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Summary: The Silence of the Lambs - Criterion Collection (1991)
Review: I have seen this movie in many formats, projected, TV, VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, and now the Criterion Collection DVD. The anomorphic picture is clear and true to the director's vision. The color pallet it dark but not muddy. The 5.1 surround is precise and effectively eerie. The extras that are included on this disc abound. The running commentary with Foster, Hopkins, & Director Demme are an excellent insight into making this movie. In addition, the FBI files and commentary by the FBI agent, that Scott Glenn's character is based on, is great. Even if you have seen this movie 50 times and already own it, you must see this version to truly appreciate THE thriller of the 90's.
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Summary: The Silence of the Lambs Criterion DVD
Review: Based on Thomas Harris's aclaimed novel by the same name, The Silence of the Lambs is a very involved tale of an FBI academy student, Clarice M. Starling(Jodie Foster), who is sent to the cell of the famed serial killer Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter(Anthony Hopkins), to try to convince him to fill out a questionaire. Little does Clarice realize, the head of the Behavioral Science department, Jack Crawford(John Glen), who has sent her on this errand, really has alterior motives. He has actually sent her to get help from Lecter on tracking down a mischevious serial killer, Buffalo Bill(Ted Levine), who skins his victims. Clarice meets with Lecter to find he is an evil raving genius who is always a step ahead of the game and always prying into the mind of anyone he meets. Clarice is given a lead about Buffalo Bill by Lecter and he offers more information if he can be moved to a cell with a view. Throughout the film these confrontations continue between Lecter and Starling as Starling and Crawford try to find Buffalo Bill, which turns out to be the highlight of the film. What John Demme has given us with The Silence of the Lambs is far greater then another story of a serial killer on the prowl. He has instead created a wonderfully black comic, satire of America's fascination with the serial killer. This makes the film great, along with the top notch, Academy Award winning performances by Foster and Hopkins. The artful cinematography is a plus too. What Demme has produced is folk art cinema.The Criterion Collection DVD of The Silence of the Lambs is absolutely packed with extra features. The first worth mentioning is the word for word quotes of real serial killers. This is not for the squeamish. It is a large catalog of quotes of serial killers on specific subjects like their childhood and sex. Another extra feature is the deleted scenes. These are interesting, but nothing extraordinary, for example one deleted scene is a longer version of the Yourself Storage facility sequence. Yet another extra feature is the scene-to-storyboard comparison. This feature compares the scene in which Lecter escapes from his cell in Memphis and mutilates the guards to the storyboard. This is one of the better scene-to-storyboard comparisons I have seen. The next extra feature is the entire storyboard of the film. This is a nice feature if you enjoy storyboards and have about an hour to sit down and view the entire thing. The last feature worth mentioning is the commentary with director Jonathan Demme, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, screenwriter Ted Tally, and FBI agent John Douglas. Actually the commentary consists of the five different commentaries of these people compiled into one. It is very interesting, each person has something very interesting to say, especially Anthony Hopkins and John Douglas. The sad thing is that each commentary is so interesting, I found myself wishing that they had separated the five commentaries. The only problem I found with this DVD is that there are no captions availible. There are many times during Lecter's monologues where I would have liked to have captions. This is a must-have for any fan of the film. Even though the price is a bit steep, it is worth the money.
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Summary: Picture Quality is Lousy.
Review: I love this movie very much. I bought the original Image DVD of this movie but was disappointed with its lack of features. The picture quality however is top notch and bright. What the hell happened to this transfer. I bought the Criterion collection thinking I would get a top notch feature filled DVD. The extras are nothing to sing about but the real crime is the picture quality. I'm glad I still kept my Image version. This is the first and last Criterion disc I will ever buy.
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Summary: This is the edition to own of one of the '90s spookiest!
Review: Looking back, the '90s were sort of a mixed bag when it came to horror films. Everyone seems to think that Scream really reinvigorated the genre, but in reality most '90s horror had too much self-conscious camp. Not so The Silence of the Lambs. Many would not categorize it as horror but I do simply because although it's also sort "police procedural," "psychological," and "thriller," the things that Lector and Buffalo Bill did are at least as grisly as Leatherface, Jason, and Michael Myers. The haunting images and sounds are made clearer than ever with this DVD. I loved getting commentary by Hopkins, Foster, and Demme, plus the extra scenes. If there's a complaint, it's the quotes by the serial killers. I was hoping they'd be five minute taped vignettes which would bring us face-to-face with insanity. Instead, it's seemingly endless text which as someone else pointed out, can easily be found from numerous "crime story" web sites--or your library. Still, this is a minor quibble when one realizes that the actual movie alone more than delivers the goods.
