The Silence of the Lambs

Jonathan Demme's multiple-Oscar-winning (including Best Picture) 1991 suspense masterpiece—adapted from Thomas Harris' bestselling novel—is a mostly blood-free, psychological descent into madness revolving around the bizarre yet touching connection between a monster and a haunted young woman. Anthony Hopkins delivers a tour de force performance as the cannibal-psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, locked away in a maximum-security underground prison for the criminally insane. When FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is sent to seek Lecter's insights into the identity and methods of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), the resulting conversations find Lecter penetrating Starling's most painful memories, creating an uncomfortable but palpable intimacy between the pair. Demme, a filmmaker who spent his early years making pulp for Roger Corman (Caged Heat), hasn't forgotten the significance of tone, atmosphere, and the unsettling nature of a crudely effective close-up. In fact, much of the film finds the actors staring straight into the camera (most often from Clarice's point of view), making every bridge between one set of eyes and another seem terribly dangerous. Making its debut on Blu-ray with a fine-looking transfer, extras include a 'making-of' documentary, a two-part documentary on the story's transition from page to screen, featurettes on criminal profiling and the music score, deleted scenes, outtakes, Hopkins' phone message, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is an intermittent picture-in-picture trivia track entitled 'Breaking the Silence.' Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (T. Keogh) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Feb. 20, 2018—Criterion, 2 discs, 118 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1991's The Silence of the Lambs sports a great transfer and DTS-HD 2.0 and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack options on the Blu-ray release. Extras include an audio commentary by director Jonathan Demme, costars Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and former FBI agent John Douglas, deleted scenes (38 min.), the 2001 'making-of' documentary 'Inside the Labyrinth' (67 min.), a three-part documentary by Laurent Bouzereau featuring Foster and Demme (53 min.), an 'Understanding the Madness' behind-the-scenes featurette (20 min.), an archival behind-the-scenes/promo featurette (9 min.), segments with film critic Maitland McDonagh (18 min.) and composer Howard Shore (16 min.), an episode of the Bravo TV series Page to Screen (42 min.), storyboards (5 min.), and a booklet featuring an intro by Foster, an essay by critic Amy Taubin, essays from author Thomas Harris, and a 1991 interview with Demme. Bottom line: a handsome edition of this multi-Oscar-winning contemporary classic.]