Buffalo Bill] wasn't a gay character. He was a tormented man who hated himself and wished he was a woman because that would have made him as far away from himself as he possibly could be." Demme added that he "came to realize that there is a tremendous absence of positive gay characters in movies".
In a 1992 interview with Playboy magazine, the feminist and women's rights advocate Betty Friedan stated: "I thought it was absolutely outrageous that The Silence of the Lambs won four [sic] Oscars. [...] I'm not saying that the movie shouldn't have been shown. I'm not denying the movie was an artistic triumph, but it was about the evisceration, the skinning alive of women. That is what I find offensive. Not the Playboy centerfold."
In following years the film (and its claims that Bill is "not really transsexual") has been criticized for transphobia by transfeminists, who claimed that it is "one of the most significant and impactful examples of pop culture transmisogyny" and it "encourages disbelief of trans people's self-identification".
The movie is based on the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. It was the second film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter; the first, Manhunter (1986), directed by Michael Mann, was based on the first novel in the Lecter series, Red Dragon (1981). Prior to the release of the Silence of the Lambs novel, Orion Pictures partnered with Gene Hackman to adapt it for film. With Hackman set to direct and possibly star in as FBI agent Jack Crawford, negotiations were made to split the $500,000 cost of rights between Hackman and the studio. The producers also had to acquire the rights to the Lecter character, which were owned by Manhunter producer Dino De Laurentiis. Owing to the financial failure of Manhunter, De Laurentiis lent the rights to Orion for free.
In November 1987, Ted Tally was brought on to write the adaptation; Tally had crossed paths with Harris many times, with his interest in adapting The Silence of the Lambs originating from receiving an advance copy of the book from Harris. When Tally was about halfway through with the first draft, Hackman withdrew from the project and financing fell through. However, Orion co-founder Mike Medavoy encouraged Tally to keep writing as the studio took care of financing and searched for a replacement director. Orion sought Jonathan Demme to direct. With the screenplay not yet completed, Demme signed on after reading the novel. From there, the project developed quickly; Tally said: "[Demme] read my first draft not long after it was finished, and we met. Then I was just startled by the speed of things. We met in May 1989 and were shooting in November. I don't remember any big revisions."
Jodie Foster was interested in playing FBI agent Clarice Starling immediately after reading the novel. However, despite having just won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Accused (1988) at the 61st Academy Awards, Demme was not initially convinced that she was right for the role. Having just collaborated on Married to the Mob (1988), Demme's first choice for the role of Starling was Michelle Pfeiffer, who turned it down, later saying, "It was a difficult decision, but I got nervous about the subject matter." He then approached Meg Ryan, who also turned it down for its gruesome themes. The studio was skeptical about Laura Dern as a bankable choice, so Foster was ultimately awarded the role due to her passion for the character. Molly Ringwald auditioned but was deemed "too young".
For the role of Lecter, Demme originally approached Sean Connery. After Connery turned it down, Anthony Hopkins was offered the role based on his performance in The Elephant Man (1980). When Hopkins's agent told him that a script was on his way titled The Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins responded, "Is it a children's story?" Hopkins called his agent back after reading the first 10 pages and said, "This is the best part I've ever read." He accepted the role after having dinner with Demme.
Other actors considered for the role included Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Derek Jacobi and Daniel Day-Lewis. Forest Whitaker has stated that he also auditioned for the role. The mask Hopkins wore became an iconic symbol of the film. It was created by Ed Cubberly, of Frenchtown, New Jersey, who had made masks for NHL goalkeepers.
Hopkins developed his portrayal of Lecter by drawing inspiration from the HAL 9000 computer as voiced by Douglas Rain in 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the vocal patterns of writer Truman Capote. In a 2001 interview with GQ, Hopkins clarified that he did not base Lecter's vocal cadence on Katharine Hepburn, as some people had believed. He also revealed that the decision to play Lecter as still and unblinking was not influenced by Charles Manson, as some had speculated. Hopkins admitted to being intimidated by Foster, who had just won an Academy Award, and initially felt scared to talk to her.
Gene Hackman was cast to play Jack Crawford, the Agent-in-Charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, but he found the script too violent. Scott Glenn was then cast in the role. In preparation for the role, Glenn met with John E. Douglas. Douglas gave Glenn a tour of the Quantico facility and also played for him an audio tape containing various recordings that serial killers Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris had made of themselves raping and torturing a 16-year-old girl. According to Douglas, Glenn wept as he listened to the recordings, and even changed his liberal stance on the death penalty.
Principal photography began on November 15, 1989, and wrapped on March 1, 1990. Filming primarily took place in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with some scenes shot in nearby northern West Virginia. The Victorian home in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, used as Buffalo Bill's home in the film went up for sale in August 2015 for $300,000. The home sat on the market for nearly a year, before finally selling for $195,000. The exterior of the Western Center near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, served as the setting for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. A scene set in the FBI Director's office was filmed in the office of United States Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole in Washington, D.C. In what was a rare act of cooperation at the time, the FBI allowed scenes to be filmed at the FBI Academy in Quantico; some FBI staff members even acted in bit parts.
The design for the basement and pit used by Buffalo Bill was inspired by the real-life kidnappings and murders performed by Gary M. Heidnik.
