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The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

R | | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 14 February 1991 (USA)
The Silence of the Lambs Poster
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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.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney | See full cast & crew »
85
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Popularity
213 ( 67)
Top Rated Movies #24 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 63 wins & 50 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster ... Clarice Starling
Lawrence A. Bonney Lawrence A. Bonney ... FBI Instructor
Kasi Lemmons ... Ardelia Mapp
Lawrence T. Wrentz Lawrence T. Wrentz ... Agent Burroughs
Scott Glenn ... Jack Crawford
Anthony Heald ... Dr. Frederick Chilton
Frankie Faison ... Barney
Don Brockett ... Friendly Psychopath
Frank Seals Jr. Frank Seals Jr. ... Brooding Psychopath
Stuart Rudin ... Miggs
Anthony Hopkins ... Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Maria Skorobogatov Maria Skorobogatov ... Young Clarice (as Masha Skorobogatov)
Jeffrie Lane Jeffrie Lane ... Clarice's Father
Leib Lensky Leib Lensky ... Mr. Lang
George 'Red' Schwartz George 'Red' Schwartz ... Mr. Lang's Driver (as Red Schwartz)
See full cast »
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Storyline

F.B.I. trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) works hard to advance her career, while trying to hide or put behind her West Virginia roots, of which if some knew, would automatically classify her as being backward or white trash. After graduation, she aspires to work in the agency's Behavioral Science Unit under the leadership of Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn). While she is still a trainee, Crawford asks her to question Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist imprisoned, thus far, for eight years in maximum security isolation for being a serial killer who cannibalized his victims. Clarice is able to figure out the assignment is to pick Lecter's brains to help them solve another serial murder case, that of someone coined by the media as "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine), who has so far killed five victims, all located in the eastern U.S., all young women, who are slightly overweight (especially around the hips), all who were drowned in natural bodies of water, and all who ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

serial killer | bad guy wins | stuck in a well | psycho thriller | psychopath | See All (223) »

Taglines:

Prepare yourself for the most exciting, mesmerising and terrifying two hours of your life! See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Release Date:

14 February 1991 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Silence of the Lambs See more »

Filming Locations:

Clay County, West Virginia, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,766,814, 15 February 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$130,742,922

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$272,742,922
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strong Heart/Demme Production, Orion Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (original cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Like Casablanca (1942), this movie contains a famous misquoted line: most people quote Dr. Hannibal Lecter's (Sir Anthony Hopkins') famous "Good evening, Clarice" as "Hello, Clarice". This line did, however, appear in Hannibal (2001). In Hannibal (2001), when Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice (Julianne Moore) speak on the phone for the first time, he does in fact say "Hello, Clarice". This was possibly put in by the writers of the movie as an inside joke, in reference to the misquoting of this movie. See more »

Goofs

During Lector's escape, the "swat" team arrives and jumps out of the police car at the courthouse with their Ithica 37 shotguns. All of them are shown chambering their rounds except the the officer on the right, who pulls back again on the fore stock and asks "ready?" That should've ejected a shell and left the gun unloaded. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
FBI instructor: Starling! Starling! Crawford wants to see you in his office.
Clarice Starling: Thank you, sir.
See more »

Crazy Credits

There is a 'Moth Wrangler/Make-Up' listed in the crew list. See more »

Alternate Versions

The scene where Miggs throws sperm at Clarice is shown from the different angle in the TV network version, so the audience can't really see what Miggs is throwing. See more »

Connections

Referenced in #will (2016) See more »

Soundtracks

Hip Priest
(1981)
Performed by The Fall
Written by Mark E. Smith (as M.E. Smith), Marc Riley (as M. Riley), Steve Hanley (as S. Hanley), Craig Scanlon (as C. Scanlon), and Paul Hanley (as P. Hanley)
Courtesy of Situation Two / Beggars Banquet Records Limited
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When does the story take place?
Q: Why does Clarice believe that "Jack Gordon" is actually Buffalo Bill?
Q: What is the building from which Lecter escapes?
See more »

User Reviews

A Grand Thriller
12 July 2003 | by Sargebri – See all my reviews

This is definitely a film that proves you don't need tons of blood and gore to have a good suspense film. Anthony Hopkins performance as the deranged genius Lecter earned him a well deserved Academy Award and the same was true of Jodie Foster's performance as Clarice Starling. This film should go down in history as one of the greatest suspense films in the history of cinema.
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