The Hannibal Lecter Collection

Crime

Thriller

Drama

The Silence of the Lambs

Orion Pictures

Strong Heart

A Luta Continua

United States of America

English

Jodie Foster

Anthony Hopkins

Scott Glenn

Ted Levine

Anthony Heald

Brooke Smith

Diane Baker

Kasi Lemmons

Frankie Faison

Tracey Walter

Charles Napier

Danny Darst

Alex Coleman

Dan Butler

Paul Lazar

Ron Vawter

Roger Corman

Lawrence A. Bonney

Lawrence T. Wrentz

Don Brockett

Frank Seals Jr.

Stuart Rudin

Maria Skorobogatov

Jeffrie Lane

Leib Lensky

George 'Red' Schwartz

Jim Roche

James B. Howard

Bill Miller

Chuck Aber

Gene Borkan

Pat McNamara

Kenneth Utt

Adelle Lutz

Obba Babatundé

George Michael

Jim Dratfield

D. Stanton Miranda

Rebecca Saxon

Cynthia Ettinger

Brent Hinkley

Steve Wyatt

David Early

Andre B. Blake

Bill Dalzell

Chris Isaak

Daniel von Bargen

Tommy Lafitte

Josh Broder

Buzz Kilman

Harry Northup

Lauren Roselli

Lamont Arnold

John Hall

Ted Monte

George A. Romero

John W. Iwanonkiw

Robert W. Castle

Chris McGinn

Gary Goetzman

Lynette Jenkins

Jason Menz

Edward Saxon

Mike Schaeffer

Ted Tally

Lewis 'Jiggs' Walker

Lucas Wegnez

Jonathan Demme

Tak Fujimoto

Craig McKay

Kristi Zea

Tim Galvin

Karen O'Hara

Colleen Atwood

Ron Bozman

Thomas Harris

Grace Blake

Howard Shore

Howard Feuer

Russell Engels

John Robotham

Sharon Boyle

Suzana Perić

Ken Regan

Tom Fleischman

Chris Newman

Kathleen Gerlach

James Deeth

Alan D'Angerio

Allen Weisinger

Todd Kleitsch

Marshall Persinger

Dwight Benjamin-Creel

Michael Cassidy

Walter Robles

George P. Wilbur

John Leonidas

Denny Caira

Michael F. Burke

Ken Connors

Francine Byrne

Gary Kosko

S. Bruce Wineinger

Brian Hartman

Chris Call

C.A. Kelly

Anthony Jannelli

Bruce MacCallum

Richard Aversa

Mark Streapy

Larry McConkey

Richard Fishwick

Trish Breganti

Matthew Myers

Ann Miller

Eileen Garrigan

Catherine Marie McDonald

John Fundus

Dennis Radesky

Judy Arthur

Colleen Sharp

Larry Jackson

Neri Kyle Tannenbaum

Dennis Maitland II

Brian Johnson

Homer Denison

Skip Lievsay

Robert F. Warren

David Orr

Billy Miller

Marissa Littlefield

Deborah Wallach

Fred Rosenberg

Philip Stockton

Jeffrey Stern

Gail Showalter

Kenneth Turek

Carl Fullerton

Neal Martz

Ray Mendez

Mary A. Kelly

Kyle McCarthy

Gina Maria Leonetti

Kalina Ivanov

Missy Cohen

Marko Costanzo

Natasha Kinne

Brian S. Osmond

John Donohue

Tom O'Halloran

Donna M. Belajac

Benjamin Wilson

Mark Burchard

Lisa Bromwell

John Crowder

Dana Sano

Lisa Bradley

Jonathan Sheinberg

Frederika Gray

Walt Oggier

Jeffrey T. Barabe

David Boulton

Ted Fraraccio

Unlike a lot of viewers, I first saw _The Silence of the Lambs_ at five years old. So, for me, _The Silence of the Lambs_ is a childhood favorite. Some would say I had an unusual childhood, in this age where some people actually **avoid** R-rated movies like the plague. The fact that I saw _Something Wild_, which Jonathan Demme directed five years before _The Silence of the Lambs_, as well as the original _Alien_ (alone at that), at the same age probably indicates that they were okay with me watching pretty much anything that wasn't rated X, though, honestly, I've **never** had any interest in that stuff. It was probably due to the fact that, like the movie's protagonist, I don't "spook easily," and many so-called "scary" movies, including this one, never scared me, but (many of them) definitely thrilled me. Granted, I'd seen _Saving Private Ryan_ a few months before, which probably gave me a strong stomach. Well, enough about my wild, albeit fun, childhood. How does _The Silence of the Lambs_ hold up all these years later? For me personally, _The Silence of the Lambs_ is every bit as good as it was the first time I saw it at five years old.

