HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme 1991) Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs was Harris second book as well as the second film to feature the character of Hannibal Lecter. Whilst Brian Cox gave a fine performance as Lecter in Michael Manns Manhunter, theres no denying that Anthony Hopkins gave the definitive one when he made Lecter come to life in this Jonathan Demme movie. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is an FBI agent who gets assigned to the investigation surrounding Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who targets young women and removes their skin after killing them. Clarices superior, Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn), wants her to interview incarcerated psychopath Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) as he believes he has vital information surrounding the killer and thinks that Starling might be the perfect agent to extract it from him. But as a brilliant former psychiatrist, Lecter has a knack to get into peoples minds and in exchange for the information he might poses about Buffalo Bill, he insists on talking about Clarices past as well as being transferred to another facility. And as Clarice slowly hones in on Buffalo Bill, Lecter gets deeper and deeper into her psyche. A fantastic thriller with such an intensity that it is often also referred to as a horror film, The Silence of the Lambs was a huge critical as well as financial success. Ted Tellys screenplay, adapted from Thomas Harris novel, strikes a perfect balance between psychological study and gruesome excitement and both Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins shine in their respective roles although it is of course Hopkins who steals the show as Lecter. And whilst his Buffallo Bill character is overshadowed by Lecter, Ted Levine creates a truly unhinged and terrifying killer in the short amount of screen time that he is given. Scott Glenn rounds of the cast nicely as Fosters boss and for the horror fans there are two great little cameos by George A. Romero and Roger Corman to be enjoyed. Only the third film in the history of the Oscars to win all five major statues (Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay), The Silence of the Lambs became a monster hit and none of the three films featuring Lecter which followed in its wake ever came close to the craftsmanship on display here. A superior thriller and a great addition to the serial killer sub-genre, its a genuine modern classic. youtube/watch?v=W6Mm8Sbe__o
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:41:34 +0000