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).
Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular thing, ask what is it in itself? What is its nature? What does he do, this man you seek? He kills women. No! That is incidental. What is the first and principal thing he does? What needs does he serve by killing? Anger. Social acceptance and sexual frustrations... No! He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now. No. We just... No. We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don't your eyes seek out the things you want?
The Silence of the Lambs
Doctor, we don't have any more time for any of this now. But we don't reckon time the same way, do we, Clarice? This is all the time you'll ever have. Later. Now, please, listen to me. We've only got five... No! I will listen now. After your father's murder, you were orphaned. You were ten years old. You went to live with cousins on a sheep and horse ranch in Montana. And? And one morning, I just ran away. Not "just", Clarice. What set you off? -You started at what time? -Early. Still dark. Then something woke you, didn't it? Was it a dream? What was it? I heard a strange noise. What was it? It was screaming.
The Silence of the Lambs
Some kind of screaming, like a child's voice. What did you do? I went downstairs, outside. I crept up into the barn. I was so scared to look inside, but I had to. And what did you see, Clarice? What did you see? Lambs. They were screaming. They were slaughtering the spring lambs? And they were screaming. -And you ran away? -No. First I tried to free them. I opened the gate to their pen, but they wouldn't run. They just stood there, confused. They wouldn't run. But you could and you did, didn't you? Yes. I took one lamb, and I ran away as fast as I could. -Where were you going, Clarice? -I don't know. I didn't have any food, any water, and it was very cold, very cold. I thought if I could save just one, but, he was so heavy. He was so heavy. I didn't get more than a few miles when the sheriff's car picked me up. The rancher was so angry, he sent me to live at the Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman. I never saw the ranch again. What became of your lamb, Clarice? They killed him. You still wake up sometimes, don't you? Wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs. Yes. And you think if you save poor Catherine, you could make them stop, don't you? You think if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you, Clarice. Thank you. Tell me his name, Doctor. Dr. Chilton, I presume. I think you know each other. Okay.
The Silence of the Lambs
-We found her. -Let's go! It's your turn, Doctor. -Out. -Tell me his name. Sorry, ma'am, I've got orders. I have to put you on a plane. Come on now. Brave Clarice. You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won't you? Tell me his name, Doctor! Clarice! Your case file. Goodbye, Clarice.
The Silence of the Lambs