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The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Call Hannibal, No More Manhunting! Silence Is Back On DVD!
Review: Okay, a lot has already been said about the 1991 multi-awardwinning masterpiece, The Silence Of The Lambs. And to most, the Criterion Edition, which is no longer in print, is the must-own version of this classic on DVD.....or is it? I bought this edition recently & I got to tell you, I like it better by MGM! First of all, the Criterion wasn't in 5.1 audio while this one is! To audiophiles, that 5.1 is a must. Second, the picture is much brighter & more colorful compared to the Crit. And third, it has more extras than the Crit version (sure, it doesn't have the "Serial Killers" biography, but does that really pertain to this film directly?). This one has the original 1991 "Making-Of" featurette, but it also has the NEW reflective "Inside The Labyrinth" documentary with new interviews & for you "Serial" fans, it contains many photos from that missing unrelated biography mentioned earlier. Also, it has a neat little feature "The Anthony Hopkins' Phone Message", which sounds great on anybody's answering machine, trust me. It also contains many features that the Crit had too, like the 20 minutes of deleted scenes, film photo gallery, all the teasers and trailers (including one for "Hannibal"-Crit didn't have that one!), and a very eerie menu totally different from the Crit as well. I guess what I'm saying is, "Why go to an on-line auction website and pay over a hundred dollars for an out-of-date version of the film, when you can get a just-as-good version for under thirty?". It makes sense to me to buy the latter, unless of course you're an obsessed DVD collector or must own every DVD version of a certain film (I can't talk though, I personally own BOTH versions of "This Is Spinal Tap", but the extras are greatly different on both versions). Save your money and get your Lambs at Chickens prices!
Oh yeah, one more thing: You might notice this review is for the "FULLSCREEN" Special Edition, rather than the also availble "Widescreen" version. Yes, I did buy the fullscreen one. The reason why I did is because I currently own about 120 DVD's & maybe five of them is fullscreen, so why not a change of pace? And it really shows off the colors on this Pan & Scan version too! Don't worry though, all of the supplement features completely match on both MGM Lambs versions. And it seems that more copies of the "Wide" are being made than the "Full", hmmm could that mean that the "Full" could become the collectors version in the future? We'll see.
So enjoy one of the greatest suspense films of the 90's with a nice Chianti and remember, nothing is ever louder than Silence!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the greatest films ever made
Review: This is unquestionably one of the scariest movies ever made; a well-written, masterfully directed and photographed, tense psychological thriller with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins both turning in Oscar-winning performances of a lifetime. (Hopkins's portrayal of the unimaginably brilliant but unspeakably evil Dr. Hannibal Lecter is arguably one of the most memorable performances in film history). Not much gore and violence, but almost unbearable suspense and a palpable sense of menace hanging in the air, as Foster's FBI trainee Clarice Starling races against time and the imprisoned psychiatrist/murderer Lecter's mind games to rescue a kidnap victim from a serial killer, whose identity and motive he knows , but whose price for revealing them is to allow him to enter and explore her own psyche. Disturbing, frightening, and ultimately, brilliant.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Silence Roars
Review: Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter is on screen for less than half of The Silence of the Lambs, but in that short period he created one of the most disturbingly rememberible characters of all time. The first scene between Lecter and Jody Foster's ambitious but green FBI agent Clarice Starling in which Clarice tries to get Lecter to help in the FBI's search for a serial killer dubbed Buffalo Bill is a movie classic. Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Foster create a dramatic tension as the brilliant but deranged Lecter psychoanalyzes Clarice. Ms. Foster's facial reactions to Lecter's analysis convey so much more than words. The movie is a psychological thriller that provides chills, tension and scares you while avoiding tired cliches. In addition to Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Foster, Ted Levine is scary as the twisted killer Buffalo Bill and Scott Glenn is icy as Clarice's commanding officer. Director Jonathan Demme strikes all right notes and the filming of the closing scene in Buffalo Bill's basement is superbly filmed. The Silence of the Lambs became just the third movie in history to win Best Picture, Best Actor (Mr. Hopkins), Best Actress (Ms. Foster), Best Director and Best Screenplay in the same year.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sorry but my rating is 10 stars.
