A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- Won 5 Oscars
- 71 wins & 50 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Best Picture Winners by Year
Best Picture Winners by Year
See the complete list of Best Picture winners. For fun, use the "sort order" function to rank by IMDb rating and other criteria.
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 17 mins) Jodie Foster claims that during the first meeting between Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, Sir Anthony Hopkins's mocking of her southern accent was improvised on the spot. Foster's horrified reaction was genuine since she felt personally attacked. She later thanked Hopkins for generating such an honest reaction.
- Goofs(at around 44 mins) As Forensics comes to take photos of the victim's body, the "corpse" visibly blinks as hands touch its face.
- Quotes
Hannibal Lecter: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
- Crazy creditsThere is a 'Moth Wrangler/Make-Up' listed in the crew list.
- Alternate versionsThe Finnish-dubbed VHS version removes:
- Hannibal Lecter beating Pembry against the cell's bars, and spraying liquid to his eyes (along with the shots of the cuffed guard screaming "Jesus Christ!", and a shot of him trying to break loose).
- Lecter beating a guard with a nightstick several times (reduced from 6 hits to 1!).
- A outdrawn sequence that comes right after Lecter has whacked the guards (where he plays music and walks across the dead guard's body) is completely removed (along with Lecter's dialogue Ready when you are, sergeant Pembry).
- Right after Buffalo Bill is shot by Clarice Starling there is a long-lasting (about 15 secs) shot of his bloody dead body, that in the cut version is not that long anymore.
- ConnectionsEdited into A-Z of Horror (1997)
- SoundtracksAmerican Girl
Performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
Written by Tom Petty (as T. Petty)
Courtesy of Gone Gator Records
Featured review
The Silence of the Lambs runs two hours.Anthony Hopkins appears for little more than sixteen minutes, yet during those minutes he hasn't bored you for a second, not even after the tenth or eleventh viewing. Such is the power of his performance, it's absolutely impossible to forget him.His character, Dr.Hannibal"The Cannibal" Lecter, is a brutal killer with revolting methods and habits, but he's also very intelligent, charismatic and with good taste(you can interpret that as you like).A clichè by now, but who cares? He still is one of the key elements in this wonderful thriller, which sees Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling asking for Lecter's help to catch another killer.The result is a dangerous yet fascinating relationship between the young, unexperienced FBI-agent and the convicted,but basically omnipotent, psychiatrist.He's a step ahead of everyone all the time, and makes sure everyone notices, with his witty, unforgettable one-liners.If there had to be only one reason to worship this movie, then it would have to be the chemistry between the two leading actors.Never before has a non-sexual man/woman connection been more thrilling.Never before has a film's ending been more unsettling and brilliant and left us asking for more.
Best watched with a nice Chianti...
P.S. dear film-buffs, have the lambs stopped screaming?
Best watched with a nice Chianti...
P.S. dear film-buffs, have the lambs stopped screaming?
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- El silencio de los inocentes
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $130,742,922
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,766,814
- Feb 18, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $272,742,922
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content