The Silence of the Lambs (film)
Template:Short description Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, adapted from Thomas Harris's 1988 novel. It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who is hunting a serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine), who skins his female victims. To catch him, she seeks the advice of the imprisoned Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial murderer. The film also features performances by Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, and Kasi Lemmons.<ref name="The Silence of the Lambs2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Released on February 14, 1991, the film was a sleeper hit, grossing $272.7 million worldwide on a $19 million budget and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year. It premiered at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival, where Demme won the Silver Bear for Best Director. At the 64th Academy Awards, it became the third—and most recent—film to win the "Big Five" categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It remains the only horror film to have won Best Picture.
The Silence of the Lambs is regularly cited by critics, film directors, and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential films. In 2018, Empire ranked it 48th on its list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The American Film Institute ranked it the sixty-fifth greatest film in American cinema and the fifth-greatest thriller, while Starling and Lecter were included among the greatest film heroines and villains. The film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011.<ref name="BBC2">Template:Cite news</ref>
The film has drawn criticism for its portrayal of gender identity, particularly regarding the character of Buffalo Bill, which some critics argue perpetuates harmful stereotypes. Director Jonathan Demme and others have defended the film's intentions, noting that the character is not explicitly transgender.
The film launched a franchise that includes the sequel Hannibal (2001), the prequels Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007), and two television adaptations.
Plot
Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee at the Quantico Academy, is recruited by Behavioral Science Unit chief Jack Crawford to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant and cannibalistic psychiatrist imprisoned at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Under the guise of soliciting his participation in a psychological survey, Crawford secretly aims to leverage Lecter's insights to apprehend "Buffalo Bill", a serial killer who murders young women and removes their skin.
At the hospital, Dr. Frederick Chilton, the facility's manipulative director, makes unwelcome advances toward Starling before escorting her to Lecter's cell. Initially courteous, Lecter grows dismissive upon deducing Crawford's ulterior motive. As Starling departs, inmate Miggs flings semen at her, provoking Lecter's disgust. He summons her back and offers a clue as an anagram that leads her to a storage unit containing a severed head in a jar—later revealed to belong to Benjamin Raspail, a former patient of Lecter's and whose killer is believed to be Buffalo Bill. Soon afterward, Miggs is found dead in his cell, having swallowed his own tongue—an act implicitly orchestrated by Lecter as retribution for his assault on Starling. Lecter agrees to assist the investigation in exchange for a transfer away from Chilton. Meanwhile, another victim is discovered with a death's-head moth lodged in her throat—the same species later found inside the severed head.
When Buffalo Bill abducts Catherine Martin, daughter of U.S. Senator Ruth Martin, Crawford authorizes Starling to offer Lecter a fraudulent deal: a prison transfer in return for actionable intelligence. Lecter instead demands a quid pro quo, extracting personal details from Starling. She reveals that her father, a police officer, was murdered when she was ten, leaving her orphaned. In exchange, Lecter reveals that Buffalo Bill is not a genuine transsexual but mistakenly believes that he is, possibly having been rejected from gender-reassignment clinics due to psychological instability. Unbeknownst to Starling, Chilton records the conversation and later exposes her deceit, offering Lecter a new arrangement: relocation to Tennessee in exchange for information. Lecter complies and is flown to Memphis, where he provides Senator Martin with accurate details about Buffalo Bill's appearance but falsely identifies him as "Louis Friend".
Starling deciphers "Louis Friend" as an anagram for "iron sulfide" (fool's gold) and confronts Lecter in his temporary cell at a Memphis courthouse. Lecter demands deeper revelations, offering a final cryptic clue—"we covet what we see every day"—before Starling, compelled by his probing, recounts a traumatic childhood incident: after her father's death, she lived on a relative's Montana farm, where she failed to save spring lambs from slaughter. Lecter intuits that saving Catherine might silence this trauma and, satisfied, returns the Buffalo Bill case files. That night, Lecter orchestrates a gruesome escape by using a piece of Chilton's pen to unlock his restraints and murder his two guards. He later peels the face off one of the guards and wears it as a disguise, fooling paramedics into wheeling him out of the building.
