The film has drawn criticism for its portrayal ofgender identity, particularly regarding the character of Buffalo Bill, which some critics argue perpetuates harmful stereotypes. Director Jonathan Demme and others have defended the film's intentions, noting that the character is not explicitlytransgender.
Clarice Starling, a youngFBI trainee at theQuanticoAcademy, is recruited by Behavioral Science Unit chiefJack Crawford to interview Dr.Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant andcannibalistic psychiatrist imprisoned at theBaltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Under the guise of soliciting his participation in a psychological survey, Crawford secretly aims to leverage Lecter's insights to apprehend "Buffalo Bill", aserial killer who murders young women and removes their skin.
At the hospital, Dr.Frederick Chilton, the facility's manipulative director, makes unwelcome advances toward Starling before escorting her to Lecter's cell. Initially courteous, Lecter grows dismissive upon deducing Crawford's ulterior motive. As Starling departs, inmate Miggs flingssemen at her, provoking Lecter's disgust. He summons her back and offers a clue as ananagram that leads her to a storage unit containing a severed head in a jar—later revealed to belong to Benjamin Raspail, a former patient of Lecter's and whose killer is believed to be Buffalo Bill. Soon afterward, Miggs is found dead in his cell, having swallowed his own tongue—an act implicitly orchestrated by Lecter as retribution for his assault on Starling. Lecter agrees to assist the investigation in exchange for a transfer away from Chilton. Meanwhile, another victim is discovered with adeath's-head moth lodged in her throat—the same species later found inside the severed head.
When Buffalo Bill abducts Catherine Martin, daughter of U.S. Senator Ruth Martin, Crawford authorizes Starling to offer Lecter a fraudulent deal: a prison transfer in return for actionable intelligence. Lecter instead demands aquid pro quo, extracting personal details from Starling. She reveals that her father, a police officer, was murdered when she was ten, leaving her orphaned. In exchange, Lecter reveals that Buffalo Bill is not a genuinetranssexual but mistakenly assumes that he is, possibly having been rejected fromgender-reassignment clinics due to psychological instability. Unbeknownst to Starling, Chilton records the conversation and later exposes her deceit, offering Lecter a new arrangement: relocation toTennessee in exchange for information. Lecter complies and is flown toMemphis, where he provides Senator Martin with accurate details about Buffalo Bill's appearance but falsely identifies him as "Louis Friend".
Starling deciphers "Louis Friend" as an anagram for "iron sulfide" (fool's gold) and confronts Lecter in his temporary cell at a Memphis courthouse. Lecter demands deeper revelations, offering a final cryptic clue—"we covet what we see every day"—before Starling, compelled by his probing, recounts a traumatic childhood incident: after her father's death, she lived on a relative'sMontana farm, where she failed to save spring lambs from slaughter. Lecter intuits that saving Catherine might silence this trauma and, satisfied, returns the Buffalo Bill case files. That night, Lecter uses a piece of Chilton's pen to unlock his restraints and murders two guards. Using the uniform and skinned face of one of the dead guards to disguise himself, Lecter manages to escape custody via an ambulance and disappears.
Analyzing Lecter's annotations, Starling deduces that Buffalo Bill knew his first victim, Frederika Bimmel, a tailor fromOhio, and independently follows the lead. At Bimmel's home, she finds unfinished dresses and patterns matching patches of skin removed from the victims, realizing that Bill seeks to construct a "suit" from human flesh and that he starves his captives to loosen their skin. Crawford cross-references Lecter's profile with records from sex-reassignment clinics and offender databases to identify Jame Gumb as the prime suspect. While Crawford's team raids Gumb's vacantIllinois residence, Starling interviews Bimmel's acquaintances, arriving at a house where Gumb poses as "Jack Gordon". His façade crumbles when Starling spots a death's-head moth.
Pursuing Gumb into his basement, Starling discovers Catherine trapped in a dry well. Gumb stalks Starling usingnight-vision goggles but betrays his position by cocking his revolver. Starling fires blindly, killing him. Catherine is rescued.
