The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney

Top Rated Movies #24 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 63 wins & 50 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

F.B.I. trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) works hard to advance her career, while 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 (Scott Glenn). While she is still a trainee, Crawford asks her to question Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist imprisoned, thus far, for eight years in maximum security isolation for being a serial killer 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" (Ted Levine), who has so far killed five victims, all located in the eastern U.S., all young women, who are slightly overweight (especially around the hips), all who were drowned in natural bodies of water, and all who ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | bad guy wins | stuck in a well | psycho thriller | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

From the terrifying best seller

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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:

Silence of the Lambs

Filming Locations:

Clay County, West Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,766,814, 15 February 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$130,742,922

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$272,742,922

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strong Heart/Demme Production, Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 138 min (original cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony Heald has since gone on to play Dr. Frederick Treves in a successful stage production of The Elephant Man, a role which Sir Anthony Hopkins played in The Elephant Man (1980).

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Goofs

When Clarice is interviewing Lecter, a padlock on his cell door goes from locked to unlocked between scenes.

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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

The producers wish to thank Adele, Bobby and the rest of the gang at Bufa's.

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Alternate Versions

The Finnish VHS version removes Hannibal Lecter beating Pembry against the cell's bars, and spraying liquid to his eyes (along with the shots of the cuffed guard screaming Jesus Christ!, and a shot of him trying to break loose). 2. Lecter beating a guard with a nightstick several times (reduced from six hits to one!). 3. A outdrawn sequence that comes right after Lecter has whacked the guards (where he plays music and walks across the dead guard's body) is completely removed (along with Lecter's dialogue Ready when you are, sergeant Pembry). 4. Right after Buffalo Bill is shot by Clarice Starling there is a long-lasting (about fifteen secs) shot of his bloody dead body, that in the cut version is not that long anymore.

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Connections

Referenced in Faces of Schlock Vol. 2 (2005)

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Soundtracks

Rock of Ages
(uncredited)
Written by Augustus Montague Toplady

User Reviews

A Grand Thriller

This is definitely a film that proves you don't need tons of blood and gore to have a good suspense film. Anthony Hopkins performance as the deranged genius Lecter earned him a well deserved Academy Award and the same was true of Jodie Foster's performance as Clarice Starling. This film should go down in history as one of the greatest suspense films in the history of cinema.