Analyzing Lecter's annotations, Starling deduces that Buffalo Bill knew his first victim, Frederika Bimmel, a tailor from Ohio, and independently follows the lead. At Bimmel's home, she finds unfinished dresses and patterns matching patches of skin removed from the victims, realizing that Bill seeks to construct a "suit" from human flesh and that he starves his captives to loosen their skin. Crawford cross-references Lecter's profile with records from sex-reassignment clinics and offender databases to identify Jame Gumb as the prime suspect. While Crawford's team raids Gumb's vacant Illinois residence, Starling interviews Bimmel's acquaintances, arriving at a house where Gumb poses as "Jack Gordon". His façade crumbles when Starling spots a death's-head moth.
Pursuing Gumb into his basement, Starling discovers Catherine trapped in a dry well. Gumb stalks her using night-vision goggles but betrays his position by cocking his revolver. Starling fires blindly, killing him. Catherine is rescued, and Starling graduates from the FBI Academy.
During her graduation celebration, Lecter calls from an unnamed tropical location, asking Starling if "the lambs have stopped screaming." He assures her he has no intention of pursuing her, requesting that she return the favor—a vow she declines. Lecter announces he is "having an old friend for dinner" before trailing Chilton into a crowd.
Cast
Production
Development
The movie is based on the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. It was the second film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter; the first, Manhunter (1986), directed by Michael Mann, was based on the first novel in the Lecter series, Red Dragon (1981). Prior to the release of the Silence of the Lambs novel, Orion Pictures partnered with Gene Hackman to adapt it for film. With Hackman set to direct and star as either Jack Crawford or Hannibal Lecter,<ref name=Baltimore-Sun-Hackman>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> negotiations were made to split the $500,000 cost of rights between Hackman and the studio.Template:Sfn The producers also had to acquire the rights to the Lecter character, which were owned by Manhunter producer Dino De Laurentiis. Owing to the financial failure of Manhunter, De Laurentiis lent the rights to Orion for free.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In November 1987, Ted Tally was brought on to write the adaptation;Template:Sfn Tally had crossed paths with Harris many times, with his interest in adapting The Silence of the Lambs originating from receiving an advance copy of the book from Harris.Template:Sfn When Tally was about halfway through with the first draft, Hackman withdrew from the project as his children wanted him to stop doing violent films, and financing fell through. However, Orion co-founder Mike Medavoy encouraged Tally to keep writing as the studio took care of financing, and searched for a replacement director.<ref name=Baltimore-Sun-Hackman/>Template:Sfn Orion sought Jonathan Demme to direct. With the screenplay not yet completed, Demme signed on after reading the novel.Template:Sfn From there, the project developed quickly; Tally said: "[Demme] read my first draft not long after it was finished, and we met. Then I was just startled by the speed of things. We met in May 1989 and were shooting in November. I don't remember any big revisions."Template:Sfn
Casting
Jodie Foster was interested in playing FBI agent Clarice Starling immediately after reading the novel.<ref name=":2" /> However, despite having just won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Accused (1988) at the 61st Academy Awards, Demme was not initially convinced that she was right for the role.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Having just collaborated on Married to the Mob (1988), Demme's first choice for the role of Starling was Michelle Pfeiffer, who turned it down, later saying, "It was a difficult decision, but I got nervous about the subject matter."<ref name=bws>The Barbara Walters Special, American Broadcasting Company, 1992</ref> He then approached Meg Ryan, who also turned it down for its gruesome themes. The studio was skeptical about Laura Dern as a bankable choice,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> so Foster was ultimately awarded the role due to her passion for the character.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Molly Ringwald auditioned but was deemed "too young".<ref>Molly Ringwald Felt Limited by 'Brat Pack' Label, But 'The Bear' and 'Feud' Roles Excite Her for What's Next</ref>
For the role of Lecter, Demme originally approached Sean Connery. After Connery turned it down, Anthony Hopkins was offered the role based on his performance in The Elephant Man (1980).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When Hopkins's agent told him that a script was on his way titled The Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins responded, "Is it a children's story?"<ref name="Setoodeh">Template:Cite news</ref> Hopkins called his agent back after reading the first 10 pages and said, "This is the best part I've ever read." He accepted the role after having dinner with Demme.<ref name="Setoodeh" />
Other actors considered for the role included Al Pacino,<ref name="deadline">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Robert De Niro,<ref name="deadline"/> Dustin Hoffman,<ref name="deadline"/> Derek Jacobi<ref name="thewrap"/> and Daniel Day-Lewis.<ref name="thewrap">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Forest Whitaker has stated that he also auditioned for the role. The mask Hopkins wore became an iconic symbol of the film. It was created by Ed Cubberly, of Frenchtown, New Jersey, who had made masks for NHL goalkeepers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hopkins developed his portrayal of Lecter by drawing inspiration from the HAL 9000 computer as voiced by Douglas Rain in 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the vocal patterns of writer Truman Capote.<ref name="McGo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed In a 2001 interview with GQ, Hopkins clarified that he did not base Lecter's vocal cadence on Katharine Hepburn, as some people had believed. He also revealed that the decision to play Lecter as still and unblinking was not influenced by Charles Manson, as some had speculated.<ref name="gq 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hopkins admitted to being intimidated by Foster, who had just won an Academy Award, and initially felt scared to talk to her.<ref name="Setoodeh" />
