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The Silence of the Lambs

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A 1991 American psychological thriller about a young FBI trainee consulting an imprisoned cannibalistic psychiatrist to catch a serial killer on the run.

Production

Jonathan Demme directed Ted Tally’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’s 1988 novel for Orion Pictures on a $19 million budget. Jodie Foster played FBI trainee Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins played Hannibal Lecter, despite Hopkins appearing on screen for only about 16 minutes.

Reception

The film opened in February 1991, earned around $272 million worldwide, and became one of only three films to sweep the top five Academy Awards: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay.

Legacy

The film’s POV exchanges between Starling and Lecter became a textbook example of close-up direction. Hannibal Lecter has been ranked the greatest movie villain by the American Film Institute.

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