The Silence Of The Lambs (1991 Film) | The Silence Of The Lambs Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Silence Of The Lambs Wiki The Silence Of The Lambs (1991 Film) 7pages on Share The Silence Of The Lambs 1991 Theatrical Release Poster The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American thriller film that blends elements of the crime and horror genres.[3] Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Scott Glenn, the film is based on Thomas Harris' 1988 novel of the same name, his second to feature Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer.In the film, Clarice Starling, a young U.S. FBI trainee, seeks the advice of the imprisoned Dr. Lecter to apprehend another serial killer, known only as "Buffalo Bill".The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, and grossed $272.7 million worldwide against its $19 million budget.

It was only the third film, the other two being It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, to win Academy Awards in all the top five categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). It is also the first Best Picture winner widely considered to be a horror film, and only the second such film to be nominated in the category, after The Exorcist in 1973.[4][5] The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 2011.[6]Contents [hide] 1 Plot2 Cast3 Production3.1 Development3.2 Casting3.3 Filming3.4 Music4 Release4.1 Critical reception4.2 Accolades5 Accusations of homophobia and sexism6 See also7 References8 External linksPlot Clarice Starling is pulled from her training at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia by Jack Crawford of the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit.

He tasks her with interviewing Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist and incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer, believing Lecter's insight might be useful in the pursuit of a serial killer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill", who skins his female victims' corpses.Starling travels to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where she is led by Frederick Chilton to Lecter's solitary quarters. Although initially pleasant and courteous, Lecter grows impatient with Starling's attempts at "dissecting" him and rebuffs her. As she is leaving, one of the prisoners flicks semen at her. Lecter, who considers this act "unspeakably ugly", calls Starling back and tells her to seek out an old patient of his. This leads her to a storage shed where she discovers a man's severed head. She returns to Lecter, who tells her that the man is linked to Buffalo Bill. He offers to profile Buffalo Bill on the condition that he be transferred away from Chilton, whom he detests.When Buffalo Bill kidnaps a U.S.

Senator's daughter, Catherine Martin, Crawford authorizes Starling to offer Lecter a fake deal promising a prison transfer if he provides information that helps find Buffalo Bill and rescue the abductee. Instead, Lecter begins a game of quid pro quo with Starling, offering comprehensive clues and insights about Buffalo Bill if Starling will give him information about her own past, something she was advised not to do. Chilton secretly records the conversation and reveals Starling's deal as a sham before offering to transfer Lecter in exchange for a deal of Chilton's own making. Lecter agrees and is flown to Memphis, Tennessee, where he reveals personal information on Buffalo Bill to federal agents.As the manhunt begins, Starling visits Lecter at his special cell in a Tennessee courthouse and confronts him with her decryption of the name he provided ("Louis Friend", an anagram of "iron sulfide", also known as fool's gold). Lecter refuses Starling's pleas for the truth and forces her to recount her traumatic childhood. She tells him how she was orphaned and relocated to a relative's farm in Montana, where she discovered a lamb slaughterhouse and even made a failed attempt to rescue one of them.

Lecter gives her back the case files on Buffalo Bill after their conversation is interrupted by Chilton and the police who escort her from the building. Later that evening, Lecter kills his guards, escapes from his cell and disappears.Starling analyzes Lecter's annotations to the case files and realizes that Buffalo Bill knew his first victim personally. Starling travels to the victim's hometown and discovers that Buffalo Bill was a tailor, with dresses and dress patterns identical to the patches of skin removed from each of his victims. She telephones Crawford to inform him that Buffalo Bill is trying to fashion a "woman suit" of real skin, but Crawford is already en route to make an arrest, having cross-referenced Lecter's notes with hospital archives and finding a man named Jame Gumb, who once applied unsuccessfully for a sex-change operation. Starling continues interviewing friends of Buffalo Bill's first victim in Ohio while Crawford leads an F.B.I. tactical team to Gumb's address in Illinois. The house in Illinois is empty and Starling is led to the house of "Jack Gordon", who she realizes is actually Jame Gumb. She pursues him into his multi-room basement, where she discovers that Catherine is still alive, but trapped in a dry well.

After turning off the basement lights, Gumb stalks Starling in the dark with night-vision goggles but gives his position away when he cocks his revolver; Starling turns around just in time and kills him.Some time later at her FBI Academy graduation party, Starling receives a phone call from Lecter, who is at an airport in Bimini. He assures her that he does not plan to pursue her and asks her to return the favor, which she says she cannot do. Lecter then hangs up the phone, saying that he is "having an old friend for dinner" and begins following a newly arrived Chilton before disappearing into the crowd.Cast Jodie Foster as Clarice StarlingMasha Skorobogatov as young ClariceAnthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal LecterScott Glenn as Jack CrawfordTed Levine as Jame "Buffalo Bill" GumbAnthony Heald as Dr. Frederick ChiltonBrooke Smith as Catherine MartinDiane Baker as U.S. Senator Ruth MartinKasi Lemmons as Ardelia MappFrankie Faison as Barney MatthewsTracey Walter as LamarCharles Napier as Lt. BoyleDanny Darst as Sgt. TateAlex Coleman as Sgt.

Jim PembryDan Butler as RodenPaul Lazar as PilcherRon Vawter as Paul KrendlerRoger Corman as F.B.I. Director Hayden BurkeChris Isaak as S.W.A.T. CommanderHarry Northup as Mr. BimmelDon Brockett as cellmate and "Pen Pal"Production DevelopmentThe Silence of the Lambs is based on Thomas Harris' 1988 novel of the same name and is the second film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter following the 1986 film Manhunter. Prior to the novel's release, Orion Pictures partnered with Gene Hackman to bring the novel to the big screen. With Hackman set to direct and possibly star in the role of Lecter, negotiations were made to split the $500,000 cost of rights between Hackman and the studio.[7] In addition to securing the rights to the novel, producers also had to acquire the rights to the name "Hannibal Lecter", which were owned by Manhunter producer, Dino De Laurentiis.

