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 | psycho thriller | cult film | bad guy wins | stuck in a well | 

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Taglines:

Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Brilliant. Cunning. Psychotic. In his mind lies the clue to a ruthless killer. - Clarice Starling, FBI. Brilliant. Vulnerable. Alone. She must trust him to stop the killer.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

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, 18 February 1991

Gross USA:

$130,742,922

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$272,753,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strong Heart/Demme Production, Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 138 min (original cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this movie, the audience is led to believe that the storage unit Clarice Starling investigates, belonging to a "Hester Mofet", actually belongs to Dr. Hannibal Lecter. However, in the book, the unit actually belongs to flutist Benjamin Raspail, one of Dr. Hannibal Lecter's victims.

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Goofs

In their first encounter at the Asylum, Lecter makes his "fava beans--Chianti" crack, then slides the connecting tray back to Clarice with Crawford's questionnaire in it, rejected. But Clarice rises from her chair with her bag and starts to exit--without retrieving the questionnaire first.

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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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Alternate Versions

Criterion's Special Edition on DVD features outtake footage not included in the theatrical version, including:

• a longer version of the scene where Clarice discovers Raspail's head inside Your-Self Storage;
• a longer version of the scene where Lector explains to Clarice how to identify Buffalo Bill from his rejected applications for sex change surgery. The dialogue is longer and is taken almost verbatim from Thomas Harris' novel, and plays over a scene where the camera moves inside Buffalo Bill's cellar, stopping at the edge of the pit where Senator Martin's daughter is held. This is the same scene that appears in the theatrical version, right after Starling's visit to the enthomologists Roden and Pilcher, with no voiceover but with music and sound effects and Katherine Martin's screams coming from the pit;
• a brief new scene where Starling is given a gun from instructor Brigham right before her departure for West Virginia;
• an alternate version of the car scene where Starling and Crawford are talking after the Elk River victim's autopsy. In the theatrical version, Crawford apologizes to Starling for humiliating her in front of the state troopers; the alternate take has Starling revealing that a bug cocoon was found in Benjamin Raspail's throat. In the theatrical version this information is not revealed until later, when Starling mentions it during one of her encounters with Lector;
• a longer version of the telephone conversation between FBI Director Burke, Paul Krendler and Crawford after the phony offer to Lekter has been discovered; Crawford tries to convince Krendler not to accept Lector's help;
• a new scene showing a meeting with Starling, Crawford, Paul Krendler and and FBI Director Burke; Krendler blames Starling and Crawford for Lector's escape and Burke suspends them both from the case;
• the DVD also features the complete video monologue from performance artist Jim Roche as the TV Evangelist; in the theatrical version Roche appears on a TV put in front of Lector's cell, as punishment for Miggs' death.

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Connections

Referenced in Archer: Deadly Prep (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Magic Flute
(uncredited)
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

Perfectly executed dramatic thriller

The Silence of the Lambs, having accomplished the rare feat of winning all five of the major Academy Award categories, is a remarkable achievement in filmmaking. Gruesome, pulpish material was transformed by dedicated participants on all levels of production, and a film that would have failed in the hands of many others wound up becoming a modern masterpiece. Taut direction and a superb screenplay might be the best arguments for the film's power, but the flashiest are certainly delivered in the bravura performances of Hopkins and Foster. Their interplay -- and remember, they only share a handful of scenes together -- is nothing short of riveting.