patriciaaniston The Silence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan Demme is close to a masterpiece. Expertly shot and acted this is another in the line of Hannibal Lectar films and arguably the most well-known. Anthony Hopkins will forever be known for his chilling portrayal of Lectar(he won an Oscar for this) and Jodie Foster once again shows why she is such a fine actress. The pacing is good and Buffalo Bill is a maniac you want caught, even if it means siding with a cannibal. To Demme's credit the film makes Lectar far more interesting than any other character despite the fact that he isn't in the film much. Great watch.

theresamgill The Silence of the Lambs is only the third movie to win all 5 major Oscars (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is another): Best Picture, Director, Actor (and Anthony Hopkins has some of the least screen time for a best actor winner), Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is the only horror film to ever win Best Picture, and it made all sorts of money-- staying on top of the box office for like 5 weeks and already having made back its budget in the first. So the data coming in would say that I would probably write a review on how good Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster were, and how this is such a landmark horror film that would rival The Shining as being the best ever. But I'm not going to. I believe this movie has been highly overrated, and if you allow me to explain, perhaps you'll end agreeing with me too. When you think about this movie, the first thing you think of is either fava beans or Hannibal the Cannibal. But the star is Jodie Foster... What's her character's name again? Clarence, Karen, Carly? You know what, doesn't really matter. We'll save Jodie Foster for later because Anthony Hopkins is really what this movie is known for. And there's a lot of good to indeed say. His looking right at the camera as his character is introduced, his improv mocking of Foster's accent, his unblinking eyes and famous lines. Oscar Winner? Sure. It's all there. My criticism will be discussed later when we talk about the director. What I will say, however, is that Ted Levine is vitally underappreciated as Buffalo Bill. First, I'm glad to see Teddy in a role that isn't a sheriff or cop. Buffalo Bill's luring of women and skinning his victims already made him a viable villain, but it's his dancing in front of the mirror that takes the crown and serves as the creepiest thing in the film. Okay, I can't hold back any longer. Gotta talk about how this movie suffers. Over the course of filming, I have no issue with the directing. It's not too special, but it's not bad; the camerawork is a different story. It's inconsistent, sloppy, and moves around too much. It tries creating a style that just doesn't work for the film. The exception is Dr. Lecter's scenes. Everything works there, but it seems like the film basically was built around what happened there. Which brings me to the actual story and the editing. We start with Jodie proving herself in the FBI and toughing it out as a female there. It's brief, and some exposition is quickly thrown in to establish her character because, after all, we have to hurry up and get to Hannibal. Which still doesn't seem totally logical. They go to one of the most dangerous and cunning psychiatrists to help catch the notorious Buffalo Bill, and they send an FBI agent who hasn't even graduated? That doesn't add up for me. Fast forward a scene or 2 and we get introduced to Buffalo Bill. It's a disturbing scene, but now we know who everyone is looking for. So the small amount of film dedicated to detective work really hardly serves any purpose because, after all, let's just get back to Hannibal. However smart the Hannibal scenes may be, they're also predictable. And the music really is more nonchalant than anything, and when you mix it all together, you get a film that really isn't all that scary. It's a cop story with a good, not great, female lead and an unremarkable story, so it all dwindles down to Hannibal. And he's truly a pretty great movie psycho, but surround him in a film that is surrounded around him, and the result is just eh. The climax has predictable moments, but it was leading up to the tense finish I was hoping for the entire film. And then the decisive moment happened and it was so lame. The redeeming part is how the movie ended because despite my criticism from before, I thoroughly enjoyed the ending. So there is that. But if you want an actually scary film with a cool, strong heroine, go watch Alien, Zero Dark Thirty, or just something else. You can find this review and dozens of others at gillipediamoviereviews.blogspot.com

betty dalton "Silence of the Lambs" is riveting from beginning to end, made with such excellent craftmanship that it deservedly won multiple oscars and dozens of awards worldwide. "Silence of the Lambs" is considered to be one of the all time greatest classic movies. You just gotta see it, to believe it...What's the story about? Jodie Foster plays a FBI agent in search for a serial killer who rips off the skin of his female victims. In order to better understand the way this serial killer thinks, she starts interviewing another notorious serial killer in jail, played by the legendary Anthony Hopkins. The first half of the movie is a cat and mouse game between Jodie Foster and the locked up serial killer Anthony Hopkins to retrieve information from him, that will lead to the capture of the serial killer on the run. Will they find the serial killer before another victim is slashed up?What makes "Silence of the Lambs" so irresistably horrifying yet riveting at the same time, is it's psychological mindgame played by the locked up serial killer Anthony Hopkins. Add to that magnificent acting performance an extremely suspenseful story and you have got a classic. Man oh man, I must have seen it 20 times or more and I still get goosebumps at the end. I know exactly what is gonna happen and STILL I am THRILLED TO THE BONE! It is one of those movies that just wont break. To this very day it is as brilliant as it was back in the nineties.There have been said so many things about this movie and I recommend you dive into that AFTER you have watched this classic, because there are lots of fun trivia to be learned. There is even a special blu ray version released by classics distributor "Criterion" of the making of this movie. I wont reveal anything here, about all the ins and outs of the making of this thrilling classic, because during the first viewing it is better you know as little as possible, in order to enhance the shock effects. Because shocked you will be, but in the most pleasant "hollywood way"!Personal endnote: I still remember when I saw it first. 30 years ago there was a new cinema in my hometown that featured discounted reruns of popular movies. Only 1 dollar tickets for a movie. The weirdest mix of people flocked to that theatre, who wouldnt normally go to movies: mothers with kids, drunks and drifters and students skipping school. The atmosphere in this theatre was great, packed full every time . "Silence of the Lambs" is the perfect example that excellent movies CAN be made for the masses too.This is nr. 1003 of all the reviews on Imdb for "Silence of the Lambs". Gives me a good understanding how popular this movie still is to this very day, 25 years after it's first release. What a thrill!

KylieCunningham-Kasper Silence of the lambs is an amazing horror classic that truly changed the genre forever.