The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, adapted from Thomas Harris's 1988 novel of the same name. It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who is hunting a serial killer named "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine), who skins his female victims. To catch him, she seeks the advice of the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. The film also features performances from Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, and Kasi Lemmons. The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, and grossed $272.7 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1991 worldwide. It premiered at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear, while Demme received the Silver Bear for Best Director. It became the third and most recent film (the other two being 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) to win Academy Awards in all the major five categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was the first (and to date only) horror film to win Best Picture. The Silence of the Lambs is regularly cited by critics, film directors, and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential films. In 2018, Empire ranked it 48th on their list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The American Film Institute ranked it the sixty-fifth greatest film in American cinema, as well as the fifth-greatest and most influential thriller film, while Starling and Lecter were ranked among the greatest film heroines and villains. The film is considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. A sequel, Hannibal, was released in 2001, followed by two prequel films, Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007).
Different configuration than the other victims. Get close-ups. Victim's skin removed this time in two large diamond-shaped sections above the buttocks. Stellate exit wound level with the second or the third thoracic vertebrae approximately six inches from the right shoulder blade. Starling? When I told that sheriff we shouldn't talk in front of a woman, that really burned you, didn't it? It was just smoke, Starling. I had to get rid of him. It matters, Mr. Crawford. Cops look at you to see how to act. -It matters. -Point taken.
The Silence of the Lambs
Where the heck did this come from? It's practically mush. It was found behind the soft palate of a murder victim. The body was in the Elk River, West Virginia. It's Buffalo Bill, isn't it? I'm afraid I can't tell you any more about that. We heard about it on the radio. You mean this is like a clue from a real murder case? Cool! Just ignore him. He's not a Ph.D.
The Silence of the Lambs
-Got you. -What do you got, Roden? Agent Starling, meet Mr. Acherontia styx. Weird. Better known to his friends as the Death's Head Moth. -And where does it come from? -That's what's strange. -They only live in Asia. -Asia? In this country, they'd have to be specially raised from imported eggs. Somebody grew this guy, fed him honey and nightshade, kept him warm.
The Silence of the Lambs