Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #861 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-02-24
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on Thomas Harris's novel, Jonathan Demme's terrifying adaptation of Silence of the Lambs contains only a couple of genuinely shocking moments (one involving an autopsy, the other a prison break). The rest of the film is a splatter-free visual and psychological descent into the hell of madness, redeemed astonishingly by an unlikely connection between a monster and a haunted young woman.

Anthony Hopkins is extraordinary as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter, virtually entombed in a subterranean prison for the criminally insane. At the behest of the FBI, agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) approaches Lecter, requesting his insights into the identity and methods of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). In exchange, Lecter demands the right to penetrate Starling's most painful memories, creating a bizarre but palpable intimacy that liberates them both under separate but equally horrific circumstances.

Demme, a filmmaker with a uniquely populist vision (Melvin and Howard, Something Wild), also spent his early years making pulp for Roger Corman (Caged Heat) and he hasn't forgotten the significance of tone, atmosphere and the unsettling nature of a crudely effective close-up. Much of the film, in fact, consists of actors staring straight into the camera (usually from Clarice's point of view), making every bridge between one set of eyes to another seem terribly dangerous. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

On the DVD: On disc one, the film itself looks clinically sharp in a faultless widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic transfer, while the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack makes the most of the chilling sound effects and Howard Shore's masterfully understated score. Unlike the Region 1 Criterion Collection, however, there is no audio commentary at all. On the second disc, the all-new hour-long "making-of" documentary features contributions from the screenwriter, producer, composer, costume designer, make-up effects people and even the moth wrangler ("There were no moths harmed in the filming!") as well as Ted Levine (Buffalo Bill) and Anthony Hopkins, who talks at length about creating Lecter. Conspicuous by their absence are Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster. Aside from the usual trailers and stills gallery there are 21 deleted scenes, many of which are not whole scenes but deleted excerpts, a promotional featurette made in 1991 and an outtakes reel that proves the cast really did have fun making this scary picture. For those who want to scare all their friends, there's also an answerphone message from Anthony Hopkins "in character". --Mark Walker

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Jonathan Demme directed this genre-bending thriller in which Jodie Foster portrays Clarice Starling, an ambitious FBI student who is on the verge of graduation when her superior enlists her help to track down a serial killer. When a senator's daughter turns up missing, the feds determine the most likely suspect is Buffalo Bill, who is murdering women and doing something terrible with their skin. But to find him, Starling is forced to enlist the aid of another notorious serial killer--the terminally incarcerated ex-psychiatrist known as Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Hannibal is the only one who truly understands the killer's mind and motive. He agrees to help Clarice, but in exchange, she has to tell him her deepest secrets. Slowly she wins Hannibal over as he discovers that unlike most heroes, she is more moved by vulnerability than she is attracted to power. Clarice's relentless search for the killer and Hannibal's unorthodox analysis are chilling. The screenplay is based on the best-selling novel by Thomas Harris.

Customer Reviews

Overated but still a great film
Silence of the Lambs is a really good film but it is overated. I can't believe that it has all the attention it gets. Don't get me wrong, it is a very good film but I have seen better.
The performances by Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Ted Levine are top notch, with Hopkins as the brilliant Dr Hannibal Lecter.

Brilliant story but the time it takes to get to the point may put some viewers off. Also, this DVD has no special features despite what the Amazon description says, so if you want extras, buy the 2 disc version, but for the film alone, get this version.

Great film but slightly overated.

A pleasant suprise
'Silence of The Lambs' is an epic action-thriller boasting an all star cast of Hugh Grant, Sharon Stone, Chuck Norris, and Ted Danson.

Hugh Grant was given the honourable role of Hannibal Lector; a psychotic, cannibalistic train driver who's only desire to remain alive is so he may munch on innocent mens crotches, whilst dining Al Fresco in his back yard. However, his meals soon come to an end as he is caught by the FBI thanks to a peeping tom, and locked up in an All Female security wing.

Sharon Stone plays the sexual rookie Police Cop Starling, who has already bedded half the squadron and is worried that this is endangering her place as the only girl on the team, with the Lieutenant already tired of 'bribes at 11pm'. Quite coincidentally, she is also asked to do a psychological analysis on Lector, and so she has the perfect opportunity to discuss her sexual frustrations as a young impressionable female at breeding age.

However, he will only diverse such guidance if he is allowed out into a less-secure holding unit. She promises the action, but it is all a lie! And so, there starts a sudden crotch-munching rage after a rat tells him of her confession to the other Police men. Being rather peckish, he eats the rat too.

Hannibals presence among the little community is stronger than ever, and is testified further after the wise Jedi master Yoda predicts a change of Force in the wind. He was in fact compromised; Starling had merely bottom-burped.

But like any good-old-fashioned thriller, all things must come to a gripping end, and so 3 hours 42 minutes later, Lector surprises us all as he reveals himself to be a Cybernetic Organism from 2042. His mission was simple; to kill Starling at all costs and prevent her un-born son (The father, quite emphatically, the Lieutenant...) from solving Global Warming, so that robots can survive all mankind.

A few un-screwed nuts and bolts later, an anal probe was engaged back at the FBI lab and reveales Lectors fetish for munching on people to be an abnormal gene-strain that Fox Mulder (taking a guest appearance from The X Files) considers to be too estranged for even the super-intelligent life on planet Zog, which he went to in the long running series, and came back with photo's for Scully.

Theirs also a surprise outing for Chuck Norris who plays a clown called Bo-Bo, who comes to visit the cell-inmates at the mental institution. His performance isn't as high octane as "Delta Force", but it shows the other side to Chucks qualities as a depressive clown with no goal in life. I personally wanted to see a bit more kick boxing from him.

Their are plenty of twists and turns too that will have you gasping for more. One unfortunate scene see's Starlings brother, Rick, get the Crotch treatment as Hannibal peruses the young cop. This heart breaking moment means he will no longer be able to produce children. The way the director suddenly captures this moment is breath-taking, and beats any Rambo torture scene hands down, let along the "never let go" moment at the end of Titanic. I was bawling with tears; unable to cope with the situation.

I also felt Hugh Grant was a fantastic choice for a psychotic killer Hannibal. His manic smile and constant "Oh! I'm going to fall over! Oh! I've spilt something! Oh! Watch out!" is inspiring and should put to shame such poor actors as Tom Hanks. What was he thinking in Apollo 13? And Kevin Sausage too...

All in all, Silence of The Lambs is a truly ground breaking performance that boasts wit, determination, and proves what can be achieved through bribes of a Channel X nature, and unlimited ammunition in weaponary. It covers all the common problems of life for a young person, from dealing with psychopathic murderers, to not having enough money to pay the bus driver. I defy any human being to surpass the genius of this film.





(Well... I've written 458 Reviews - Surely one can stray "a little"...)

Overated
I watched this just recently-I found it very overated, particuarly Hopkins performance which was somewhat embarrassing. Did he have to talk in slow motion throughout the film-it was like bad theatre