The Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme
(1991)
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Cast
Crew
Overview and Horror Legacy
The character of Hannibal Lecter had previously appeared in Michael Mann's 1986 film Manhunter, where he was played by Brian Cox, though Hopkins's interpretation has entirely defined the character in popular culture. The Silence of the Lambs became only the third film in Academy Award history to win all five major categories, taking Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay, joining It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in achieving that distinction.
Collector Market and Memorabilia
Hannibal Lecter's mask, Hopkins' stillness behind it, and Foster's performance gave the film an iconic vocabulary that crossed completely out of genre. Winning all five major Academy Awards — the only horror film to do so — makes every associated piece a document of cinema history rather than just a genre collectible.
Cult Status
Directed by Jonathan Demme and adapted from Thomas Harris's 1988 novel by Ted Tally, the film was produced on a budget of approximately $19 million and shot on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and at various other sites across the eastern United States. The film more than proved its commercial viability at the box office, grossing over $272 million. Its influence on subsequent crime drama and psychological thriller filmmaking in both film and television has been profound and enduring, and its central performances by Foster and Hopkins remain benchmarks of screen acting.