Starling graduates from the FBI Academy. During her graduation celebration, Lecter calls from an unnamed tropical location, asking Starling if "the lambs have stopped screaming." He assures her he has no intention of pursuing her, requesting that she return the favor—a vow she declines. Lecter announces he is "having an old friend for dinner" before trailing Chilton into a crowd.
The movie is based on the1988 novel byThomas Harris. It was the second film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter; the first,Manhunter (1986), directed byMichael Mann, was based on the first novel in the Lecter series,Red Dragon (1981). Prior to the release of theSilence of the Lambs novel,Orion Pictures partnered withGene Hackman to adapt it for film. With Hackman set to direct and star as either Jack Crawford or Hannibal Lecter,[8][9] negotiations were made to split the $500,000 cost of rights between Hackman and the studio.[10] The producers also had to acquire the rights to the Lecter character, which were owned byManhunter producerDino De Laurentiis. Owing to the financial failure ofManhunter, De Laurentiis lent the rights to Orion for free.[11]
In November 1987,Ted Tally was brought on to write the adaptation;[12] Tally had crossed paths with Harris many times, with his interest in adaptingThe Silence of the Lambs originating from receiving an advance copy of the book from Harris.[13] When Tally was about halfway through with the first draft, Hackman withdrew from the project as his children wanted him to stop doing violent films, and financing fell through. However, Orion co-founderMike Medavoy encouraged Tally to keep writing as the studio took care of financing, and searched for a replacement director.[8][14]Amblin Entertainment passed on the project as they felt it was out of character forSteven Spielberg to direct.[15] Orion sought Jonathan Demme to direct. With the screenplay not yet completed, Demme signed on after reading the novel.[16] From there, the project developed quickly; Tally said: "[Demme] read my first draft not long after it was finished, and we met. Then I was just startled by the speed of things. We met in May 1989 and were shooting in November. I don't remember any big revisions."[17]
Casting
Jodie Foster was interested in playing FBI agent Clarice Starling immediately after reading the novel.[18] However, even though she had just won anAcademy Award for Best Actress at the61st Academy Awards for her performance inThe Accused (1988), Demme was not initially convinced that she was right for the role.[18][19] Demme's first choice for the role of Starling wasMichelle Pfeiffer, with whom he had just collaborated onMarried to the Mob (1988). Pfeiffer turned it down, later saying, "It was a difficult decision, but I got nervous about the subject matter."[20][21] He then approachedMeg Ryan, who also turned it down for its gruesome themes. The studio was skeptical aboutLaura Dern as a bankable choice,[22] so Foster was ultimately awarded the role due to her passion for the character.[23]Molly Ringwald auditioned but was deemed "too young".[24]
For the role of Lecter, Demme originally approachedSean Connery. After Connery turned it down,Anthony Hopkins was offered the role based on his performance inThe Elephant Man (1980).[25] When Hopkins's agent told him that a script was on his way titledThe Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins responded, "Is it a children's story?"[26] Hopkins called his agent back after reading the first 10 pages and said, "This is the best part I've ever read." He accepted the role after having dinner with Demme.[26]
Hopkins developed his portrayal of Lecter by drawing inspiration from theHAL 9000 computer as voiced byDouglas Rain in2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the vocal patterns of writerTruman Capote.[31][32][better source needed] In a 2001 interview withGQ, Hopkins clarified that he did not base Lecter's vocal cadence onKatharine Hepburn, as some people had thought. He also revealed that the decision to play Lecter as still and unblinking was not influenced byCharles Manson, as some had speculated.[33] Hopkins admitted to being intimidated by Foster, who had just won an Academy Award, and initially felt scared to talk to her.[26]
Scott Glenn was cast to play Jack Crawford, the Agent-in-Charge of theBehavioral Science Unit of the FBI inQuantico, Virginia. In preparation for the role, Glenn met withJohn E. Douglas. Douglas gave Glenn a tour of the Quantico facility and also played for him an audio tape containing various recordings that serial killersLawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris had made of themselves raping and torturing a 16-year-old girl.[34][35] According to Douglas, Glenn wept as he listened to the recordings, and even changed his liberal stance on thedeath penalty.[36]
