The Silence of the Lambs - Criterion Collection

Starring:Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Ted Levine, Frankie Faison, Kasi Lemmons, Brooke Smith, Paul Lazar, Dan Butler, Lawrence T. Wrentz, Don Brockett, Frank Seals Jr., Stuart Rudin, Masha Skorobogatov, Jeffrie Lane, Leib Lensky, George 'Red' Schwartz, Jim Roche, James B. Howard
Director: Jonathan Demme
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

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Based on Thomas Harris's novel, this terrifying film by Jonathan Demme really only contains a couple of genuinely shocking moments (one involving an autopsy, the other a prison break). The rest of the film is a splatter-free visual and psychological descent into the hell of madness, redeemed astonishingly by an unlikely connection between a monster and a haunted young woman. Anthony Hopkins is extraordinary as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, virtually entombed in a subterranean prison for the criminally insane. At the behest of the FBI, agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) approaches Lecter, requesting his insights into the identity and methods of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). In exchange, Lecter demands the right to penetrate Starling's most painful memories, creating a bizarre but palpable intimacy that liberates them both under separate but equally horrific circumstances. Demme, a filmmaker with a uniquely populist vision (Melvin and Howard, Something Wild), also spent his early years making pulp for Roger Corman (Caged Heat), and he hasn't forgotten the significance of tone, atmosphere, and the unsettling nature of a crudely effective close-up. Much of the film, in fact, consists of actors staring straight into the camera (usually from Clarice's point of view), making every bridge between one set of eyes to another seem terribly dangerous. --Tom Keogh

Description

From Thomas Harris' novel, director Jonathan Demme explodes and reconstructs a classic genre, laying a foundation of emotional and political commitment beneath a perfectly constructed psychological thriller. Fourteen years after her controversial role in Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster finally makes the transformation from helpless victim to rescuing hero in this dark, gender-bending fairy tale of an American obsession: serial murder. As Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter, Anthony Hopkins is the archetypal antihero-cultured, quick-witted, uncontainable-a portrait of all the sharpest human faculties gone diabolically wrong. Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay Adaptation for Ted Tally.

Customer Reviews:

Clarise.......2007-06-22

Is in the F.B.I. and she is on one of thr touphest cases in her young treanee life, HANDIBLE the CANIBLE!!!!!
And did this before.

Fast.......2007-03-19

I got exactly what I wanted. A used DVD that was inexpensive and not all beat up. The delivery was exceptionally fast. I will buy used movies from this merchant again.

Disturbing and Paranoiac Film.......2007-02-07

This is a mesmerizing tale of the most heinous of nightmares come true as FBI agent Clarice (Jodie Foster) is immersed into an abyss of the darkest side of deviant human behavior where the flesh eating Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) agrees to assist her in her investigation to capture a serial killer who commits unspeakable atrocities on his victims. Jodie Foster must traverse into a world of dark sickening debauchery to capture the killer. The story takes several turns heightening the intensity and unspeakable terror of her assignment. The story is unsettling in its own right but the film seen from Foster's perspective has a pervasive feel of paranoia as if she has not been given all the information she needs or even further to suggest she is actually being set up as bait. One scene in particular comes to mind when sitting in the back seat of the car her boss (Scott Glenn) speaks cryptically to her and she just gazes at the back of his head once he turns around. You really don't know what either character is thinking. Very disturbing.

Amazing.......2007-01-20

In this pulse-pounding adaptation of Thomas J. Harris's novel, FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer; unfortunately, her Faustian relationship with Lecter soon leads to his escape. This movie is brilliant, great and deserves every compliment it recieves. It is incredibly scary and does not pull any cheap scares. Hannibal Lector is the most terrifying movie character of all time because he is not only a cannibal and ruthless killer, but he is also a brilliant man. He is capable of getting underneath someone's skin, no pun intended. Jodie Foster is incredible in this movie as she is in countless others. This movie is so scary and does not dissapoint at the end.Serial killer Buffalo Bill ( played by Ted levine) is another incredibly creepy character and is arguably scarier than Lector. To get the full impact of this movie watch it with the lights outto his escape ... and now, two deranged killers are on the loose.

One of the Greatest Horror Films of All Time.......2007-01-01

The Silence of the Lambs is a brilliant work of art. It is one of only three films to ever win all five major Academy Awards, and is definately deserving of this honour. It is extremely suspenseful and superbly acted. Criterion has put together an excellent DVD for the film that contains numerous fascinating special features. Amongst these is a commentary by Jonathan Demme, stars Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and FBI agent John Douglas, and is one of the best I have ever heard. The DVD does not contain region coding so it should operate on any DVD player in the world. This DVD should definately be in every collection. The Silence of the Lambs - The Criterion Collection is now out of print, and is no longer available from retailers. If you are searching for a brand new copy on the internet, as a guide, US $60.00 is a good price to aim for.

Silence of the Lambs (Criterion Collection)

Average customer rating:

Silence of the Lambs (Criterion Collection)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GQKL9I

Product Description

From Thomas Harris novel, director Jonathan Demme explodes and reconstructs a classic genre, laying a foundation of emotional and political commitment beneath a perfectly constructed psychological thriller. Fourteen years after her controversial role in Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster finally makes the transformation from helpless victim to rescuing hero in this dark, gender-bending fairy tale of an American obsession: serial murder. As Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins is the archetypal antiherocultured, quick-witted, uncontainablea portrait of all the sharpest human faculties gone diabolically wrong. Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay Adaptation for Ted Tally.

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