The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Average Rating: 8.5/10
Reviews Counted: 61
Fresh: 58 | Rotten: 3
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.
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 2
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.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 745,150
Movie Info
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
Feb 13, 1991 Wide
Jul 1, 1998
Orion Pictures Corporation
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Cast
-
Jodie Foster
Clarice Starling -
Anthony Hopkins
Dr. Hannibal Lecter -
Scott Glenn
Jack Crawford -
Anthony Heald
Dr. Frederick Chilton -
Brooke Smith
Catherine Martin -
Ted Levine
Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gum... -
Diane Baker
Senator Ruth Martin -
Kasi Lemmons
Ardelia Mapp -
Charles Napier
Lt. Boyle -
George A. Romero
FBI Agent -
Chuck Aber
Agent Terry -
Lamont Arnold
Flower Delivery Man -
Obba Babatundé
TV Anchor Man -
Andre B. Blake
Tall Memphis Cop -
Lawrence A. Bonney
FBI Instructor -
Gene Borkan
Oscar -
Don Brockett
Friendly Psychopath -
Josh Broder
EMS Attendant -
Dan Butler
Roden -
Alex Coleman
Sgt. Pembry -
Bill Dalzell III
Distraught Memphis Cop -
Jim Dratfield
Senator Martin's Aide -
David Earle
Spooked Memphis Cop -
Cynthia Ettinger
Officer Jacobs -
Frankie Faison
Barney -
Brent Hinkley
Officer Murray -
James B. Howard
Boxing Instructor -
Buzz Kilman
EMS Driver -
Tommy Lafitte
SWAT Shooter -
Jeffrie Lane
Clarice's Father -
Paul Lazar
Pilcher -
Leib Lensky
Mr. Lang -
Harry Northrup
Mr. Bimmel -
Jim Roche
TV Evangelist -
Lauren Roselli
Stacy Hubka -
Stuart Rudin
Miggs -
Rebecca Saxon
2nd Reporter -
George "Red" Schwartz
Mr. Lang's Driver -
Frank Seals Jr.
Brooding Psychopath -
Masha Skorobogatov
Young Clarice -
Ron Vawter
Paul Krendler -
Daniel von Bargen
SWAT Communicator -
Tracey Walter
Lamar -
Lawrence T. Wrentz
Agent Burroughs -
Steve Wyatt
Airport Flirt -
Danny Darst
Sgt. Tate -
Chris Isaak
SWAT Commander -
Adelle Lutz
TV Anchor Woman -
Stanton-Miranda
1st Reporter -
Kenneth Utt
Dr. Akin -
Pat McNamara
Sheriff Perkins -
-
Chad Dowdell
Scared Man (uncredited) -
George Michael (II)
TV Sportscaster -
John Hall
State Trooper -
Bill Miller
Mr. Brigham -
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All Critics (61) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (3) | DVD (45)
Hopkins' performance may be the film's bravura showpiece, but Foster's goes the whole distance, steadfast, controlled, heartbreakingly insightful, a fine addition to her gallery of characterizations.
Foster's character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after. I'd rather see her work on another case.
This is the grandest guignol Hollywood has produced in years.
A pretty sharp new thriller.
The juiciest part is Hopkins,' and he makes the most of it. Helped by some highly dramatic lighting, actor makes the role the personification of brilliant, hypnotic evil, and the screen jolts with electricity whenever he is on.
An accomplished, effective, grisly, and exceptionally sick slasher film that I can't with any conscience recommend, because the purposes to which it places its considerable ingenuity are ultimately rather foul.
This multi-Oscar-winning classic, adapted from Thomas Harris's bestseller, was responsible for giving cinematic serial killers a better image, thanks to Anthony Hopkins's enthralling portrayal of Hannibal Lecter.
n exceptionally good film, perhaps this fine director's best, in which the horror genre is elevated into the kind of cinema that can at least be argued about as a treatise for its unsettling times.
Jonathan Demme's astute adaptation of Thomas Harris' last good book entwines the horror and detective genres to enduringly shocking effect.
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Hannibal the Cannibal" is the ultimate anti-hero.
Thriller that made the serial killer a superstar.
The odd psychological interplay between the gutsy, but green, Starling and the deranged, yet fascinating, Lecter provides the basic tone for Jonathan Demme's well-made, insidious shocker.
Not a second of this two-hour flick, which redefined the term 'thriller' and spawned a host of clones, I can find error with.
Screenwriters and directors can turn to this classic film for a primer on how to create incredible tension and horror far in excess of what we actually see onscreen.
All of its most enduring aesthetic qualities and themes%u2014essentially what sets it apart from so many imitators and established it almost immediately as a canonical film%u2014are contained in its riveting first 20 minutes, which draw you in like a stee
It has maintained its reputation as a chilling drama after all these years...