Themusical score was composed byHoward Shore, who would also collaborate with Demme onPhiladelphia. Recorded inMunich during the latter half of the summer of 1990, the score was performed by theMunich Symphony Orchestra.[47] "I tried to write in a way that goes right into the fabric of the movie", explained Shore on his approach. "I tried to make the music just fit in. When you watch the movie you are not aware of the music. You get your feelings from all elements simultaneously, lighting, cinematography, costumes, acting, music. Jonathan Demme was very specific about the music."[48] The music editor was Suzana Peric.[49][50] A soundtrack album was released byMCA Records on February 5, 1991.[51] Music from the film was later used in thetrailers for its 2001 sequel,Hannibal.[52]
In addition to Shore's score, recordings of popular music are used prominently in the film. This includesBritishpost-punk music, such as the song "Hip Priest" bythe Fall which can be heard playing during the climactic scene in which Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house.[53] The song "Goodbye Horses" byQ Lazzarus became a cult hit after it was featured in an iconic scene with Buffalo Bill applying makeup and speaking to himself in the mirror.[54]
Release and reception
Box office
The Silence of the Lambs was released on February 14, 1991, grossing almost $14 million from 1,497 theaters over the 4-dayPresidents' Day weekend, placing at number one at the US box office. It remained at number one for five weeks.[55]
The film opened at theOdeon Leicester Square in London in June 1991 and grossed £290,936 in its opening week, which distributorRank claimed was a world record opening week from one theatre.[56] The following week, it expanded to 281 screens and grossed £4,260,472 for the week, a UK record.[57]
The film grossed $131 million in the United States and Canada with a total worldwide gross of $273 million.[55] It was thefourth-highest grossing film of 1991 in North America and the fifth-highest-grossing film worldwide.[58]
Foster, Hopkins, and Levine garnered much acclaim for their performances. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 95% of 154 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Director Jonathan Demme's smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster."[59]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[60] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[61]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times specifically mentioned the "terrifying qualities" of Hannibal Lecter.[62] Ebert later added the film to his list ofThe Great Movies, recognizing the film as a "horror masterpiece" alongside such classics asNosferatu,Psycho, andHalloween.[63] However, the film is also notable for being one of two multi-Academy Award winners (the other beingUnforgiven) to get a bad review from Ebert's colleague,Gene Siskel. Writing for theChicago Tribune, Siskel said, "Foster's character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after. I'd rather see her work on another case."[64]
Controversy
In the years following its release,The Silence of the Lambs was subject to much film criticism regarding its themes of human sexuality and sexual politics.[65] Throughout the film,Clarice Starling's gender is emphasized as a distinguishing feature, as she is a minority amongst her numerous male peers, though film scholarBarry Forshaw notes that "any feminist agenda is never bluntly formulated verbally".[66]
Somegay male critics and feminists felt that the film's portrayal ofBuffalo Bill negatively associated theLGBT community with deviance, psychopathy, and violence.[67] Despite this, Bill's sexual orientation is never explicitly stated in the film, andHannibal Lecter expressly states Bill is "not reallytranssexual".[68]DirectorJonathan Demme argued that this criticism was misguided, tellingThe New York Times that "I got all this unfounded abuse... [Buffalo Bill] wasn't a gay character. He was a tormented man who hated himself and wished he was a woman because that would have made him as far away from himself as he possibly could be." Demme added that he "came to realize that there is a tremendous absence of positive gay characters in movies".[69]
In a 1992 interview withPlayboy magazine, thefeminist andwomen's rights advocateBetty Friedan stated: "I thought it was absolutely outrageous thatThe Silence of the Lambs won four [sic]Oscars. [...] I'm not saying that the movie shouldn't have been shown. I'm not denying the movie was an artistic triumph, but it was about the evisceration, the skinning alive of women. That is what I find offensive. Not thePlayboycenterfold."[70]
