The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Lawrence A. Bonney, Kasi Lemmons

Top 250 #23 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 43 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Clarice Starling
Lawrence A. Bonney	...	FBI Instructor
Kasi Lemmons	...	Ardelia Mapp
Lawrence T. Wrentz	...	Agent Burroughs
Scott Glenn	...	Jack Crawford
Anthony Heald	...	Dr. Frederick Chilton
Frankie Faison	...	Barney
Don Brockett	...	Friendly Psychopath
Frank Seals Jr.	...	Brooding Psychopath
Stuart Rudin	...	Miggs
Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Maria Skorobogatov	...	Young Clarice (as Masha Skorobogatov)
Jeffrie Lane	...	Clarice's Father
Leib Lensky	...	Mr. Lang
George 'Red' Schwartz	...	Mr. Lang's Driver (as Red Schwartz)

Storyline

Young FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned to help find a missing woman to save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Clarice attempts to gain a better insight into the twisted mind of the killer by talking to another psychopath Hannibal Lecter, who used to be a respected psychiatrist. FBI agent Jack Crawford believes that Lecter, who is also a very powerful and clever mind manipulator, has the answers to their questions and can help locate the killer. However, Clarice must first gain Lecter's confidence before the inmate will give away any information.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi | serial killer | psychiatrist | agent | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

To enter the mind of a killer she must challenge the mind of a madman.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

El silencio de los inocentes

Filming Locations:

Clay County, West Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SGD 513,930 (Singapore)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strong Heart/Demme Production, Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dino De Laurentiis, who had produced Manhunter, passed on Silence of the Lambs because Manhunter had flopped. He gave the rights away free to Orion Pictures.

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Goofs

When Hannibal is imprisoned in Memphis, the sign outside of the Shelby county courthouse is shown in dim light to be a museum.

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Quotes

[first lines]
FBI instructor: Starling! Starling! Crawford wants to see you in his office.
Clarice Starling: Thank you, sir.

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Crazy Credits

After the Copyright notice and MPAA logo, a logo appears with the text "A Luta Continua". This is not a production company credit; instead, it's Portuguese for "The Struggle Continues" ("To be continued").

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Connections

Spoofed in South Park: Toilet Paper (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Goldberg Variations"
(1741)
Performed by Jerry Zimmerman
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach (as J.S. Bach)

User Reviews

"The Godfather" of all thrillers

I've seen way too many thrillers. You name it: "Identity", "Seven", "The Usual Suspects", etc., etc., etc. I remember my friend being so obsessed with "Silence of the Lambs", that it drove me crazy. And I hated the movie naturally and refused to see it. But everyone told me that I have to see this, so I let my guard down. And had an open mind, and I'm glad I did. My friend was right, this is a great movie. It is so well acted, I couldn't even describe. I loved "Silence of the Lambs" and would recommend it to anyone. It's creepy and exciting. Trust me, you'll love it.

10/10