Behind The Scenes: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster & Jonathan Demme On The Set Of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Jonathan Demme’s The Silence Of The Lambs is a piece of cinema that manages to work not only as a prestige picture, but also as a horror film. We’ll have no mention of  ‘elevated horror’ when discussing about this, thank you very much. Demme’s film is pure gothic terror – right down to the dungeon cell of Anthony Hopkins‘ Hannibal Lecter.

The Silence Of The Lambs follows Jodie Foster’s FBI trainee, Clarice Starling as she hunts serial killer ‘Buffalo Bill’ (Ted Levine) with the help the incarcerated killer Hannibal Lecter.

Jodie Foster delivers a powerful, Oscar-winning turn as Starling, going toe-to-toe with Hopkins’ delectable performance as ‘Hannibal The Cannibal’.

Jonathan Demme’s taut direction and unsettling atmosphere – thanks to Howard Shore’s score and Tak Fujimoto’s cinematography – create a sense of unease up until the film’s well-honed finale. 

The 1991 adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel swept the board at the Oscars on 1992 – winning Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Adapted Screenplay (for Ted Tally).

The Silence Of The Lambs also cleaned up at the box office – scoring $130 million at the U.S. box office and almost $273 million worldwide.