Scott Glenn was cast to play Jack Crawford, the Agent-in-Charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI in Quantico, Virginia. In preparation for the role, Glenn met with John E. Douglas. Douglas gave Glenn a tour of the Quantico facility and also played for him an audio tape containing various recordings that serial killers Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris had made of themselves raping and torturing a 16-year-old girl.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn According to Douglas, Glenn wept as he listened to the recordings, and even changed his liberal stance on the death penalty.Template:Sfn
Filming
Principal photography began on November 15, 1989, and wrapped on March 1, 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Filming primarily took place in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with some scenes shot in nearby northern West Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Failed verification <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Victorian home in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, used as Buffalo Bill's home in the film went up for sale in August 2015 for $300,000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The home sat on the market for nearly a year, before finally selling for $195,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The exterior of the Western Center near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, served as the setting for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A scene set in the FBI Director's office was filmed in the office of United States Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In what was a rare act of cooperation at the time, the FBI allowed scenes to be filmed at the FBI Academy in Quantico; some FBI staff members even acted in bit parts.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The design for the basement and pit used by Buffalo Bill was inspired by the real-life kidnappings and murders performed by Gary M. Heidnik.
Music
Template:Music ratings {{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The musical score was composed by Howard Shore, who would also collaborate with Demme on Philadelphia. Recorded in Munich during the latter half of the summer of 1990, the score was performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "I tried to write in a way that goes right into the fabric of the movie", explained Shore on his approach. "I tried to make the music just fit in. When you watch the movie you are not aware of the music. You get your feelings from all elements simultaneously, lighting, cinematography, costumes, acting, music. Jonathan Demme was very specific about the music."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The music editor was Suzana Peric.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A soundtrack album was released by MCA Records on February 5, 1991.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Music from the film was later used in the trailers for its 2001 sequel, Hannibal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In addition to Shore's score, recordings of popular music are used prominently in the film. This includes British post-punk music, such as the song "Hip Priest" by the Fall which can be heard playing during the climactic scene in which Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The song "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus became a cult hit after it was featured in an iconic scene with Buffalo Bill applying makeup and speaking to himself in the mirror.<ref name="stereogum">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Release and reception
Box office
The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, grossing almost $14 million from 1,497 theaters over the 4-day Presidents' Day weekend, placing at number one at the US box office. It remained at number one for five weeks.<ref name="mojo"/>
The film opened at the Odeon Leicester Square in London in June 1991 and grossed £290,936 in its opening week, which distributor Rank claimed was a world record opening week from one theatre.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The following week, it expanded to 281 screens and grossed £4,260,472 for the week, a UK record.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The film grossed $131 million in the United States and Canada with a total worldwide gross of $273 million.<ref name="mojo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was the fourth-highest grossing film of 1991 in North America and the fifth-highest-grossing film worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Critical response
The movie was a sleeper hit that gradually gained widespread success and critical acclaim.Template:Sfn Foster, Hopkins, and Levine garnered much acclaim for their performances. Template:Rotten Tomatoes prose<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Metacritic film prose<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times specifically mentioned the "terrifying qualities" of Hannibal Lecter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ebert later added the film to his list of The Great Movies, recognizing the film as a "horror masterpiece" alongside such classics as Nosferatu, Psycho, and Halloween.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the film is also notable for being one of two multi-Academy Award winners (the other being Unforgiven) to get a bad review from Ebert's colleague, Gene Siskel. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Siskel said, "Foster's character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after. I'd rather see her work on another case."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Controversy
