The Silence of the Lambs Reviews

The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 1 week, 6 days ago on 8 May 2013 04:27

A classic film,with outstanding performances by foster & glenn,but its hopkins sinister & mind blowing performance of hannibal lector that captivates the film to another level..a must see film..

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 27 November 2012 06:00

All sorts of macabre things have gone on, and are still going on just off screen, in Jonathan Demme's swift, witty new suspense thriller, "The Silence of the Lambs."

Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer nicknamed Hannibal the Cannibal, once liked to feast on his victims, daintily, in a meal designed to complement the particular nature of the main dish. He would, for example, choose a "nice" Chianti to accompany a savory liver. A fine Bordeaux would compete.

Hannibal is a brilliant if bent psychiatrist, now under lock and key in a maximum-security facility.

Still at large, though, is a new serial killer, known as Buffalo Bill for reasons that can't be reported here. Bill's habit is to skin his victims.

At the beginning of "The Silence of the Lambs," Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn), the F.B.I.'s man in charge of Bill's case, seeks the assistance of a bright young agent, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster).

Her assignment: to interview Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), arouse his interest and secure his help in drawing a psychological profile of the new killer.

The principal concern of "The Silence of the Lambs" is the entrapment of Buffalo Bill before he can kill again. Yet the heart of the movie is the eerie and complex relationship that develops between Clarice and Hannibal during a series of prison interviews, conducted through inch-thick bulletproof glass.

Hannibal, as grandly played by Mr. Hopkins, is a most seductive psychopath, a fellow who listens to the "Goldberg Variations" and can sketch the Duomo from memory. It's not his elegant tastes that attract Clarice, and certainly not his arrogant manner or his death's-head good looks. His smile is frosty, and his eyes never change expression. It's his mind that draws her to him. It pierces and surprises. Hannibal is one movie killer who is demonstrably as brilliant and wicked as he is reported to be.

In their first interview, Hannibal sizes up Clarice from her expensive bag and cheap shoes, her West Virginia accent and her furrow-browed, youthful determination not to appear intimidated. Hannibal isn't unkind to her.

He is at first skeptical and then amused. Finally he is seduced by her, at least to the extent that his egomania allows. She is flesh and blood and something more.

As played by Miss Foster, Clarice is as special in her way as Hannibal is in his. She is exceptionally pretty, but her appeal has more to do with her character, which is still in the process of being formed. She's unsure of herself, yet clear-headed enough to recognize her limitations.

Clarice has the charm of absolute honesty, something not often seen in movies or, for that matter, in life. She's direct, kind, always a bit on edge and eager to make her way.

When Hannibal finally agrees to help Clarice, it's with the understanding that for every bit of information he gives her, she will tell him something about herself. Because Hannibal, by nature and by profession, is an expert in prying, the questions he asks, and the answers he receives, both frighten and soothe the young woman.

For Hannibal, they are a turn-on.

Through the bulletproof glass, in dizzy succession, Hannibal and Clarice become analyst and analysand, teacher and pupil, father and daughter, lover and beloved, while always remaining cat and mouse.

Miss Foster, in her first role since winning an Oscar for "The Accused," and Mr. Hopkins, an actor of cool and eloquent precision, give exciting substance to the roles written by Ted Tally, who adapted the screenplay from a novel by Thomas Harris. An earlier Thomas novel, "Red Dragon," in which the homicidal doctor also appears, was the basis of the 1986 film "Manhunter."

Miss Foster and Mr. Hopkins are so good, in fact, that Clarice and Hannibal sometimes seem more important than the mechanics of "The Silence of the Lambs," which is, otherwise, committed to meeting the obligations of a suspense melodrama.

Mr. Demme meets most of these obligations with great style. The buildup to the dread Hannibal's first scene is so effective that one almost flinches when he appears. Never after that, for good reason, does Hannibal become trusted, though he is always entertaining to have around.

Eventually, though, the demands of the plot begin to take precedence over people and plausibility. Hannibal not only can help with the Buffalo Bill case, but he also knows who Buffalo Bill is. About halfway through, so does the audience, at which point the movie shifts to a lower, more functional gear even as the pace increases.

The screenplay, which is very effective in detailing character, is occasionally hard pressed to feed the audience enough information so that it can follow the increasingly breathless manhunt without a roadmap.