Owing to the financial failure of the earlier film, De Laurentiis lended the character rights to Orion Pictures for free.[8]In November 1987, Ted Tally was brought on to write the adaptation;[9] Tally had previously crossed paths with Harris many times, with his interest in adapting The Silence of the Lambs originating from receiving an advanced copy of the book from Harris himself.[10] When Tally was about halfway through with the first draft, Hackman withdrew from the project and financing fell through. However, Orion Pictures co-founder Mike Medavoy assured Tally to keep writing as the studio itself took care of financing and searched for a replacement director.[11] As a result, Orion Pictures sought director Jonathan Demme to helm the project. With the screenplay not yet completed, Demme signed on after reading the novel.[12] From there, the project quickly took off, as Tally explained, "[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."[13]CastingJodie Foster was interested in playing the role of Clarice Starling immediately after reading the novel. However, despite having just won an Academy Award for her performance in the 1988 film The Accused, Demme was not convinced that she was right for the part.[14][15] Having previously 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".[16] As a result, Foster was awarded the role due to her passion towards the character.[17]For the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Demme originally approached Sean Connery. After the actor turned it down, Anthony Hopkins was then offered the part based on his performance in The Elephant Man (1980).[18]Scott Glenn was cast in the role of Jack Crawford, the Agent-in-Charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI in Quantico, Virginia. To prepare for the role, Glenn met with John E.

Douglas, whom the character is modeled after.

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.[19][20] According to Douglas, Glenn wept as he experienced the recordings and even changed his liberal stance of the death penalty.[21]FilmingPrincipal photography for The Silence of the Lambs began on November 15, 1989 and concluded on March 1, 1990.[22] Filming primarily took place in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with some scenes shot in nearby northern West Virginia.[23] The exterior of the Western Center near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania served as the setting for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.[24] 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.[25]MusicThe Silence of the Lambs: The Original Motion Picture ScoreFilm score by Howard ShoreReleased February 5, 1991Recorded August, 1990 in MunichLength 

57:09Label MCA RecordsProducer Howard ShoreHoward Shore chronologyBig(1988) The Silence of the Lambs(1991) Naked Lunch(1991)Hannibal Lecter chronologyManhunter(1986) The Silence of the Lambs(1991) Hannibal(2001)Professional ratingsReview scoresSource RatingAllmusic 4/5 starsFilmtracks.com 3/5 starsThe musical score for The Silence of the Lambs was composed by Howard Shore, who would also go on to collaborate with Demme on Philadelphia (1993).

Recorded in Munich during the latter half of the summer of 1990, the score was performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra.[26] "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."[27]A soundtrack album was released by MCA Records on February 5, 1991.[28] Music from the film was later used in the trailers for its sequel, Hannibal (2001).[29]The Silence of the Lambs: The Original Motion Picture Score No. Title Length 1. "Main Title" 5:042. "The Asylum" 3:533. "Clarice" 3:034. "Return to the Asylum" 2:355. "The Abduction" 3:016. "Quid Pro Quo" 4:417.

"Lecter in Memphis" 5:418. "Lambs Screaming" 5:349. "Lecter Escapes" 5:0610. "Belvedere, Ohio" 3:3211. "The Moth" 2:2012. "The Cellar" 7:0213. "Finale" 4:50Total length:57:09 Release The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, grossing $13,766,814 during its opening weekend. Surpassing its own budget after one week, the film proved to be a major box office success.

At the time it closed on October 10, 1991, the film grossed $130,742,922 domestically with a total worldwide gross of $272,742,922.[2] The film was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1991.[30]Critical receptionThe Silence of the Lambs was a sleeper hit that gradually gained widespread success and critical acclaim.[31] Hopkins, Foster, and Levine garnered much acclaim for their performances, with critics particularly impressed with Hopkins' performance despite a screen time that is only a little more than 16 minutes.[32] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of 69 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 8.4 out of 10.

The site's 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."[33] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 17 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[34]Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, specifically mentioned the "terrifying qualities" of Hannibal Lecter.[35] Ebert later added the film to his "Great Movies" list, recognizing the film as a "horror masterpiece" alongside such classics as Nosferatu, Psycho, and Halloween.[36] However, the film is also notable for being one of two multi-Academy Award winners (the other being Unforgiven) disapproved of by Ebert's colleague, Gene Siskel. Writing for the 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."[37]AccoladesAcademy Awards recordBest Picture, Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ronald M. BozmanBest Director, Jonathan DemmeBest Actor, Anthony HopkinsBest Actress, Jodie FosterBest Adapted Screenplay, Ted TallyGolden Globe Awards recordBest Actress, Jodie FosterBritish Academy Film Awards recordBest Actor, Anthony HopkinsBest Actress, Jodie FosterThe film won the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Demme), Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Ted Tally), making it only the third film in history to accomplish that feat.[38] It was also nominated for Best Sound Mixing (Tom Fleischman and Christopher Newman) and Best Film Editing, but lost to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and JFK, respectively.[39]Other awards include being named Best Film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, CHI Awards and PEO Awards. Demme won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival[40] and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director.

The film was nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. It was also nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Film. 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.[41]In 1998, the film was listed as one of the 100 greatest films in the past 100 years by the American Film Institute.[42] 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".[43]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[44] and Clarice Starling (as portrayed by Foster) the sixth greatest film hero of all time.[44]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 No. 1 Best Suspense/Thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the No.

4 Greatest Film Character.The film and its characters have appeared in the following AFI "100 Years" lists:AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies — #65AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills — #5AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:Hannibal Lecter — #1 VillainClarice Starling — #6 Hero"Buffalo Bill" (Jame Gumb) — Nominated VillainAFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." — #21"I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner." — NominatedAFI's 100 Years of Film Scores — NominatedAFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) — #74Accusations of homophobia and sexism Upon its release, The Silence of the Lambs was criticized by members of the LGBT community for its portrayal of Buffalo Bill as bisexual and transsexual.

In response to the critiques, Demme replied that 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."[45]In a 1992 interview with Playboy magazine, notable 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."[46] The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Crawford: The psychiatrist - Hannibal Lecter. Clarice: Hannibal, 'the Cannibal.' Crawford: I don't expect him to talk to you, but I have to be able to say we tried. So if he won't cooperate, I want just straight reporting. How's he look?