In the years following its release, The Silence of the Lambs was subject to much film criticism regarding its themes of human sexuality and sexual politics.Template:Sfn Throughout the film, Clarice Starling's gender is emphasized as a distinguishing feature, as she is a minority amongst her numerous male peers, though film scholar Barry Forshaw notes that "any feminist agenda is never bluntly formulated verbally".Template:Sfn
Some gay male critics and feminists felt that the film's portrayal of Buffalo Bill negatively associated the LGBT community with deviance, psychopathy, and violence.Template:Sfn Despite this, Bill's sexual orientation is never explicitly stated in the film, and Hannibal Lecter expressly states Bill is "not really transsexual".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Director Jonathan Demme argued that this criticism was misguided, telling The New York Times that "I got all this unfounded abuse... [Buffalo Bill] wasn't a gay character. He was a tormented man who hated himself and wished he was a woman because that would have made him as far away from himself as he possibly could be." Demme added that he "came to realize that there is a tremendous absence of positive gay characters in movies".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In a 1992 interview with Playboy magazine, the feminist and women's rights advocate Betty Friedan stated: "I thought it was absolutely outrageous that The Silence of the Lambs won fourTemplate:Sic Oscars. [...] I'm not saying that the movie shouldn't have been shown. I'm not denying the movie was an artistic triumph, but it was about the evisceration, the skinning alive of women. That is what I find offensive. Not the Playboy centerfold."<ref>"Interview of Friedan" by David Sheff, Playboy, September 1992, pp. 51–54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 149; reprinted in full in Interviews with Betty Friedan, Janann Sherman, ed. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2002, Template:ISBN.</ref>
In following years the film (and its claims that Bill is "not really transsexual") has been criticized for transphobia by transfeminists, who claimed that it is "one of the most significant and impactful examples of pop culture transmisogyny" and it "encourages disbelief of trans people's self-identification".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>
Accolades
| Academy Awards record | |
|---|---|
| Best Picture, Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ronald M. Bozman | |
| Best Director, Jonathan Demme | |
| Best Actor, Anthony Hopkins | |
| Best Actress, Jodie Foster | |
| Best Adapted Screenplay, Ted Tally | |
| Golden Globe Awards record | |
| Best Actress, Jodie Foster | |
| British Academy Film Awards record | |
| Best Actor, Anthony Hopkins | |
| Best Actress, Jodie Foster | |
The film won the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Demme), Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally) at the 64th Academy Awards, making it only the third film in history to accomplish that feat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also nominated for Best Sound (Tom Fleischman and Christopher Newman) and Best Film Editing (Craig McKay), but lost to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and JFK, respectively.<ref name="Oscars1992">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other awards include Best Film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures as well as at the CHI Awards and PEO Awards. Demme won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival<ref name="Berlinale">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director at the 49th Golden Globe Awards. The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. It was also nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Film at the 45th British Academy Film Awards. Screenwriter Ted Tally received an Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. The film was awarded Best Horror Film of the Year during the 2nd Horror Hall of Fame telecast, with Vincent Price presenting the award to the film's executive producer Gary Goetzman.<ref>2nd Annual Horror Hall of Fame Telecast, 1991</ref>
In 1998, the film was listed as one of the 100 greatest films in the past 100 years by the American Film Institute.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006, at the Key Art Awards, the original poster for The Silence of the Lambs was named best film poster "of the past 35 years".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Silence of the Lambs placed seventh on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments for Lecter's escape scene. The American Film Institute named Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) the number one film villain of all time<ref name="autogenerated1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Clarice Starling (as portrayed by Foster) the sixth-greatest film hero of all time.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> In 2011, ABC aired a prime-time special, Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, that counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People magazine. The Silence of the Lambs was selected as the best suspense/thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the fourth-greatest film character. In 2024, Far Out Magazine named the role one of the "10 most accurate movie psychopaths according to the FBI", and WhatCulture included the role in top "10 Most Convincing Movie Psychopath Performances".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, the Motion Picture Editors Guild listed it as the 26th best-edited film of all time based on a survey of its membership.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The film and its characters have appeared in the following AFI "100 Years" lists:
