El silencio de los corderos

Sweeping all five major Academy Awards ("Oscars" for Best Movie, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay) is quite an accomplishment. Doing it nearly a year after a film was released is a miracle considering the notoriously short attention span of Oscar voters. It is a powerful example of how great a movie can be when superb writers, directors, actors, and others work at the top of their craft.

`Silence of the Lambs' is the story of a young FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is summoned to help find one serial killer called `Buffalo Bill.' by interviewing another. Foster's performance is absolutely brilliant. While Anthony Hopkins receives most of the (well-deserved) praise for his chilling portrayal of incarcerated serial killer `Hannibal ‘the Cannibal' Lector', it is Foster's performance that holds the movie together. The fear she shows just behind her eyes makes Clarice's outward courage all the more interesting and vulnerable. This is the perfect way to play the part because it explains Lector's interest in Clarice. Her only bargaining chip in getting Lector's help is to let him `feed' on her innermost secrets and fears in exchange for his brilliant insights into the psychotic mind. The title of the movie comes from these exchanges and is very poignant.

Director Jonathan Demme is masterful. There is one scene late in the movie that I will not spoil. It is one of the most simply brilliant scenes ever staged in a movie. I don't know if all the credit goes to Demme or the writers, but there is a moment in the film where the suspense builds beautifully to a what seems to be a common movie scene. However, through skillful timing of the direction, the audiences assumptions are used against them and when the truth is revealed (hint: it involves a doorbell) it is shocking and induced a collective gasp from the audience I saw it with at the theatre. It set the stage for an edge-of-your seat climax.

Do not miss this movie.

The movie is incredibly suspenseful and an absolute must see.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs and i still remember how two very old ladies were petrified n blabbering about the movie to my dad and one thing which stayed with me after that conversation was the praising of Hopkins acting by the two grumbling old geezers.

I revisited it in the early 2k on a dvd which I own and was in awe by Hopkins mesmerizing performance.

Revisited it the third time today but this time with my kids as they are 18 now but my wife is still not agreeable.

Everything has been said about this first class thriller n there seems to be nothing left but i jus wanna contribute a lil by praising the performance of Hopkins.

In the entire movie, it is Hopkins' screen presence n footage which keeps u glued.

His character is charismatic but very dangerous that u don't wanna be rude with him.

Some scenes are far fetched but like i said it is the mesmerizing performance by Anthony Hopkins which is the highlight.

The Silence of the Lambs runs two hours.Anthony Hopkins appears for little more than sixteen minutes, yet during those minutes he hasn't bored you for a second, not even after the tenth or eleventh viewing. Such is the power of his performance, it's absolutely impossible to forget him.His character, Dr.Hannibal"The Cannibal" Lecter, is a brutal killer with revolting methods and habits, but he's also very intelligent, charismatic and with good taste(you can interpret that as you like).A clichè by now, but who cares? He still is one of the key elements in this wonderful thriller, which sees Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling asking for Lecter's help to catch another killer.The result is a dangerous yet fascinating relationship between the young, unexperienced FBI-agent and the convicted,but basically omnipotent, psychiatrist.He's a step ahead of everyone all the time, and makes sure everyone notices, with his witty, unforgettable one-liners.If there had to be only one reason to worship this movie, then it would have to be the chemistry between the two leading actors.Never before has a non-sexual man/woman connection been more thrilling.Never before has a film's ending been more unsettling and brilliant and left us asking for more.

Best watched with a nice Chianti...

P.S. dear film-buffs, have the lambs stopped screaming?

I just saw, for the second or third time, this cinematographic masterpiece, during an « UGC culte » evening, in Paris. The list of the Big Five Academy Award winners is short. There are currently three of them, in nine decades: Sucedió una noche (1934), Alguien voló sobre el nido del cuco (1975) and ... El silencio de los corderos (1991). This is not really surprising, this film being excellent, endowed with a script skillfully elaborated by Thomas Harris, with an irreproachable casting including Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Scott Glenn. In addition, the director Jonathan Demme delivers a work obviously enjoying an admirable preparatory work.

Without unduly spoiling the script, if you have not seen it yet, by the greatest fluke: a psychopath known as the Buffalo Bill sows terror in the Middle West by kidnapping and murdering young pulpy women, after partially or completely skinning them. Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent, is in charge of interviewing Hannibal Lecter, a well-known former psychiatrist who has also the characteristic of a truly intelligent psychopath focused on cannibalism. Hannibal Lecter is able to provide Clarice Starling with providential information about Buffalo Bill . But he agrees to help her only in exchange for information about the young woman's private life. Between them is established a link of fascination and repulsion.

As a synthesis: a thrilling must see. 9/10 of 10

With Silence of the Lambs comes some much needed recognition for the horror genre. It is a first-rate production all around. It boasts a witty and suspenseful script based on the Thomas Harris novel, full of great lines. It has marvelous direction from Demme. Demme creates suspense very well throughout and uses some great directorial shots such as the twin frames of Clarice ringing a doorbell and the FBI men breaking into a home. The two lead actors won oscars for their performances...each deserved. Foster is very good in her role, but it is Anthony Hopkins that literally lights up the screen with his complex portrayal of a complex serial killer. Hopkins does the seemingly impossible. He frightens you with his outrageousness and yet illicts some pity/compassion(albeit not a lot) for his situation. He says his lines with reservedness when needed and brashness when needed. The rest of the cast is also quite good with Anthony Heald a standout as a unethical, petty doctor in charge of Hopkins. Of course the story of the other killer is very very chilling as well. A quality film in all aspects!