How's his cell look? Is he sketching, drawing? If he is, what's he sketching? By establishing a relationship with a captured serial killer Lecter, Crawford hopes that Clarice will find special insights into the personality of "Buffalo Bill" - the at-large, random serial killer. Clarice is given a dossier on Lecter, a questionnaire, and a special ID. Instinctively, she has guessed that there may be some connection between the homicidal "Buffalo Bill" and Lecter. Crawford cautions her about her upcoming interview and contact with the quick-witted, brilliant, convicted and imprisoned serial murderer, Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who has turned his ferocious oral desires for flesh into an astonishing facility with language: Be very careful with Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Chilton at the asylum will go over all the physical procedures used with him. Do not deviate from them for any reason whatsoever. And you're to tell him nothing personal, Starling. Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head. Just do your job, but never forget what he is.

The scene ends with a question: "What is that?" There is a transitionary cut to the Baltimore hospital, where the answer is heard in voice-over from Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald) in his office: Oh, he's a monster. Pure psychopath. It's so rare to capture one alive. From a research point of view, Lecter is our most prized asset. The smarmy, self-serving Dr. Chilton, who runs the facility where Lecter is imprisoned, is rebuffed for showing some uninvited letchery toward the seemingly-helpless young woman. Expectations for the introduction of the sinister Lecter (Chilton mentions that Lecter considers Chilton his "nemesis") are raised to great heights on their maze-like journey through the state institution for the criminally insane. An important parallel is established in the way that males have become predators, both on the side of the law and in the criminal behaviors of the mass murderers.

The doctor divulges that her employer Crawford may be exploiting his young trainee - he may be deceiving the attractive Starling into her mission with a fake questionnaire - using her as bait to lure, provoke and inspire psycho Lecter into providing the Bureau with information into the case of the latest serial killer Buffalo Bill. Chilton uses a disguised pun on Lecter's penchant for eating his victims: A pretty young woman to turn him on. I don't believe Lecter's even seen a woman in eight years. And oh are you ever his taste, so to speak. Dr. Chilton rattles off rules as they pass through locked gates in their menacing, lurid approach to the high-security area where she will have access to the killer: Do not touch the glass. Do not approach the glass. You can pass nothing but soft paper - no pencils or pens. No staples or paperclips in his paper. Use the sliding food carrier, no exceptions. If he attempts to pass you anything, do not accept it.

There are reasons for the high-security precautions - nearly a decade earlier, the cannibalistic Lecter proved how dangerous he really was: On the afternoon of July 8, 1981, he complained of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary. His mouthpiece and restraints were removed for an EKG. When the nurse leaned over him, he did this to her? (In the reddish-hued light, Chilton holds up a small photo) The doctors managed to re-set her jaw more or less, and save one of her eyes. His pulse never got above eighty-five, even when he ate her tongue. The film is most memorable for her introduction scene to the notorious, satanic, cannibal-psychiatrist Lecter, as she takes a tense walk along a dank row of medieval, high-security underground prison cells on her left to meet him. Before she proceeds - by herself - past other barred cells toward a chair in the middle of the corridor next to Lecter's cubicle - down a gauntlet in Hell itself - she steels herself for the confrontation.

One of the gibbering crazy inmates, a dark, grotesque occupant in one of the cells named Miggs (Stuart Rudin), mashes his face against the bars and hisses charmingly with some verbal abuse: I c-can sssmell your c--ttt! She finds Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant, but insane criminal monster, imprisoned in a windowless, glassed-in, dungeon-like cell, decorated with his own charcoal or crayon drawings of European cityscapes. [The name is symbolic, recalling the legendary, elephant-leading military leader Hannibal, and Lecter or lecteur, a French word for reader becomes the intellectual, cultured component of his fiercesome character.] Filmed from her point of view, the notorious psychiatrist makes a dramatic film entrance. He first appears standing, ironically still and at attention in his cell, watching her with twinkling, chillingly-dead, blue eyes. His hair is closely-cropped and his head is tilted slightly in her direction. The menacing, fiendish, but polite, suave and gracious Hannibal takes the initiative and urges the clever, intelligent, but inexperienced Clarice to step closer to his cell to show her ID credentials: "Closer, please.

Clo-ser." She complies, trying to hide her fear from the lethal predator. Their dialogue is a masterful parry and thrust confrontation, complemented with long, sustained, extreme close-ups of their faces on opposite sides of the glass wall - the elegantly-evil, brilliant, omniscient Lecter is skillfully observant with extraordinary, diabolically-developed human faculties, perceptively capable of acutely deducing much about her identity, life, and character with just a cursory glance (and smell). Contemptuous of her from the start, Lecter is initially insulted when he learns that Crawford sent a neophyte "trainee" to him. He tries to unnerve her by staring directly into her eyes and testing her with questions. Clarice struggles to maintain her separate identity from him to avoid being overwhelmed - she never flinches away or averts her gaze, and he begins to take an analytical and personal interest in Crawford's protege: Lecter: You're not real FBI are you? Clarice: I'm still in training at the Academy. Lecter: Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me? Clarice: Yes, I'm a student. I'm here to learn from you.

Maybe you can decide for yourself whether or not I'm qualified enough to do that. Lecter: Mmm. That is rather slippery of you, Agent Starling. (In a gentlemanly way, he offers her a seat in the metal chair in the corridor) Sit, please. Now then, tell me, what did Miggs say to you? Multiple Miggs in the next cell. He hissed at you. What did he say? Clarice: (openly with honest candor) He said, 'I can smell your c--t.' Lecter: I see. I myself cannot. (He acutely senses her smells through the air holes above him.) You use Evyan skin cream, and sometimes you wear L'Air du Temps, but not today. Clarice: (She changes the subject after noticing his works of art.) Did you do all these drawings, Doctor? Lecter: Ah! That is the Duomo, seen from the Belvedere. Do you know Florence? Clarice: All that detail just from memory, sir? Lecter: Memory, Agent Starling, is what I have instead of a view.

To get on with her job, Clarice changes the subject (and mood) and takes the questionnaire from her case, readying herself to proceed with the questions. But Lecter chides her, an ever-scolding teacher in her presence: No, no, no, no, no. You were doing fine. You had been courteous and receptive to courtesy. You had established trust with the embarrassing truth about Miggs, and now this ham-handed segue into your questionnaire. (He tuts reproachfully) It won't do. Lecter knows that Crawford has recruited help from "the student body" to "hunt" for "that new one" - the country's latest serial mass murderer: "Buffalo Bill": Lecter: What a naughty boy he is! Do you know why he's called 'Buffalo Bill'? Please tell me - the newspapers won't say. Clarice: Well, it started as a bad joke in Kansas City homicide. They said, 'this one likes to skin his humps.' Lecter: Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? (sarcastically) Thrill me with your acumen. Clarice: It excites him.

Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims. Lecter: I didn't. Clarice: No. No. You ate yours. Smiling to himself for her precise boldness and accuracy, he allows Clarice to send through the profile questionnaire. But he is deeply insulted by the few pages he glances at: Oh, Agent Starling, do you think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool? With a purring, soft voice, he dissects her personality with a witty, but perversely intimate portrait of her soul - it is a chilling speech, imitating her way of speech with mocking criticism. His assumptions about her hillbilly roots, her limitations, and her aspiring ambitions are based solely on her West Virginia accent and the appearance of her "cheap shoes" - the cadences of Lecter's delivery are memorable: You're so-o ambitious, aren't you? You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube, with a little taste.

Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia. What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? You know how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere, getting all the way to the F...B...I. The psychoanalytic words strike deep into Clarice's heart because she knows she hasn't lived up to her own expectations, and his words are right on target - her truest and most pleasurable thoughts were of leaving her home and moving ahead with her career. Her self-confidence is worn thin, and she is visibly shaken and ashamed. Yet she composes herself and manages to swing back with concentrated anger, retorting that he should fill out the questionnaire: You see a lot, Doctor. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? What about it? - why don't you, why don't you look at yourself and write down what you see?

Or maybe you're afraid to... He slams the sliding food tray back through with the questionnaire. Lecter graphically tells her about his ferocious oral impulses and how he eats parts of his victims: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chi-an-ti. (He approaches the glass and lets go with a slurping sound.) You fly back to school now, little Starling. (He turns his back on her and speaks in a whisper.) Fly, fly, fly. Fly, fly, fly. Lecter steps back from the glass window and turns his back on her. Resigned and frustrated by his denial, Clarice leaves the questionnaire in the tray and slowly walks down the corridor. She passes Migg's cell - the demented inmate is naked and masturbating on his bench/bed, moaning: "I bit my wrists so I can diiiiie...," and gleefully yells: "See how it bleeds?" He then flings a handful of fresh semen at her, spattering her hair and face with it. Agitated, stirred, and shaking with rage, Lecter calls out to her and she runs back to him.

Lecter sets up the beginnings of an irresistible, exploitative relationship with Agent Starling, bargaining with her to let him have a "view" in return for her "advancement." She will earn his complicity, and clues-information about Buffalo Bill if she will look "deep within" and share some of her personal self [Clarice has already dismissed Crawford's primary warning to not let Lecter inside her head]: Lecter: I would not have had that happen to you. Discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me. Clarice: Then do this test for me. Lecter: No. But I will make you happy. I'll give you a chance for what you love most. Clarice: And what is that, doc? Lecter: Advancement of course, listen carefully. Look deep within your self, Clarice Starling. Go seek out Miss Mofet, an old patient of mine. M-O-F-E-T. Go now. I don't think Miggs could manage again so soon, even though he is crazy. GO NOW! Outside the hospital after being sent away on a cryptic treasure hunt, she is visibly upset and disturbed by her encounter with Lecter.

When she looks at her old Pinto in the parking lot, she experiences a short flashback which takes her back to when she was ten years old (Masha Skorobogatov), the daughter of a small-town West Virginia policeman/marshal. From the porch of the Starling house, she rushes into her biological father's (Jeffrie Lane) arms and embrace - and he twirls her around. The young agent slumps next to her car in the parking lot, sobbing. The scene cuts to a rapid series of gunshots on the FBI practice firing range - in a determined, combat stance, Clarice pumps and fires rounds into a rotating target, the silhouette of the chest of a man. Other training experiences are quickly presented: (1) with another male trainee, she breaks into a room with guns drawn, but forgets to cover her "danger area" in the corner. Clarice is instructed that, in real-life, she would have been dead. (2) with a female trainee/friend Ardelia Mapp (Kasi Lemmons) while jogging, Clarice mentally rehearses some of her studies.

(3) in the Academy library, Clarice intently looks at microfilm rolls of newspaper stories recounting the 'horrors' that renowned Baltimore psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter committed: NEW HORRORS IN 'CANNIBAL TRIAL' The Doctor of Death Cooked His Victims for Gourmet Meals Then Served Them to His Friends, Michael Ronboz of City Council Among Those at Dinner Table On the phone, "guru" Crawford tell Starling that "Miggs is dead" - he swallowed his own tongue and Lecter is implicated: "Lecter did it to amuse himself." Following up on the "Mofet" lead, Clarice discovers that Lecter altered or destroyed most of his patients' histories prior to capture and there is no record of anyone named Mofet. However, Clarice intelligently figures out that the "Your Self" reference in his words meant a "Your-Self Storage" facility outside downtown Baltimore close to where Lecter had his practice. At the storage area, the attendant Mr.

Lang (Leib Lensky) informs Clarice that Lecter's storage unit was leased for ten years and the contract was pre-paid in full since 1980: "The contract is in the name of 'Miss Hester Mofet.'" Resourcefully, Clarice retrieves the bumper jack from her own car and pumps open the jammed, wedged-tight storage door only about 18 inches. She peers into the storage area with a flashlight, and then non-chalantly, but ominously hands Mr. Lang her business card: If this door should fall down, or ha, ha, anything else, uh, this is the number for our Baltimore field office. Now they know that you're with me. You call them if anything should happen. As she squirms her way in, she snags one thigh on the metal edge of the door and draws blood. In the light of her flashlight, she sees lots of piled up, dusty pieces of furniture, boxes, a wooden statue of an owl in flight, mannequin parts lying on shelves, an old upright piano, and a 1931 Packard beneath a huge American flag.

After opening the door to the back passenger compartment, she finds a beheaded, dressmaker's mannequin seated there, garbed in a fancy satin evening gown and costume pearls, with elbow-length gloves. On the broad back seat next to the mannequin is an open album of lacy, old-fashioned Valentines. Clarice removes a red silky handkerchief, revealing a horrifying find - a grotesquely-bloated man's severed head preserved in a laboratory specimen jar. The face, whose identity is later revealed by Lecter, has been transformed into the face of a woman with the addition of heavy makeup (now smeared). After a penetrating close-up of the deformed, decapitated head, she drives up to the Baltimore hospital and rushes up the steps in the rain. A discussion with Dr. Lecter has already commenced, their second suspenseful confrontation in his darkened cell. Wet-haired Clarice, sitting on the floor, has deciphered his cryptic words: It's an anagram, isn't it, Doctor? Hester Mofet, 'The rest of me. Miss The-Rest-of-Me,' meaning that you rented that garage.