On the off chance you don't already know the plot by now, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a rookie FBI agent with a degree in psychology who is called from training by her boss Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) in the middle of a string of murders by a man nicknamed "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine) who skins his victims, all of whom happen to be women. Crawford tells her to interview the psychotic Dr. Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in prison, hoping he might have an answer of some kind. Lecter brushes her off. After Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith), the daughter of a senator is kidnapped, Lecter agrees to give Starling information about Buffalo Bill on the condition that she tell him personal information about herself.

If I had to pick the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner ever, it would most likely be _The Silence of the Lambs_. Well-acted, well-written, and well-directed, it's definitely my favorite.

Let's look at the acting to start. Jodie Foster, unsurprisingly, won a well-deserved Oscar for her performance as Starling. Foster plays Starling as a little scared yet strong at the same time, definitely not a coward as Julianne Moore later played the character in the movie _Hannibal_, and definitely not someone who would turn cannibal as Thomas Harris wrote the character as doing in the novel Hannibal. Movie or novel, in my honest opinion, the Clarice Starling depicted in _Hannibal_ is an insult to what this Clarice Starling stands for. As we find out about what's been nagging Starling since childhood, Foster plays it especially well where another actress may have overdone it.
Anthony Hopkins, like Foster, won an Oscar for his performance as Lecter, and I speak for a lot of people, if not everybody, when I say it was also well-deserved. Hopkins plays Lecter as brilliant yet insane, making him one of the more interesting villains in movie history.
Scott Glenn plays Crawford very well for the time he's onscreen.
Ted Levine plays "Buffalo Bill" as straight up crazy, and does a very good job of making us hate him.
Brooke Smith is only supposed to play Catherine Martin as scared and she does - with dead-on accuracy.

Ted Tally won a well-deserved Oscar for his screenplay, adapted from Thomas Harris' novel of the same name. Tally doesn't feel the need to focus on violence and gore, which is one of the movie's strengths. Instead he focuses on the characters, and I'd be lying if I said he didn't flesh them out very, very, very, well.

Jonathan Demme also won an Oscar for his directing and he does a very good job of it.

_The Silence of the Lambs_ is relentlessly thrilling and it holds me to my seat until the last frame every time I see it, all without relying on excessive gore.
I've already mentioned that _The Silence of the Lambs_ doesn't scare me, so it may - or may not - scare you, depending on what you're afraid of. Admittedly, there are a few creepy things displayed onscreen so I can see why it would scare some viewers.
Either way, I can't recommend _The Silence of the Lambs_ enough, and everybody should see it at least once.

_The Silence of the Lambs_ is a childhood favorite of mine, and it holds up very, very well almost 25 years after its release. It's relentlessly thrilling, flawlessly acted, flawlessly written, flawlessly directed, and one of the few movies that actually deserved all the Oscars it won.

Gimly

This is one of a few movies I put off reviewing for years, because I honestly don't know what to say about a film this classic. So I'll be brief in my actual review, knowing that it comes from a place where I honestly believe that this is a movie that deserves its praise:

Even if the A-plot of the story wasn't one of the best crime thrillers put to screen, the Hannibal Lector moments alone would be enough to make _Silence of the Lambs_ a great movie, most especially his run in Memphis.

_Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite._

Melissa Goldfine

It kind of reminds me of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, because Frank and Jame are drag queens who kill.

Repo Jack

As a genre fan, there's a certain amount of satisfaction when a film is recognized by mainstream audiences. That's what it was like for me in 1992 when <i>Silence of the Lambs</i> swept the Oscar's (Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress). 

And boy did the movie deserve it. Jonathan Demme's fantastic retelling of the classic book by Thomas Harris. Anthony Hopkins' scene-chewing Hannibal Lecter turned him into a pop culture icon (and unfortunately a slew of middling sequels). And Jodie Foster's grim and naive portrayal of Clarice. 

The final touch is that haunting score. Some of the best movies out there are elevated by a musical score that puts it another league. 

A phenomenal classic.

Joseph Strickland

**Absolute Classic Film!
 I read the book before watching this thriller/horror classic film by Jonathan Demme. The film works on so many levels and at times feels very realistic in how it portraits law enforcers and the perverse criminals they pursue. Outstanding performances by Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glen, Ted Levine, etc.. I feel the director was influenced by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho classic horror film by way of how grounded this film shows the deadly cat and mouse game and the overall arch of themes throughout.
 Fear and desire for sex, loathing of the human body, suppression of emotions, hatred for banality and towards women, etc. In this day of cartoon Marvel movies which have little or no connections to human experiences or reality, this classic film will stand the test of time because of how all of the creative artists involve respected the work. This one's on my all time top favorite list of must see films.

CinemaSerf

This is a brilliant screen adaptation of the Thomas Harris book with a cast impossible to improve upon. Anthony Hopkins plays "Hannibal Lecter", a murderous sophisticate with a penchant for eating the evidence and Jodie Foster as the novice FBI agent sent to try and elicit his help in tracking down a killer with a similar modus operandi to our now incarcerated "Lecter". The menace with which Hopkins portrays the role is spine-chilling. Foster conveys the transformation from scared young agent to hard-nosed detective with convincing aplomb and this really does make for a belter of a thriller. A clean sweep of 5 Oscars and the top 2 acting BAFTA awards can't be wrong!

The Silence of the Lambs is one of those movies that isn’t just great—it’s iconic. From the moment it starts, there’s an unsettling tension that never lets up. The plot is masterfully structured, pulling you into a psychological game of cat and mouse that keeps you engaged the entire time. It’s dark, intense, and layered with meaning, making it the kind of film that sticks with you long after the credits roll. This isn’t a casual weekend watch but rather a cinematic experience that deserves full attention.

Jonathan Demme’s directing is sharp and precise, keeping the story tight without any wasted moments. Every scene feels deliberate, building suspense in a way that’s subtle yet incredibly effective. The cinematography plays a huge role in this, with its use of close-ups making the film feel personal and claustrophobic. There’s an intimacy to the way characters are shot, pulling you into their headspace and making the psychological tension hit even harder.

The acting is what really elevates the movie to legendary status. Jodie Foster delivers an incredible performance, bringing both vulnerability and determination to her role. But it’s Anthony Hopkins who steals the show, creating one of the most chilling yet mesmerizing characters in film history. His screen presence is magnetic, proving that sometimes, the scariest thing isn’t loud or violent but calm, calculated, and intelligent. The script is airtight, filled with sharp dialogue that never feels forced. Every exchange has weight, and the conversations alone are enough to keep you on edge.

The score and sound design play a crucial role in building atmosphere. The music is haunting yet subtle, never overdoing it but always enhancing the unease. Silence is used just as effectively as sound, making certain moments feel even more intense. It’s one of those films where everything, from the writing to the visuals to the performances comes together flawlessly. The Silence of the Lambs isn’t just a must-watch. It’s a masterpiece.

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The Silence of the Lambs

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Cast

Jodie Foster

Anthony Hopkins

Scott Glenn

Ted Levine

Anthony Heald

Brooke Smith

Diane Baker

Kasi Lemmons

Frankie Faison

Tracey Walter

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