The Silence of the Lambs

This is a brilliant screen adaptation of the Thomas Harris book with a cast impossible to improve upon. Anthony Hopkins plays "Hannibal Lecter", a murderous sophisticate with a penchant for eating the evidence and Jodie Foster as the novice FBI agent sent to try and elicit his help in tracking down a killer with a similar modus operandi to our now incarcerated "Lecter". The menace with which Hopkins portrays the role is spine-chilling. Foster conveys the transformation from scared young agent to hard-nosed detective with convincing aplomb and this really does make for a belter of a thriller. A clean sweep of 5 Oscars and the top 2 acting BAFTA awards can't be wrong!

As a genre fan, there's a certain amount of satisfaction when a film is recognized by mainstream audiences. That's what it was like for me in 1992 when Silence of the Lambs swept the Oscar's (Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress). And boy did the movie deserve it. Jonathan Demme's fantastic retelling of the classic book by Thomas Harris. Anthony Hopkins' scene-chewing Hannibal Lecter turned him into a pop culture icon (and unfortunately a slew of middling sequels). And Jodie Foster's grim and naive portrayal of Clarice. The final touch is that haunting score. Some of the best movies out there are elevated by a musical score that puts it another league. A phenomenal classic.

This is one of a few movies I put off reviewing for years, because I honestly don't know what to say about a film this classic. So I'll be brief in my actual review, knowing that it comes from a place where I honestly believe that this is a movie that deserves its praise: Even if the A-plot of the story wasn't one of the best crime thrillers put to screen, the Hannibal Lector moments alone would be enough to make Silence of the Lambs a great movie, most especially his run in Memphis. Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite.

Unlike a lot of viewers, I first saw The Silence of the Lambs at five years old. So, for me, The Silence of the Lambs is a childhood favorite. Some would say I had an unusual childhood, in this age where some people actually avoid R-rated movies like the plague. The fact that I saw Something Wild, which Jonathan Demme directed five years before The Silence of the Lambs, as well as the original Alien (alone at that), at the same age probably indicates that they were okay with me watching pretty much anything that wasn't rated X, though, honestly, I've never had any interest in that stuff. It was probably due to the fact that, like the movie's protagonist, I don't "spook easily," and many so-called "scary" movies, including this one, never scared me, but (many of them) definitely thrilled me. Granted, I'd seen Saving Private Ryan a few months before, which probably gave me a strong...