Suddenly, Lecter responds by sliding out his food carrier, making her jump. In the tray is a clean, folded white towel which she uses to dry off her hair [breaking another of the explicit rules of the institution]. From the floor in the shadows of his cell, he speaks intuitively: "Your bleeding has stopped." Behind Clarice is a television set tuned to a preacher on a gospel station. Although Lecter really wants to see the case file on Buffalo Bill, he tells her about "Miss Mofet" with moments of black humor: Lecter: His real name is Benjamin Raspail. A former patient of mine, whose romantic attachments ran to, shall we say, the exotic. I did not kill him, I assure you. Merely tucked him away, very much as I found him. After he'd missed three appointments. Clarice: If you didn't kill him, then who did, sir? Lecter: Who can say? Best thing for him, really. His therapy was going nowhere. Clarice: His dress, uh, makeup, Raspail was a transvestite? Lecter: In life, oh no. Garden variety manic-depressive, tedious, very tedious. No, no.

Just think of him as a kind of experiment. A fledgling killer's first effort at - transformation. And then, the ex-psychiatrist Lecter psychologically penetrates and presses into Clarice with personal questions, exposing more of the mind-messing, exploitative game he has prepared for her. Powerfully desirous of knowing more about her, he circles around her in a dance of questions like a predator or in a courting ritual, asking if Crawford is using her or wants her sexually: Lecter: How did you feel when you saw him, Clarice? Clarice: Scared at first. Then - exhilarated. Lecter: Jack Crawford is helping your career, isn't he? Apparently he likes you and you like him too. Clarice: I never thought about it. Lecter: Do you think Jack Crawford wants you sexually? Truly he is much older, but do you think he visualizes scenarios, exchanges, f--king you? Clarice: That doesn't interest me doctor. Frankly, it's, it's the sort of thing that Miggs would say. Lecter: Not any more.

When the lights come on in his cell, the cell walls have been stripped bare of his paintings: "Punishment, you see, for Miggs. Just like that gospel program. When you leave, they'll turn the volume way up. Dr. Chilton does enjoy his petty torments." Clarice returns to the subject of the killer during their riveting interview. Lecter slowly stands and rises above her, speaking down to her submissive figure, and enticing her with more information about the killer's characteristics: Clarice: What did you mean by transformation, doctor? Lecter: I've been in this room for eight years now, Clarice. I know they will never, ever let me out while I'm alive. What I want is a view. I want a window where I can see a tree, or even water. I want to be in a federal institution, far away from Dr. Chilton. Clarice: What did you mean by fledgling killer? Are you saying that he's killed again? Lecter: I'm offering you a psychological profile of Buffalo Bill based on the case evidence. I'll help you catch him, Clarice.

Clarice: (She rises) You know who he is, don't you? Tell me who decapitated your patient, doctor. Lecter: All good things to those who wait. I've waited, Clarice. But how long can you and old Jackie boy wait? Our little Billy must already be searching for that next special lady. The Silence of the Lambs Movie Review (1991) | Roger Ebert Tweet A fundamental difference between “The Silence of the Lambs” and its sequel, “ Hannibal ,” is that the former is frightening, involving and disturbing, while the latter is merely disturbing. It is easy enough to construct a geek show if you start with a cannibal. The secret of “Silence” is that it doesn't start with the cannibal--it arrives at him, through the eyes and minds of a young woman. “Silence of the Lambs” is the story of Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee played by Jodie Foster , and the story follows her without substantial interruption. Dr. Hannibal Lecter lurks at the heart of the story, a malevolent but somehow likable presence--likable because he likes Clarice, and helps her.

But Lecter, as played by Anthony Hopkins , is the sideshow, and Clarice is in the center ring. Advertisement The popularity of Jonathan Demme's movie is likely to last as long as there is a market for being scared. Like “ Nosferatu ,” “Psycho” and “ Halloween ,” it illustrates that the best thrillers don't age. Fear is a universal emotion and a timeless one. But “Silence of the Lambs” is not merely a thrill show. It is also about two of the most memorable characters in movie history, Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter, and their strange, strained relationship (“people will say we're in love,” Lecter cackles). They share so much. Both are ostracized by the worlds they want to inhabit--Lecter, by the human race because he is a serial killer and a cannibal, and Clarice, by the law enforcement profession because she is a woman. Both feel powerless--Lecter because he is locked in a maximum security prison (and bound and gagged like King Kong when he is moved), and Clarice because she is surrounded by men who tower over her and fondle her with their eyes.

Both use their powers of persuasion to escape from their traps--Lecter is able to rid himself of the pest in the next cell by talking him into choking on his own tongue, and Clarice is able to persuade Lecter to aid her in the search for the serial killer named Buffalo Bill. And both share similar childhood wounds. Lecter is touched when he learns that Clarice lost both her parents at an early age, was shipped off to relatives, was essentially an unloved orphan. And Lecter himself was a victim of child abuse (on the DVD commentary track, Demme says he regrets not underlining this more). These parallel themes are mirrored by patterns in the visual strategy. Note that both Lecter in his prison cell and Buffalo Bill in his basement are arrived at by Starling after descending several flights of stairs and passing through several doors; they live in underworlds. Note the way the movie always seems to be looking at Clarice: The point-of-view camera takes the place of the scrutinizing men in her life, and when she enters dangerous spaces, it is there waiting for her instead of following her in.

Note the consistent use of red, white and blue: not only in the FBI scenes, but also in the flag draped over the car in the storage shed, other flags in Bill's lair and even the graduation cake at the end (where the U.S. eagle in the frosting is a ghastly reminder of the way Lecter pinned a security guard spread-eagled to the walls of his cage). Advertisement The movie's soundtrack also carries themes all the way through. There are exhalations and sighs at many points, as when the cocoon of the gypsy moth is taken from the throat of Bill's first victim. Much heavy breathing. There are subterranean rumblings and faraway cries and laments, almost too low to be heard, at critical points. There is the sound of a heart monitor. Howard Shore's mournful music sets a funereal tone. When the soundtrack wants to create terror, as when Clarice is in Bill's basement, it mixes her frightened panting with the sound of Bill's heavy breathing and the screams of the captive girl--and then adds the dog's frenzied barking, which psychologically works at a deeper level than everything else.