Review: AN INCREDIBLE MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jodie Foster is an excellent actress, she's the cop-in-training during the movie ( Clarice Starling ). Don't forget Anthony Hopkins's incredible acting! he plays as the psychyatrist, Dr. Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter. It's just eye opening when Clarice Starling attempts to get information from Hannibal Lecter about a serial killer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill", he kidnaps his victims, waits three days, then he shoots them, skins them ( weak stomachs beware! ) and then dumps them in a river. It's funny to see Hannibal Lecter act like such a gentalman when he's really a crazy psychopath cannibal! There are some really memorable qoutes: "I ate his liver, with some fava beans, and a nice ciante" "ththththth". I don't know what fava beans are, but I'm taking NO chances! In Manhunter, there's a serial killer nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" he's not so good as "Buffalo Bill". The scene when Hannibal Lecter is delivered a dinner, he makes a really facinating escape ( then makes his meal of the Memphis cops ) . The Silence of the Lambs is rated "R" for gratious violence, a little swearing, and breif nudity. Skip Manhunter, it sucks, whatch The Silence of the Lambs and its underrated sequel: Hannibal.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What was all that hype for???
Review: Despite some truly wonderful performances and a solid plot, this film never quite takes off. I am truly angered at how overrated this actually is. Really. It is just a typical cop versus serial killer film. Jodi Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Ted Levine as the psychopath give some truly chilling performances, and Roger Corman has a nice cameo as the FBI director, but this film is definitely not as special as people make it to be. The character of Hannibal Lecter is a great one, and he has some terrific one liners, and despite a few suspenseful moments, this film is very boring. It is exactly like many other serial killer films out there, so what's with all the special attention? It's average film making at best. I do realize that many people will disagree with me, but I really didn't see what all the fuss was about. This movie didn't even make me jump once. It did have it's high points, such as the particularly creepy killer and of course, the immortal Hannibal Lecter, but I was just so bored throughout the whole thing and couldn't understand what was behind all the hype as I sat watching. This is certainly not the greatest modern horror film. The ending didn't even deliver the punch I was so expecting and after sitting through this, I was very disappointed. For a similar subject and a better movie, I suggest "Kiss The Girls"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Why 4 Versions????
Review: Don't get me wrong, I love this DVD. No-one who appreciates fine acting can view the tet-a-tet exchanges between Dr. Hannibal Lecter and FBI Agent Clarice Starling without at least one shiver of delight... and terror. And though much is made of Tony Hopkins chilling brilliance as the insane Lecter, this is just as much Jodie Foster's show. I'm very glad she was awarded an Oscar, especially since the Academy seems so shy of awarding mulitiple statuettes to the same actor, regardless of how superior their work is. (wow, that was run-on)
But back to my gripe, if it can be called a gripe. I've counted four separate versions of the Silence of the Lambs on DVD: Criterion collection, standard edtion, special edition, and widescreen special edition. And all (save the standard ...) have extremely desirable features. Why not combine them for one phenomenal DVD presentation? The film deserves no less? I guess it's too late, and we'll all have to buy the Criterion (if we can find it) for the juicy commentary, and the widescreen special edition for the ideal viewing format, and the fascinating outtakes and deleted scenes. Ah well...
I cannot give this DVD the five stars I so long to award anything connected with Silence. I must advise you, instead, to go for the widescreen special edition, and grab the Criterion while you're at it. But if you don't care about the extras, or the format, and you aren't averse to intense depictions of criminal mania, and the actions of law-enforcement to curb that mania, by all means, buy this immediately. You will not regret it. In fact, you'll probably be stuck, like me, eyes glued to the screen, shivering uncontrollably as Dr. Hannibal Lecter requests (demands?) every so playfully, "Closer, please!" Brrrrrrrrrrr......... :):):)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Review of DVD features.