The musical score was composed by Howard Shore, who would also collaborate with Demme on Philadelphia. Recorded in Munich during the latter half of the summer of 1990, the score was performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra. "I tried to write in a way that goes right into the fabric of the movie", explained Shore on his approach. "I tried to make the music just fit in. When you watch the movie you are not aware of the music. You get your feelings from all elements simultaneously, lighting, cinematography, costumes, acting, music. Jonathan Demme was very specific about the music." The music editor was Suzana Peric. A soundtrack album was released by MCA Records on February 5, 1991. Music from the film was later used in the trailers for its 2001 sequel, Hannibal.
In addition to Shore's score, recordings of popular music are used prominently in the film. This includes British post-punk music, such as the song "Hip Priest" by the Fall which can be heard playing during the climactic scene in which Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house. The song "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus became a cult hit after it was featured in an iconic scene with Buffalo Bill applying makeup and speaking to himself in the mirror.
The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, grossing almost $14 million from 1,497 theaters over the 4-day Presidents' Day weekend, placing at number one at the US box office. It remained at number one for five weeks.
The film opened at the Odeon Leicester Square in London in June 1991 and grossed £290,936 in its opening week, which distributor Rank claimed was a world record opening week from one theatre. The following week, it expanded to 281 screens and grossed £4,260,472 for the week, a UK record.
The film grossed $131 million in the United States and Canada with a total worldwide gross of $273 million. It was the fourth-highest grossing film of 1991 in North America and the fifth-highest-grossing film worldwide.
The movie was a sleeper hit that gradually gained widespread success and critical acclaim. Foster, Hopkins, and Levine garnered much acclaim for their performances. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of 153 film critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Director Jonathan Demme's smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 20 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, specifically mentioned the "terrifying qualities" of Hannibal Lecter. Ebert later added the film to his list of The Great Movies, recognizing the film as a "horror masterpiece" alongside such classics as Nosferatu, Psycho, and Halloween. However, the film is also notable for being one of two multi-Academy Award winners (the other being Unforgiven) to get a bad review from Ebert's colleague, Gene Siskel. Writing for Chicago Tribune, Siskel said, "Foster's character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after. I'd rather see her work on another case."
The film won the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Demme), Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally) at the 64th Academy Awards, making it only the third film in history to accomplish that feat. It was also nominated for Best Sound (Tom Fleischman and Christopher Newman) and Best Film Editing (Craig McKay), but lost to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and JFK, respectively.
Other awards include Best Film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures as well as at the CHI Awards and PEO Awards. Demme won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director at the 49th Golden Globe Awards. The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. It was also nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Film at the 45th British Academy Film Awards. Screenwriter Ted Tally received an Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. The film was awarded Best Horror Film of the Year during the 2nd Horror Hall of Fame telecast, with Vincent Price presenting the award to the film's executive producer Gary Goetzman.
In 1998, the film was listed as one of the 100 greatest films in the past 100 years by the American Film Institute. In 2006, at the Key Art Awards, the original poster for The Silence of the Lambs was named best film poster "of the past 35 years". The Silence of the Lambs placed seventh on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments for Lecter's escape scene. The American Film Institute named Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) the number one film villain of all time and Clarice Starling (as portrayed by Foster) the sixth-greatest film hero of all time. In 2011, ABC aired a prime-time special, Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, that counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People magazine. The Silence of the Lambs was selected as the best suspense/thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the fourth-greatest film character. In 2024, Far Out Magazine named the role one of the "10 most accurate movie psychopaths according to the FBI", and WhatCulture included the role in top "10 Most Convincing Movie Psychopath Performances". In 2012, the Motion Picture Editors Guild listed it as the 26th best-edited film of all time based on a survey of its membership.
The film and its characters have appeared in the following AFI "100 Years" lists:
In 2015, Entertainment Weekly's 25th anniversary year, it included The Silence of the Lambs in its list of the 25 best movies made since the magazine's beginning.
The film was released on VHS on October 24, 1991 by Orion Home Video. It was the most rented video in the United States upon release, and ended up as the second most rented video of 1992. It was released on DVD on March 6, 2001 by MGM Home Entertainment in both Widescreen (1.85:1) and Full Screen (1.33:1) versions. The Criterion Collection, which had released the film on LaserDisc in 1994, released a DVD special edition in 1998, and later a Blu-Ray edition in 2018.
The sequel Hannibal (2001) only saw the return of Hopkins after Foster and director Jonathan Demme declined to return because of the onscreen increase of violence and gore. Hopkins again returned to the role of Hannibal Lecter in the prequel film Red Dragon (2002) while another prequel, Hannibal Rising (2007), saw Gaspard Ulliel take over the role. The TV series Clarice (2021) takes place after the events of the film, with actress Rebecca Breeds portraying Clarice. The series Hannibal (2013–2015) is another adaptation of Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising, taking place before the events of The Silence of the Lambs.
According to The Guardian, before The Silence of the Lambs, serial killers in film had been "claw-handed bogeymen with melty faces and rubber masks. By contrast, Lecter was highly intelligent with impeccable manners", and played by an actor with "impeccable credentials".
When The Silence of the Lambs was re-released in the United Kingdom in 2017, the British Board of Film Classification reclassified it from an 18 to a 15 certificate. The film's co-producer Ed Saxon said audiences had become desensitized and that the film had become less shocking. However, the BBFC's Craig Lapper felt that audiences had instead become used to procedural crime dramas with serial killers as dramatic tropes, and suggested that The Silence of the Lambs had created interest in these themes.
Former United States President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to Hannibal Lecter and The Silence of the Lambs during his 2024 presidential campaign, claiming that other countries are "dumping" their "insane asylum" patients and convicted prisoners into the country, while likening immigrants to the fictional cannibal.