Then it adds those green goggles so he can see her in the dark. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins won Oscars for best actress and actor (the movie also won for best picture, for Demme's direction and Ted Talley's screenplay, and was nominated for editing and sound). It is remarkable that the Academy would remember, let alone single out, a film released 13 months before the Oscarcast; it usually votes for films that are still in theaters, or new on video. But “Silence” was so clearly one of a kind that it could not be ignored. Hopkins' performance has much less screen time than Foster's, but made an indelible impression on audiences. His “entrance” is unforgettable. After Clarice descends those stairs and passes through those doors and gates (which all squeak), the camera shows her POV as she first sees Lecter in his cell. He is so . . . still. Standing erect, at relaxed attention, in his prison jump suit, he looks like a waxwork of himself. On her next visit, he is erect, and then very slightly recoils, and then opens his mouth, and I at least was made to think of a cobra.

His approach to Lecter's personality (Hopkins says on his commentary track) was inspired by HAL 9000 in “2001”: He is a dispassionate, brilliant machine, superb at logic, deficient in emotions. Advertisement Foster's Clarice is not only an orphan but a disadvantaged backwoods girl who has worked hard to get where she is, and has less self-confidence than she pretends. Noticing the nail polish on one of Bills' victims, she guesses that the girl is from “town,” a word used only by someone who is not. Her bravest moment may come when she orders the gawking sheriff's deputies out of the room at the funeral home (“Listen here now!”). One key to the film's appeal is that audiences like Hannibal Lecter. That's partly because he likes Starling, and we sense he would not hurt her. It's also because he is helping her search for Buffalo Bill, and save the imprisoned girl. But it may also be because Hopkins, in a still, sly way, brings such wit and style to the character. He may be a cannibal, but as a dinner party guest he would give value for money (if he didn't eat you).

He does not bore, he likes to amuse, he has his standards, and he is the smartest person in the movie. He bears comparison, indeed, with such other movie monsters as Nosferatu, Frankenstein (especially in “ Bride of Frankenstein ”), King Kong and Norman Bates. They have two things in common: They behave according to their natures, and they are misunderstood. Nothing that these monsters do is “evil” in any conventional moral sense, because they lack any moral sense. They are hard-wired to do what they do. They have no choice. In the areas where they do have choice, they try to do the right thing (Nosferatu is the exception in that he never has a choice). Kong wants to rescue Fay Wray, Norman Bates wants to make pleasant chit-chat and do his mother's bidding, and Dr. Lecter helps Clarice because she does not insult his intelligence, and she arouses his affection. Advertisement All of these qualities might not be enough to assure the longevity of “Silence” if it were not also truly frightening (“Hannibal” is not frightening, and for all of its box-office success it will have a limited shelf life).

“Silence” is frightening first in the buildup and introduction of Hannibal Lecter. Second in the discovery and extraction of the cocoon in the throat. Third in the scene where the cops await the arrival of the elevator from the upper floors. Fourth in the intercutting between the exteriors of the wrong house in Calumet City and the interiors of the right one in Belvedere, Ohio. Fifth in the extended sequence inside Buffalo Bill's house, where Ted Levine creates a genuinely loathsome psychopath (notice the timing as Starling sizes him up and reads the situation before she shouts “Freeze!”). We are frightened both because of the film's clever manipulation of story and image, and for better reasons--we like Clarice, identify with her and fear for her. Just like Lecter. Popular Blog Posts Amazon.com: The Silence of the Lambs: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald: Amazon Digital Services LLC By Kira S. on December 6, 2016 Format: Amazon Video Verified Purchase I *never* give five stars except for classics, but this film has held up over the years and has become a true classic, in my opinion.

Yes, it has some disturbingly violent scenes and it deals with some of the dregs of humanity. And yet, by shining the light in those dark corners where the human cockroaches live, it shows us what it can mean to be human if we are not afforded a decent upbringing or help when mental health issues *begin*, rather than when they get out of hand. It also raises the question of whether some people are just born evil and are beyond redemption. Juxtaposed against the worst of humanity is Jodie Foster as the fresh-faced, hyperintelligent yet somehow innocent FBI agent, who can look at the worst that one human being can do to another and still continue her mission to find and stop the perpetrator. Add Scott Glenn as her world-weary yet still optimistic mentor and you have a team that got their man, even if other forces let another evil slip through their fingers. I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie. Somehow, I never grow tired of it. Whenever I am flipping through channels on TV and I find it, I will start watching it wherever it happens to be at the moment, even if it is in the middle or near the end.

With most movies I *have* to watch them from the beginning but I know this one so well I don't need to fill in the blanks. Sometimes it concerns me that I am so fascinated by such a dark movie about extremely disturbed characters, but I have always been fascinated by the workings of the human mind. This represents, for the most part, one end of the spectrum, with Clarice Starling's character as the opposite end. Good against evil - a tale as old as humanity. It's no wonder so many people find this fascinating. AboutFilm.Com - The Silence of the Lambs (1991) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker. Written by Ted Tally and Jonathan Demme based on the novel Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Analysis by Jeff Vorndam. Note: Contains spoilers. The horror movie genre has historically exalted the objectification of women. In slasher movies, teen exploitation flicks, and even seemingly innocuous thrillers, women are cast for the purposes of screaming and disrobing.

The antithesis within the horror/thriller genre is the 1991 Academy Award winning film The Silence of the Lambs. Although not thought of as a "women's movie," a feminist undercurrent is present in the film through its protagonist, a strong female character who contradicts previous genre stereotypes. Her scenes impart an objection to the objectification of women and depict the difficulty of working in a male-domintated institution. Furthermore, her character's success in the movie is her own doing; there are no male rescuers or helpers. Jodie Foster plays Special Agent Clarice Starling, the protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs. Starling is an autonomous woman; her mother died at childbirth, and her father was killed in the line of duty when he was ten. She is intelligent (graduated magna cum laude), skilled at her work, and intrepid. Significantly, the film opens with a shot of Starling running alone in the woods, completing an obstacle course in the type of dark sodden forest where one might expect to find a naked dead body. The viewer's attention is immediately drawn to Starling, and we already sense that she will be in danger.