I'm told it helps if one has read the book, but reading the book shouldn't be a requirement to enjoy the film. At a crucial point the audience must also accept, as perfectly reasonable and likely, some instant surgery that allows the story to continue moving forward.

This may be hair-splitting. "The Silence of the Lambs" is not meant to be a handy home guide to do-it-yourself face liftings. Yet the movie is so persuasive most of the time that the wish is that it be perfect.

Although the continuity is sometimes unclear, the movie is clearly the work of adults. The dialogue is tough and sharp, literate without being literary.

Mr. Demme is a director of both humor and subtlety. The gruesome details are vivid without being exploited. He also handles the big set pieces with skill. The final confrontation between Clarice and the man she has been pursuing is a knockout -- a scene set in pitch dark, with Clarice being stalked by a killer who wears night-vision glasses.

Mr. Glenn is stalwart as Clarice's F.B.I. mentor, but the role is no match for those of his two co-stars.

The good supporting cast includes Anthony Heald, as another doctor who might be as nutty as Hannibal, and Ted Levine, as a fellow who spends more time making his own clothes than is entirely healthy. Roger Corman, the self-styled king of B-pictures, who gave Mr. Demme his start in film making, appears briefly as the director of the F.B.I.
NYT

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Love this movie!

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago on 23 March 2012 08:53

This movie worths every seconds, every pennies if you spend time and money for it.

The script is the one of the weirdest ones I've seen. It's good, a little different from the book but it's still good. The story was about a young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling, a pretty clever girl. She had to interview a psycho for help- Dr. Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, an insane doctor, who killed people then ate the victims- to catch another psycho killer, Buffalo Bill, who kill women by flaying them. Lecter felt Starling was amused, so he helped her, showed her the hard way to find Buffalo Bill...

The acting was wonderful, especially Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. This guy was brilliant as Lecter! He was a well-educated man with the extraodinary witness and knowledge, a good M.D. He was old, but age just made him more creepy and bloody-thirsty, scary, magical and charming (yeah, really charming, not like handsome boys). Anthony Hopkins had everything to act Lecter, like he was born for the role: his appearence: his stature, his skin, his hair, and of course his eyes and his lips (when he speaks, you'll wonder how a human can be like that); his voice: British, antique, cold, powerful and very characteristic, his way of moving, and even the twinkles in his eyes, all are perfect. And when he acted, you will feel amazing. May be he made a new type of fear: prudent cold-blood killer with knowledge. He didn't make us feel sorry for him, like Norman Bates, he made us scare, made us shock, made us freeze... It will take some days to talk about how brilliant he was.


And I like Jodie Foster in this role- Clarice Starling. She was exactly what I felt about Clarice: a young, beautiful elegent girl, a strong, tough cop. She was the kind of people have an unbeatable will. It's easily to fall in love with a girl, a friend like her. Foster was a young actress when she portrayed this role, but she was very talented. Like Hopkins, she deserved her Oscar.


One thing made me sad was Jack Crawford. In the book he was important, an experienced, intelligent agent, the only one could know Lecte's weakness (that's he liked to be know-it-all. liked to press people under his shoes, kind of that) and the greatest husband you can imagine.

One more great performance belonged to Anthony Heald, Dr. Frederick Chilton. Yes, that's what I'm talking about, an utterly fucking asshole. All you feel will be just 'go die, no one like you!'. Oh my, I can't understand how Heald acted, he was great!


About the director: the one and only 'bravo' to Jonathan Demme, his best film. He was so good! I like the three rules: Do not approach the glass,... Time by time, each meeting between Hannibal and Clarice, Demme showed how they broke the rules. And when Hannibal escaped, not like the book, Demme didn't explain how Lecter got the pen, That was great! Love him so much in this movie.

The score was quite good, the aria from 'Goldberg Variations' of Bach was completely suitable with the killing scene.

Love this movies!