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Summary: Magnificent!!!!
Review: Every once in a while a movie does something so out of the ordinary, it makes you desperate for more. You sit on the edge of your seat the entire film biting your nails while you are lost in thought about what is happening. This is one of those movies. This may even be the greatest thriller ever made. Yet this movie is not a traditional horror film. It is a fast paced edge-of-your-seat thriller that does not have to be gruesome to scare the living daylights out of you. There is one true gruesome scene in the movie, but the rest is pure psychological suspense. Many films have tried to model themselves after this masterpiece, but have failed. Jonathan Demme's "Silence of the Lambs" will leave you begging for more as Dr. Hannibal Lecter stalks your dreams like a hunter and its prey. The film is the tale of Buffalo Bill, a transvestite serial killer who cannot be traced. Only one man knows what is really going on: Dr Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is a former psychiatrist who later found a taste for flesh. Clarice Starling is a FBI trainee whose assignment is to meet with Dr. Lecter at the asylum and find out what makes him tick. Dr. Lecter and Clarice soon develop a bond never thought possible and begin to share their deepest thoughts and fears. Clarice begins to find out that Dr. Lecter knows exactly how to catch Buffalo Bill before he skins his next victim and is willing to tell Clarice. But that information doesn't come without a price... Anthony Hopkins gives the performance of his career as the terrifying and mysterious Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter and shows how true horror lies within your mind. Jodie Foster is absolutely brilliant as the FBI trainee Clarice Starling, along with the rest of the cast. This film deserved every Oscar it had won and I am strongly looking forward to "Hannibal" coming out next year. Highly recommended!!!!!
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Summary: The 20th Century Fox (Since 1982)
Review: *Best Song, 1982 Was The Best 20th Century Fox From The Greateful Dead.
Rating: 
Summary: SCREAMING LAMBS!
Review: A very smart thriller, almost on the side of a horror movie--but it did win the academy award for best picture... so if this sounds like your cup of tea... then it is.
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Summary: Scary, suspenseful, suprising
Review: This movie is so good and well paced, if you start at noon you won't beleive all the time that has gone by since you started it. Anthony Hopkins is unbeleivably perfect for his part, and a great actor. He plays Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist cannibal. He has been caught though, and FBI agent Clarice Starling needs his genius criminal mind to catch one. It will suprise you with unbeleivably creative things. Some parts are scary, like when Hannibal is excaping, and what he does with the guards skin. It is a very intense movie you should see if you haven't, and I also recommend the book sequal: Hannibal.
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Summary: Makes "The Sixth Sense" look like "Teletubbies"
Review: Quite simply, this is one of the elite suspense films ever made - right up there with Hitchcock's best.
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Summary: OPENING DOORS
Review: I really think it would be a good idea to admit that one cannot judge director Jonathan Demme's THE SILENCE BY THE LAMBS by saying that it's a scary movie or not. This point of view is so personal and is so depending on your peculiar history that it cannot be relevant here. I'm not able to tell you that the movie will frighten you a little bit, a lot or not at all. I really don't know, that's it. And after all, who cares ? As always, the quality of the movie depends on what the director or, less often, the screenplay writer has hidden behind the images shown and the words spoken. Of course, the effort required from you is easier if you are watching a Woody Allen movie because the quality of the dialogs has sharpened your mind and you're not distracted by multiple car crashes or noisy explosions. In the case of an atmospheric thriller like THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, the nervous tension of your body due to the suspense of the movie is certainly going to prevent you to discover all the secrets of the film. OK ! I'm not your schoolteacher, so I'm only going to give you a hint or a key which, at least I hope so, will arouse your envy to watch THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a second time. In numerous works of writers or film directors, the theme of - The House - is often treated as a metaphor for the human mind so why not have the courage to visit once again the house of the serial killer and especially its cellar with the enormous superficies lying under the basement. Good luck ! A DVD for your library.
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