It is the movie's triumph that it sets our expectation to see her as a doomed victim, and then subverts it by establishing her as a multi-dimensional person in the following scenes. Roger Ebert wrote about The Silence of the Lambs, "Never before in a movie have I been made more aware of the subtle sexual pressures placed upon women by men." Ebert refers to the numerous scenes which, taken collectively, give viewers the uncomfortable knowledge that Starling is constantly subjected to stares, condescension, and harassment. By depicting Starling as an object rather than a person in certain scenes, the audience is transposed with her, and feels her apprehension. The first such scene occurs after she is pulled off the obstacle course to meet her superior. There is no dialogue, just a simple shot of Starling, standing 5 feet 2 inches tall in a blue jogging suit, dwarfed and surrounded in an elevator full of burly men over a foot taller than her. Starling stands out even further as an object because her blue sweat suit contrasts with the loud red outfits that each of the men are wearing. It is a situation that any of us would be nervous in, but Starling shows little trepidation.

She copes well with the uneasy feeling of the men looming over her. The movie's self-conscious attempt to display Starling as an object works, though. As an audience, we do feel trepidation. The same concept applies to a scene in which Starling is holding a punching bag and must withstand the blows of her larger co-workers. The camera's vantage point is that of the large man delivering the blows. The angle is shot downward so that Starling appears smaller and more vulnerable. Quickly, the viewer sees her as an object--as her male co-workers do as well. It is uncomfortable to watch Starling get hit, and we realize she is objectified this way all the time. Starling must unfortunately endure many such difficulties because she works in the male-dominated institution of the FBI. As an attractive woman, Starling receives lascivious looks from nearly every male in the movie. When she and her roommate go jogging in one scene, a group of men jogging the other way turn around to ogle the women's behinds. Earlier, when Starling is looking for Agent Crawford's (her boss) office, the men gaze at her as if she were an exotic delicacy. Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist Dr.

Chilton tries to pick her up initially, "Are you familiar with the Baltimore area? I could show you around." When she explains she has a job to do, Chilton becomes angry, "Crawford sent you here for your looks--as bait." Lecter surmises that Crawford fantasizes about Starling and that is why she was selected for the assignment. Even the bespectacled etymologist asks her out. In fact, it is only Lecter who is more interested in getting in her head than her pants. Starling does not simply accept the oppression of her job. Upon arriving at a small town where one of the murder victims has washed up, Starling and Crawford are waiting in a room full of local deputies to see the dead body. The deputies are all staring at Starling, wondering why a woman is with the FBI. Crawford announces it's time to inspect the body, but adds that Starling may want to stay outside because it's something that a lady shouldn't see. Afterwards, in the car on the ride home, Crawford says he didn't want to offend to local authorities. Starling excoriates him for not setting a better example.

By reprimanding her superior officer (while still only a trainee), Starling exhibits her strong personality and stands up for herself. Not only does she rebuff her sexist colleagues though, she is victorious over them. In most thriller or horror movies (Terminator 2, for example), even if the hero of the story is a female, she frequently still requires assistance from males to succeed. In The Silence of the Lambs, Starling succeeds on her own, despite various male interlopers. She cracks the vital points of the case, locates and defeats the killer--with no help save from Lecter. It is arguable what type of "help" Lecter gives her. In exchange for clues to the murderer's identity, Starling provides Lecter with personal information. Lecter only cooperates with Starling because she is the only person who has treated him with any respect. In fact, as Lecter learns more about Starling's tragic personal history, he becomes even more impressed with her. In their first meeting he calls her a "rube--one generation up from white trash." Starling admits that he is perceptive and responds, "...but can you turn that high-powered perception of yours inward on yourself, Dr.

Lecter?" At this point, Lecter realizes that he is not dealing with just another suit who's out to use him--Starling is trying to communicate with him on a personal level. Lecter now sees Starling as a person, and is ironically the only male who does. This is emphasized overtly when Starling finishes talking to Lecter. As she exits the prison, an inmate named Miggs two cells down from Lecter throws his semen at her. Earlier, as Starling makes her way to Lecter's cell, Miggs screams, "I can smell your cunt!" By framing Starling's first visit to Lecter with two grotesque symbols of male objectification of women, Lecter stands out further as an asexual mentor. Critics still point out, however, that without Lecter's cryptic clues Starling could not have solved the case. Moreover, Lecter uses Starling's investigation to get himself out of jail. Most damning to the notion that Starling is wholly responsible for her success is the charge that Lecter was sexually attracted to her, and aided her out of lust. These claims are spurious. Recall that Lecter appears to be asexual, especially in comparison with Miggs and Dr.

Chilton. Symbolically, Lecter is neither male nor female. He is death incarnate. Director Jonathan Demme always photographs Lecter with a harsh white light on his forehead, the rest of his body ensconsed in shadows. The effect is to give Lecter the appearance of a ghoul. In the only camera shot in which Starling and Lecter are shown together, Lecter's wraithlike apparition grins like a skeleton next to Starling's determined composure. When their fingers touch seductively at their last meeting, it is not a sexual advance on Lecter's part, but the film's chilling reminder that death's icy grip is stalking Starling. The movie would not be as frightening without Lector's embodiement of death. The victim is the daughter of a female Senator, and, because she fights back against the killer, she is portrayed as strong and independent. In an earlier scene, the victim's mother makes an announcement on television in which she keeps repeating her daughter's name--Catherine.

After watching the plea, Starling comments that it is good that the Senator kept repeating her daughter's name, "If he sees her as a person and not an object, it will be harder to tear her up." Unfortunately, as we see in the next scene, Buffalo Bill refers to Catherine as "it" at all times, even when talking to her: "It places the lotion on its skin." His goal is to make a woman-suit out of women--the ultimate in objectification. In the end, Starling purges herself of her inner demons and is victorious. The story vindicates Starling and punishes those who have wronged her. Shortly after Starling's first visit with Lecter, Miggs chokes on his own tongue and dies. Starling shoots and kills Buffalo Bill. At the end of the film, after Lecter has escaped, he calls Starling to congratulate her. He implies that he is going to eat the sexist Dr. Chilton, "I'm having an old friend for dinner." Because the "bad sexist" people meet grisly deaths, and Starling is rewarded, The Silence of the Lambs takes a clear stand on the evils of sexism in its denouement.

