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The Silence of the Lambs - Criterion Collection

The Silence of the Lambs - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Silence Of The Lambs
Review: I saw this movie on tv once. I watched it that night. Then on the next morning I bought it. The movie was EXCELLENT! Silence of the Lambs was astonishing with the well laid out preformances and the intriguing story plot! The acting was EXCEPTIONAL! The movie makes you wonder if there are people out there really like that. Clarice Starling, an FBI agent in training is sent into the investigation of a serial killer Buffalo Bill. So the FBI sends her to a cannibalistic doctor, Hannibal Lecter to try to understand Buffalo Bill. She speaks to him. Clarice is left with a lead that Hannibal Lecter gives her. That being to look up Miss Mofet, an old patient of his. The story works its way up to interesting ties and ends. With very little gory parts (not to say there aren't any) the movie is still very amazing. I almost felt hollow inside when I was done watching. With the exceptional acting done by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins this is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Excellent performances by Anthony & Jodie!
Review: I saw this movie one evening on TV, and, in my opinion, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS has excellent performances by Anthony (Hopkins) and Jodie (Foster). I thought that Clarice (Jodie Foster) looked VERY pretty in all the dressy clothing she wore -- Especially the dressy outfits she wore when she visited Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in jail. This film didn't scared me only a little. Well, maybe just a little. Dr. Lecter scared me a little when he attacked the two cops in his cell. There was only one thing that REALLY grossed me out, and that was the killer (Ted Levine) shoving an insect down each victim's throat and then skinning them. That was REALLY disgusting in my opinion. To wrap this up, I'd like to say, "Parents, if you have young children, do NOT let them see THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. They will have nightmares."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing Commentary
Review: I am a huge fan of commentary tracks on DVDs, and I believe "Silence of the Lambs" delivers the all-time best. Not only is Hopkins, Foster, the director and the writer involved (all academy-award winners), but there is a track of a real life FBI agent.

Some of the extras on the DVD are somewhat lame. The deleted scenes are not entirely necessary, and the picture and sound quality are awful. There is a long section of quotes by famous serial killers, most of which are haunting, but (and I may sound pathetically lazy) you have to read them, and I would much rather watch a documentary while I'm scanning the extras on a DVD.

The picture on the DVD is good but sometimes the sound is lacking, and there are a lot of mumbled lines but no subtitles for those who really want to listen to the entirety of the movie.