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 5 April 2011 06:07

1992 was the year that came to bear on the administration of Oscar. For the first time since 1941 and "Rebecca" a psychological thriller managed to gain the greatest distinction, that of Best Picture. In addition was the third film in the years managed to distinguish and to all other leading categories were for Best Screenplay, Best First Role and Direction. Rightly Silence of the Lambs was one from the top movies of all time, any one of the biggest of its kind, proving that even a year after its theatrical release deserved the distinction."The Silence of the Lambs" came to give the audience what they had forgotten. Source fear! We are reminded how can a film make you scared not to touch the limits of loathing, not to be confronted with numerous individuals and tragic liters of blood. A single look of Hannibal was enough to make us incapable of the reaction that you saw on our screens
The pace of the theatrical film is more than just flawless. The evolution is continuous and dynamic, and Demme has bet and win on the strength of the film. He has bet the heroes of giving us the perfect psychological deletion. Each alone is a complete personality on which to click and try to play the others as morally and emotionally n 'grown into winners.
Anthony Hopkins offers perhaps the most comprehensive and dative interpretation of his career. The psycho Lecter has entered only the skin and interpret it with such passion that one could easily believe that and he does not stand perfectly well on it. He managed to sketch a of the biggest and most bloodthirsty villains of the movie which, despite the uneven nature is not disliked. Instead, the admired and respected for his intelligence and to some extent we could say that iroopoieitai our eyes. But at the same height standing and co-star Jodie Foster. If anything is a remarkable actor with very good performances in the resume. There are even a few times where movies have been saved from sinking to the bottom just because of its presence. The boon is that the role of Clarice did not choose any hot girl, but a fresh person who although not emit a beautiful inner charm and this made the role even more interesting. In the eyes could discern that whole fear and insecurity of infinite girl but in the boils and thirsty n 'recognized.
Just one of the masterpiece of horror films that gave us the source and genuine fear. For what more terrifying than to play someone with the mind, soul, the subconscious? Nothing! Excellent performances, masterful script and flawless direction!

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 28 February 2011 11:51

I just finished the book this was based on, and that always change the movie experience, and not always in a positive way. That didn't happened this time: the movie was great, just as I had expected. I loved Jodie Foster's character, the accent! Anthony Hopkins was also great.

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago on 14 September 2010 03:45

Loistava elokuva joka lukeutuu sekä Fosterin, että Hopkinsin roolisuorituksiin. Kaikki kahdenkeskiset kohtaukset ovat timatteja ja elokuvan jaksaa katsoa aina vaan uudelleen ja löytää siitä samalla aivan uusia tasoja.

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 06:51

stunning performaces throughout - occassionally catch it on Tv now and always end up watching it.10/10

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Dated

Posted : 3 years, 7 months ago on 19 October 2009 07:15

I do like this film, really. It has a very good villain in Buffalo Bill, who really feels very sick and twisted, and I as a viewer really did feel bad feelings towards him. It's a rather black/white-way of doing a serial killer-story, but that's what I consider Silence of the Lambs to be: the culmination of the clichéd serial killer hunt. The thing it does differently though is that instead of visiting a low-life crackhead for information, the main character squeezes it out of another serial killer; Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, is a very sly son of a bitch who is always looking for the best way for him to return to his cannibalistic ways. The film also handles it's female protagonist very well; she often takes not of the fact that she is a woman in a man's world, and we clearly see her determination in succeeding in this realm of men and big guns with nothing but a hidden accent and quick wits. However most of the problems with Silence of the Lambs aside from being a tad too clichéd and predictable come from it visually being from the 60s or something. Jonathan Demme, the director, clearly has a hard-on for the overt use of facial close-ups, and that's all we see during dialogue scenes in the entire film. This diminishes the intelligent writing and good performances a lot, making the film as a whole feel mored or less dated depeding on the number of films the viewer has watched.

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The Silence of the Lambs review

Posted : 3 years, 9 months ago on 10 August 2009 02:41

This is one of the movies I always wanted to see. From all the movies related to Hannibal Lecter it's the main one and the one I never watched. It's an interesting story about a serial killer, I mean, two and their behavior and the whole journey of a FBI student trying to catch him.
It wasn't the movie I was expecting to watch. I must say I imagined that it was totally different but I couldn't help loving it. It's a great movie, with great actores and full of good scenes that makes you not stop watching for anything, plus has a smart scrit that gives you little details and clues of what's happening. It needs to be watched again and again.

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silence of the lambs

Posted : 3 years, 11 months ago on 30 May 2009 07:17

it...s a nice movie,but in last in hannibal not exciting...but i like this.this is my favorite .i like anthony hopkins and jodie foster,julianne moore...

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