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – No. 65
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 5
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
- Clarice Starling – No. 6 Hero
- Hannibal Lecter – No. 1 Villain
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
- "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." – No. 21
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – No. 74
In 2015, Entertainment WeeklyTemplate:'s 25th anniversary year, it included The Silence of the Lambs in its list of the 25 best movies made since the magazine's beginning.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Home media
The film was released on VHS on October 24, 1991, by Orion Home Video.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was the most rented video in the United States upon release,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and ended up as the second most rented video of 1992.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Criterion Collection released the film on LaserDisc in 1991 and 1994. It was released on DVD in 1997 by Image Entertainment, and reissued by Criterion in 1998. A special edition DVD was released by MGM Home Entertainment on March 6, 2001, in both widescreen (1.85:1) and full screen (1.33:1) versions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MGM released it on Blu-ray in 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Criterion released a remastered Blu-ray in 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in September 2021 using the Criterion master.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sequels
Template:See also The sequel Hannibal (2001) saw the return of only Hopkins after Foster and director Jonathan Demme declined to return because of the onscreen increase of violence and gore.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="doubtlamb">Template:Cite news</ref> Hopkins again returned to the role of Hannibal Lecter in the prequel film Red Dragon (2002) while another prequel, Hannibal Rising (2007), saw Gaspard Ulliel take over the role.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref> The TV series Clarice (2021) takes place after the events of the film, with actress Rebecca Breeds portraying Clarice.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The series Hannibal (2013–2015) is another adaptation of Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising.<ref name="fullerew">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Legacy
According to The Guardian, before The Silence of the Lambs, serial killers in film had been "claw-handed bogeymen with melty faces and rubber masks. By contrast, Lecter was highly intelligent with impeccable manners", and played by an actor with "impeccable credentials".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
When The Silence of the Lambs was re-released in the United Kingdom in 2017, the British Board of Film Classification reclassified it from an 18 to a 15 certificate. The film's co-producer Ed Saxon said audiences had become desensitized and that the film had become less shocking.<ref name=":0" /> However, the BBFC's Craig Lapper felt that audiences had instead become used to procedural crime dramas with serial killers as dramatic tropes, and suggested that The Silence of the Lambs had created interest in these themes.<ref name=":0" />
During his 2024 presidential campaign, United States president Donald Trump repeatedly referenced Hannibal Lecter and The Silence of the Lambs, claiming that foreign governments were sending "insane asylum" patients and convicted criminals to the United States and comparing immigrants to the fictional character.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trump also described Lecter as "a wonderful man"<ref name="Hopkins Trump">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and spoke of him as if he were real,<ref name="Trump Hannibal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> prompting Anthony Hopkins to say he was "shocked and appalled".<ref name="Hopkins Trump" /><ref name="Trump Hannibal" />
See also
- Cannibalism in popular culture
- List of Academy Award records
- List of films based on crime books
- List of films featuring psychopaths and sociopaths
- Silence! The Musical, an unauthorized parody musical adaptation of the film
References
Sources
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External links
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- Edgar Award–winning works
- Films about cannibalism
- Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Films about kidnapping in the United States
- Films about psychiatry
- Films about violence against women
- Films based on American thriller novels
- Films directed by Jonathan Demme
- Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance
- Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award–winning performance
- Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe–winning performance
- Films scored by Howard Shore
- Films set in 1990
- Films set in basements
- Films set in Illinois
- Films set in Memphis, Tennessee
- Films set in Ohio
- Films set in Virginia
- Films set in Washington, D.C.
- Films shot in Pittsburgh
- Films shot in Virginia
- Films shot in Washington, D.C.
- Films shot in West Virginia
- Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award
- Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award
- Films with screenplays by Ted Tally
- Hannibal Lecter films
- LGBTQ-related controversies in film
- LGBTQ-related controversies in the United States
- LGBTQ-related horror thriller films
- Orion Pictures films
- Transgender-related films
- United States National Film Registry films
- American LGBTQ-related films
- LGBTQ-related crime drama films
- English-language horror thriller films
- English-language crime drama films
- English-language crime thriller films
- Saturn Award–winning films
- Films about psychopaths and sociopaths