And anybody who doesn't know that "Silence of the Lambs" is an essential thriller and groundbreaking film needs to pick up a copy of this out-of-print DVD. Don't settle for anything else - buy this DVD used or from the collector's shop. You won't regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Riveting, scarier than Sleepy Hollow"
Review: FBI Trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is asked to interview Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) by section chief Jack Crawford. Starling interviews Dr. Lecter concerning another crazed killer on the loose known only as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To her surprise, Hannibal knows plenty about Buffalo Bill, so he is transfered to a maximum security prison somewhere in the far west. Their he is given a prison cell in the middle of a large room with a desk and chairs, plus paper and pencils to draw with. Hannibal Lecter is and forever will be an absolute genius, as he is, because in the end "The Cannibal" escapes and begins a new life. While in the meantime, Starling finally catches up to Buffalo Bill. But just about when you think it's over, Hannibal calls up Starling and leaves audiences hanging for ten whole years, but now he's back... (read my review on Hannibal)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nanny Nanny Nah-ny You cant get me...
Review: This is a rare version DVD with deleted scenes, fbi crimefile, voices of death...really chilling stuff. Excellent addition to a movie collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: (The Revised) It's one for the ages and beyond...
Review: I have to say that TSTL has the most gripping plot and concentration-demanding storyline of all time. While it does a marvelous job of enthralling the audience (to movie thrill-seekers and the "cinema intelligentsia" alike), it subtly portrays the coldness and desolation of capitalistic America. I am no sociologist (coz I'm a 17-year-old for crying out loud!:), nevertheless, this symbolic indication is still quite perceptible through my observation. Last week I attended a lecture (one which I paid a commensurate amount of $9 US) and the lecturing scholar pointed out two fascinating (or not) consistencies of all the renowned serial killers the world has endured over the past several centuries. One being that their motives usually pertain to the acqusition of recognition/fame in his/her (those of the latter gender is extremely rare; makes me wonder why...) society, which is immersed with white-collar workers. The while-collar worker detail signifies the fact that these "anomalies" only dig for middle~upper class citizens (e.g. Christian Bale in American Psycho). How come? According to this professor, third world countries do not appeal to these "special people". What I mean is simply that death is commonplace in these regions (therefore their desire for fame via murder is precluded); hence, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to create a "market" (of notroious homocides) in death-plagued sectors. This is all the material I consider the essence of the lecture, I hope reading has not been a waste of "what we make of it" (time). Thx for reading!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: it's one for the ages and beyond... (ain't that so killahs?)
Review: I have to say that TSTL has the most gripping plot and concentration-demanding storyline of all time. While it does a marvellous job of enthralling the audience (to movie thrill-seekers and the "cinema intelligentia" alike), it subtly portrays the coldness and desolation of capitalistic America. I am no socialogist (coz I'm a 17-year-old for crying out loud!:), nevertheless, this symbolic indication is still quite perceptible through my observation. Last week I atended a lecture (one which I paid a commensurate amount of $9 US) and the lecturing scholar pointed out two fascinating (or not) consistencies of all the reknown serial killers the world has endured over the past several centuries. One being that their motives usually pertain to the acqusition of recognition/fame in his/her (those of the latter gender is extremely rare; makes me wonder why...) society, which is immersed with white-collar workers. The while-collar worker detail signifies the fact that these "amomalies" only dig for middle~upper class citizens (e.g. Christian Bale in American Psycho). How come? According to this professor, thrid world countries do not appeal to these "special people". What i mean is simply that death is commonplace in these regions (therefore their desire for fame via murder is precluded); hence, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to create a "market" (of notroious homocides) in death-plaqued sectors. This is all the material i consider the essence of the lecture, I hope reading has not been a waste of "what we make of it" (time). Thx for reading!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ---The Most Amazing Movie of all Time---
Review: I love this movie sooo much!!! It combines horror and suspence as good as hitchcocks movies. It is my Favorite movie it also has won 5 academy awards! Including the shortest perfromances for Best Actor(Anthany Hopkins), Best Actress(Jodie Foster), and BEST MOVIE!!!! I highly recommend this movie. I hope you enjoy it!!!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classy Special Edition
Review: I dont know how the new dvd will turn out this august, but it has one hell of a bar set for it with this version. For being a relatively early special edition, it has some great features, although i wish that the commentary was scene specific.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Movie: 5 stars; DVD: 4 stars
Review: The Movie: As a movie that launched imitators from the sublime ("The X-Files," "Se7en") to the schlocky ("Copycat," "The Bone Collector"), "The Silence of the Lambs" could have become overdone and familiar through no fault of its own. Watching it again, however, you see what made it a hit. Far from a routine cat-and-mouse thriller, it is a heroine's journey cloaked in nightmarish imagery. (It's not for the squeamish. If horrific and disturbing movie violence -- particularly against women -- turns you off, I highly recommend AGAINST it.)

More horrifying than Jonathan Demme's imagery is the character interplay, and not always from the expected sources. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter IS demonically attractive -- like Dracula or the Joker -- and Buffalo Bill IS depraved. But the film's underlying assertion is that a bit of Buffalo Bill's evil exists in MOST men. Witness the exchanges between Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling and Anthony Heald as Dr. Chilton. Even Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford displays some in the funeral home scene. Only Hannibal Lecter, for all his insanity, fully accepts Clarice on her own terms. No imitator has ever captured the perverse mentor-prodigy relationship between the two.

What's most amazing about the film, however, isn't the imagery or the performances or the attention to detail and accuracy. Most amazing is how, after ten years, an ill-advised sequel and countless imitators, "The Silence of the Lambs" still has the power, both on cerebral and visceral levels, to shock, disturb and terrify.

The DVD: Others have remarked upon the sub-par transfer, although the final chapter is color bars, which does little good for those using a DVD-ROM drive on a Macintosh or laptop monitor. And the disc could use a trailer and subtitle track.

Having said that, this DVD is not designed as much for film buffs as for scholars of criminology and behavioral science. Film buffs will find fodder here -- the storyboard sequences, the deleted scenes (the best of which is Jim Roche's televangelist rant against child abuse) and Jonathan Demme's commentary. However, the remaining extras focus more on the factual reality of serial killers and the FBI behavioral sciences division.

The commentary track is one of the best ever. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are highly intelligent actors who do far more than just relate anecdotes -- they relate their characters to deeper themes. Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally provide the "making-of" stories, and Douglas is fascinating.

The quality of this DVD depends on what you want. If you just want the movie as clear as possible with no frills, this probably isn't the best choice. If you're a student of criminology and the nature of evil, then yes, definitely. And if you're a die-hard fan of the movie, you'll probably want this AND another version -- perhaps the special edition slated for release this year.


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