Demme has the control of a born master of suspense.
This is a still wonderful example of classy storytelling and unforgettable characterisation.
A riveting, non-stop thriller of nerve-racking intensity.
The over-the-top story reeks of phoniness, grisly violence and exploitation.
Not since The Exorcist had a horror flick been this applauded! It was almost as if ... "horror" were its own legitimate genre!
Audience Reviews for The Silence of the Lambs
Super Reviewer
And all that claim and praise is quite justified, Based on the best selling novel by Thomas Harris, this is the story of Clarice Starling, a young and talented FBI trainee who, despite her lack of experience, is deemed talented enough to help the bureau out with an investigation concerning a killer nicknamed Buffalo Bill who has a penchant for kidnapping and killing women, then skinning their bodies. Starling is tasked with interviewing the brilliant psychologist Dr. Hannibal Lecter who also happens to be a psychopath serving a life sentence due to various acts of murder and cannibalism. It is believed that he could give valuable insight into the FBI's investigation, and would be willing to cooperate with Starling given that she's an attractive yet tough female that he could find intriguing and trustworthy.
Lecter is indeed enthralled with Starling, and is willing to help, but his services come with a price In exchange for case related help and information, Starling has to provide Lecter with her own life, and let him get in her head and poke around, something that just might be more dangerous than going after Buffalo Bill.
While there are some grisly visceral thrills here, this is primarily an intense and complex character study of multiple people that are all quite fascinating. This is quite deep, intelligent, and engrossing stuff, and despite having less than twenty minutes of screen time, Anthony Hopkins cemented himself into cinematic and pop culture with his supremely chilling and memorable turn as Lecter. In fact, it was because of this movie that the Academy now makes it mandatory that a performer has to have more than twenty minutes of screen time to be considered a lead role.
He absolutely knocks it out of the park, and, despite how little screen time he has, he makes his presence felt throughout the whole film, which is a truly impressive feat. Foster gives one of her absolute best performances, and she truly shines as the multifaceted Starling. She easily sells the various layers of the character, and holds her own against not one, but two of the creepiest screen antagonists ever. Ted Levine, playing Buffalo Bill, is a real force to be reckoned with. He's a guy that you don't want to lower you guard around, and the climax of the film is one of the most gripping, suspenseful, and absolutely scary sequences ever. The film is a horror film in a sense, but is mainly a psychological suspense thriller.
That ending though, is truly one of the few sequences that I feel could be deemed horrific, and it certainly something not easily forgotten.
This movie has been the subject of countless parodies imitations, and ripoffs, and that's a shame since it seems that these things tend to cheapen the original product. It is also to the credit of screenwriter Ted Tally and director Jonathan Demme that they were able to take material that could easily be construed as high grade lurid pulp and turn it into a high brow intelligent masterpiece that appeals to both thinkers and fans of the gruesome alike.
Super Reviewer
-
- Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb: It puts the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again.
-
- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
-
- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Plum Island Animal Disease Research Facility. Sounds charming.
-
- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: I ate his liver with some fava beans.
-
- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? Enthrall me with your acumen.
- Clarice Starling: It excites him. Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims.
- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: I didn't.
- Clarice Starling: No. No, you ate yours.
-
- Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb: Just put the shampoo in the basket.
- Catherine Martin: Please let me out.
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Foreign Titles
- Das Schweigen der Lämmer (DE)
- The Silence of the Lambs (UK)


Top Critic
The Silence Of The Lambs is a film that builds nail biting tension from each and every insignificant plot point and effortlessly managed to sustain my interest for the full 118 minutes it lasted. There's only a small number of horror thrillers that can pull that off. But this is endlessly frightening. From the anti-hero (fantastically portrayed by Anthony Hopkins) to the tracking down of the unnamed serial killer which at it's climax is the most terrifying scene in the film. Many unpredictable twists and turns occur to great effect to the point where your not sure what your scared of. Also the make up effects and corpse set pieces i'll add are sorely barf inducing and are all these great elements are held together nicely by a great performance from Jodie Foster as a consistently likable and interesting heroine and masterfully mesmeric direction by Jonathon Demme at the top of his game. It's part psychological character study and part horror thriller. Both of them have always been closely related in cinema history but sitting there watching this, personally it isolated me as much as the psychologically traumitised and emotionally fragile heroine played by Foster. It's not as deep in it's subject matter as it thinks it is, but I thought it was a brilliantly executed thriller that ties itself up nicely and ended on a monumentally worrying and epically eery note. Highly recommended as a member of the minimally slight group of movies raved at the Oscars damn deserving of it's reputation.