In following years the film (and its claims that Bill is "not really transsexual") has been criticized fortransphobia bytransfeminists, who claimed that it is "one of the most significant and impactful examples of pop culturetransmisogyny" and it "encourages disbelief of trans people'sself-identification".[71][72][73]
Accolades
Academy Awards record
Best Picture,Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ronald M. Bozman
In 2011,ABC aired a prime-time special,Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, that counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC andPeople magazine.The Silence of the Lambs was selected as the best suspense/thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the fourth-greatest film character. In 2024, Far Out Magazine named the role one of the "10 most accurate moviepsychopaths according to theFBI", andWhatCulture included the role in top "10 Most Convincing Movie Psychopath Performances".[82][83] In 2012, theMotion Picture Editors Guild listed it as the 26th best-edited film of all time based on a survey of its membership.[84]
In 2015,Entertainment Weekly's 25th anniversary year, it includedThe Silence of the Lambs in its list of the 25 best movies made since the magazine's beginning.[85]
The film was released onVHS on October 24, 1991, byOrion Home Video.[95] It was the most rented video in the United States upon release,[96] and ended up as the second most rented video of 1992.[97]The Criterion Collection released the film onLaserDisc in 1991 and 1994. It was released onDVD in 1997 by Image Entertainment, and reissued by Criterion in 1998. A special edition DVD was released byMGM Home Entertainment on March 6, 2001, in both widescreen (1.85:1) andfull screen (1.33:1) versions.[98] MGM released it onBlu-ray in 2009.[99] Criterion released a remastered Blu-ray in 2018.[100] It was released onUltra HD Blu-ray byKino Lorber in September 2021 using the Criterion master.[101]
ThesequelHannibal (2001) saw the return of only Hopkins after Foster and director Jonathan Demme declined to return because of the onscreen increase of violence and gore.[102][103] Hopkins again returned to the role of Hannibal Lecter in theprequel filmRed Dragon (2002) while another prequel,Hannibal Rising (2007), sawGaspard Ulliel take over the role.[104] The TV seriesClarice (2021) takes place after the events of the film, with actressRebecca Breeds portraying Clarice.[105] The seriesHannibal (2013–2015) is another adaptation ofRed Dragon andHannibal Rising.[106]
Legacy
According toThe Guardian, beforeThe Silence of the Lambs, serial killers in film had been "claw-handed bogeymen with melty faces and rubber masks. By contrast, Lecter was highly intelligent with impeccable manners", and played by an actor with "impeccable credentials".[107]
WhenThe Silence of the Lambs was re-released in the United Kingdom in 2017, theBritish Board of Film Classification reclassified it from an18 to a 15 certificate. The film's co-producer Ed Saxon said audiences had become desensitized and that the film had become less shocking.[107] However, the BBFC's Craig Lapper felt that audiences had instead become used to procedural crime dramas with serial killers as dramatic tropes, and suggested thatThe Silence of the Lambs had created interest in these themes.[107]
During his2024 presidential campaign, United States presidentDonald Trump repeatedly referenced Hannibal Lecter andThe Silence of the Lambs, claiming that foreign governments were sending "insane asylum" patients and convicted criminals to the United States and comparing immigrants to the fictional character.[108][109] Trump also described Lecter as "a wonderful man"[110] and spoke of him as if he were real,[111] prompting Anthony Hopkins to say he was "shocked and appalled".[110][111]
^"Interview of Friedan" by David Sheff,Playboy, September 1992, pp. 51–54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 149; reprinted in full inInterviews with Betty Friedan, Janann Sherman, ed. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2002,ISBN1-57806-480-5.
Edwards, Carl N. (2001).Responsibilities and Dispensations: Behavior, Science, & American Justice. Dover, Massachusetts: Four Oaks Press.ISBN978-0-9705128-8-8.
Engel, Joel (1995).Screenwriters on Screen-Writing: The Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft. New York City, New York:Hyperion Books.
Forshaw, Barry (2014).The Silence of the Lambs. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-1-906-73398-8.
Medavoy, Mike (2013).You're Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. New York City, New York:Atria Books.
Scott, Kevin Conroy (April 28, 2006).Screenwriters' Masterclass: Screenwriters Discuss their Greatest Films. New York City, New York:HarperCollins.ISBN978-0-571-26158-1.
Tasker, Yvonne (2019).The Silence of the Lambs. BFI Film Classics. London: Bloomsbury.ISBN978-1-839-02058-2.
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