Review: Because everyone knows of Hannibal and Anthony Hopkins I will cover the special features of the DVD, which are the reason anyone would buy this and not the normal DVD. First off it is difficult to navigate through the DVD sections, it took me 2 weeks to find out that I was only viewing half of the special segments! If you missed things from watching the movie, the deleted scenes totally elaborate things for you! There are even outtakes which alone are pretty funny, especially when everyone is so serious in the movie. There is even an answering machine message from Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal that is chilling. As for the alternate ending, um... boring... I will ruin it for everyone, it's still a phone call to Clarice only with a riddle as to where Hannibal is. There are about 10 or 12 TV spots, which if you watch these TV spots and trailers it will ruin the entire movie for you!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Disturbing, Scary, & Horrific!
Review: Jonathan Demme's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is simply put, one of the scariest movies of all time. The sequel to MANHUNTER, SILENCE...features top-notch acting, suspenseful moments, disturbing themes, & the horrific subject matter of serial killers.

With a serial killer named "Buffalo Bill" on the loose, The FBI sends rookie agent Clarice Starling (played superbly by Jodie Foster) to ask convicted serial killer Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (played with frightening intensity by Anthony Hopkins) for some insights on how to capture "Buffalo Bill" (Ted Levine in a disturbing performance). However, Hannibal plays a deadly cat & mouse game with Starling & eventually gets inside her head. With Hannibal inside her consciousness, Starling's world will never be the same.

By all means, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a movie that deserves the praise it has recieved. Go get this movie!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth is just for Sir Anthony Hopkins' perfomance!
Review: I'm glad that the studio that owns this movie went back on its decision to never release this movie to DVD again.
Silence of the Lambs is a very good movie, though not as good as some people have said. Some ideas and scenes in this movie could have used a bit of explination in this film (in other words, shoot a few scenes explaining why something happened instead of just showing it) Hannibal Lecter is quite possibly one of the coolest villans (if you really can call him that) in movie history. He's exceedingly intelligent, and he flaunts it. He doesn't just cooperate with Clarise Starling, he makes her think and figure things out for herself. He's also very good at playing mind games that make the movie far more interesting to watch. I'm a somewhat fan of Jodie Foster, and her character in this movie was well suited to her, although I found the pseudo-southern accent somewhat irritating at times.
The Silence Of The Lambs is by far better than its sequal, Hannibal, and is a good movie that most will enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "What does he do, this man you seek?"
Review: When I first saw "Silence of the Lambs" (and subsequently throughout the years since it's release), I was amazed at how smartly this film was put together. The idea of a woman (in this case, Jodie Foster) working in a male-oriented field (somewhat rare a decade ago) just adds more tension to the matter of hunting down a vicious serial killer (especially in the climatic sequence). The conversations between Starling and Lecter (a brillant and chilling Anthony Hopkins) were filmed so tightly that it seemed there was no background around them, which made the scenes even more tense than they should have been. The physical violence committed in this film is kept literally near the last hour of the film (excluding of course, numerous crime scene photos and an autopsy to boot), and when it happens, it's done in a rather surprising way. Lecter's escape (and methods to do so) is the more scary because even when we think we know how it's going to happen, we get the rug pulled out from under us. Good thrillers know when to keep us waiting and when to pounce and go for the jugular, and like Hannibal Lecter, "Silence" knows when it's the right time to do it. The new Special Edition DVD has some interesting extras, including an hour-long documentary explaining the origins and filming of the movie (a very detailed and welcomed bonus), deleted scenes, and a rather short blooper reel (not to reveal too much, but let's just say Hopkins may have a career in impersonations open for him). Very few thrillers leave a heavy impact on pop culture like "Silence" has, and despite the obvious synchronicty of this re-release and the DVD relase of "Hannibal" (not really a "sequel" in the traditional sense of the word), this is a definite must-own for those film lovers who like to see their movies with the lights turned down, and their doors bolted shut...


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