Analysis © May 1999 by AboutFilm.Com and the author. Images © 1990 Orion Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved. Send us a comment on this analysis. We'll post a link to the best comments! The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The Silence of the Lambs ( 1991 ) R | WATCH NOW ON DISC A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Director: a list of 46 titles created 02 Dec 2011 a list of 46 titles created 07 Jun 2012 a list of 41 titles created 22 Aug 2012 a list of 38 titles created 09 Sep 2013 a list of 31 titles created 26 Apr 2015 Title: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 8.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 5 Oscars. Another 48 wins & 36 nominations. See more awards » Videos Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. Director: David Fincher Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him.

Director: Robert Zemeckis The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. Director: Quentin Tarantino The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift. Director: Frank Darabont An insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker, forming an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more. Director: David Fincher A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. Director: Ridley Scott A thief, who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.

Director: Christopher Nolan Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. Director: Steven Spielberg In German-occupied Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazi Germans. Director: Steven Spielberg Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. Director: Frank Darabont When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, the caped crusader must come to terms with one of the greatest psychological tests of his ability to fight injustice. Director: Christopher Nolan Edit Storyline FBI trainee Clarice Starling works hard to advance her career, including trying to hide or put behind her West Virginia roots, of which if some knew would automatically classify her as being backward or white trash. After graduation, she aspires to work in the agency's Behavioral Science Unit under the leadership of Jack Crawford. While she is still a trainee, Crawford does ask her to question Dr.

Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist imprisoned thus far for eight years in maximum security isolation for being a serial killer, he who cannibalized his victims. Clarice is able to figure out the assignment is to pick Lecter's brains to help them solve another serial murder case, that of someone coined by the media as Buffalo Bill who has so far killed five victims, all located in the eastern US, all young women who are slightly overweight especially around the hips, all who were drowned in natural bodies of water, and all who were stripped of large swaths of skin. She also figures that Crawford... Written by Huggo Did You Know? Trivia As of 2015, The Godfather: Part II (1974) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) were the only sequels to win Best Picture. One could argue that this film qualifies as well, since it is arguably a sequel to Manhunter (1986). Even if one does not accept this argument, there are some parallels between this series and the two others.

Like The Return of the King, it is scored by Howard Shore , and won three of the same Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Both feature a former child star ( Jodie Foster , Elijah Wood and Sean Astin ), and both have a climax in which that character confronts a villain (Buffalo Bill, Gollum) who is threatened by the loss of his "Precious" (in this film, a dog; in the other, a ring). Sean Astin 's father is John Astin , who played Foster's father in Freaky Friday (1976) and The Addams Family. He also appeared in the parody film, The Silence of the Hams (1994). Both films were followed by prequels ( Red Dragon (2002); The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), both of which feature a dragon as the villain. Richard Armitage , who appeared in The Hobbit films, also played Francis Dolarhyde (the Red Dragon himself) on 'Hannibal (2013)(TV)'.

Roger Corman appears in both this film and The Godfather: Part II (1974), while Gianni Russo , who played Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), appears briefly in Red Dragon. See more » Goofs The military aircraft heading toward Calument City has California Air Guard on the side, which is not likely for planes coming from Virginia. See more » Quotes The Silence of the Lambs by Jonathan Demme |Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn | 27616065841 | DVD | Barnes & Noble® Videos Overview In this multiple Oscar-winning thriller, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy whose shrewd analyses of serial killers lands her a special assignment: the FBI is investigating a vicious murderer nicknamed Buffalo Bill, who kills young women and then removes the skin from their bodies. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism.

Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into this case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out. Lecter does indeed know something of Buffalo Bill, but his information comes with a price: in exchange for telling what he knows, he wants to be housed in a more comfortable facility. More important, he wants to speak with Clarice about her past. He skillfully digs into her psyche, forcing her to reveal her innermost traumas and putting her in a position of vulnerability when she can least afford to be weak. The film mingles the horrors of criminal acts with the psychological horrors of Lecter's slow-motion interrogation of Clarice and of her memories that emerge from it. Advertising Editorial Reviews Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse One of the most gripping and horrifying thrillers ever, The Silence of the Lambs introduced moviegoers to the screen's most blood-curdling antihero: brilliant, urbane, softspoken Hannibal Lecter -- a psychotic killer and confirmed cannibal. As depicted with three-dimensional fidelity by Anthony Hopkins , Lecter's a shrewdly manipulative but devilishly charming fiend to whom maximum-security incarceration is merely a temporary setback.

Jonathan Demme 's bone-chilling adaptation of the bestselling novel by Thomas Harris initially focuses on FBI agent Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster ), following her exhaustive but ineffectual search for a serial killer. She approaches Lecter for help, persuading him to give her valuable insights into the workings of a similarly affected criminal mind. But the importance of Starling's quest recedes dramatically when the evil genius escapes, and Demme tantalizes viewers with her dilemma: Can she find the killer before Lecter finds her? An intense, unforgettable thriller that confounds genre expectations, Silence draws its effectiveness from a beautifully crafted screenplay rich in characterization, Oscar-winning performances by Hopkins and Foster; and the sure-handed direction of Demme. All Movie Guide - Mark Deming With Silence of the Lambs, director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally, working from the Thomas Harris novel, peel back the layers on the horrors of everyday life and childhood, which begin to loom as large as their villain Hannibal Lecter's more outlandish crimes. Justice is served, but we feel no safer as a result.

The Silence of the Lambs won all five major Academy awards, one of only three films in history to do so (the others were It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)). Jodie Foster's tightly wound Clarice and Anthony Hopkins' Chianti-and-fava-bean-loving Lecter have become classic movie performances, and the film has taken its place as one of the most complicated and unnerving psychological horror movies. Horror films fans will also want to keep an eye peeled for cameos by directors George A. Romero and Roger Corman. Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert It has been a good long while since I have felt the presence of Evil so manifestly demonstrated as in the first appearance of Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs.

Question: What was the name of the character played by Jodie Foster in the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs”?
Answer: CLARICE STARLING