one of the only scary movies to win an oscar, and it won five

#SilenceOfTheLambs #VideoEssay #thesilenceofthelambs

Is The Silence of the Lambs overrated? Not from a filmmaking perspective. Is it worth watching? Absolutely. The Silence of the Lambs is scary good. From Anthony Hopkins' performance of Hannibal Lecter to Jonathan Demme's direction, The Silence of the Lambs is a masterpiece. In this analysis essay, I'll be delving deep into why.

Also, whether you consider The Silence of the Lambs a horror movie or not, it was the first film of its kind to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. That's a pretty big deal.

For more video essays and film analyses like this one, be sure to stop by the channel!

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The Silence of the Lambs is Scary Good

Written & Edited by Danny Boyd

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Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod

[CinemaStix]

AFI named Hannibal Lecter the #1 film baddie of all time. Who’s your favorite movie villain?

[cifer]

Horror genre deserves more respect considering how hard it is to actually capture the terrors without relying on creepy imagery and jumpscares

[mikaelmyers]

I feel like how Silence of the Lambs presents Clarice’s experiences and relationships with men as a woman is very understated. It seems as though every man she’s involved with has some kind of power and authority over her, be it a paternal authority that’s built on respect and love or a predatory power that’s built on oppression and violence. At first, it seems like Hannibal is no different. He’s above everyone so of course he’s above her but Hannibal isn’t telling Clarice that she is beneath him and should stay in her place, he’s guiding her to embrace her own power because he sees her potential as an individual, not just as a woman. He’s inviting her to rise to his level entirely of her own personal strength and willpower.

[PeterSmith-jkdu]

the movie was a complete masterpiece. There's nothing like it - it's a horror movie, psychological thriller, character study and crime drama...all at the very top of their game. Both of their performances...complete masterpieces as well. A horrifying realistic triumph.

[yorktown]

When I was a kid, I asked my mom about "The Silence Of The Lambs". She explained that, yes, it was a horror film, but the brilliance is that you don't actually see most of the horror directly. Even the blood is an understated signal to the audience, a marker of the significant violence that (mostly) occurred off-camera.

[whatever]

I've watched this movie once a long time ago and I'm shocked to learn that Anthony Hopkins was only on screen for 16 minutes. In my head it feels like the entire movie was Hannibal Lecter.

[TheCousinEddie]

Some years ago I read an interview with Jodie Foster and she was describing how she had read the script for SOTL and really wanted to play Clarice. She was not familiar with Johnathan Demme so she asked around and did not like what she was hearing. Supposedly, he was a jokester on set and liked to keep things light and in her opinion this was the wrong attitude for this very serious script. She'd even made some calls to see if he could be replaced but the studio was standing by Mr. Demme. Ms. Foster was feeling very stressed as the the first day of shooting approached. She was always well prepared for her roles and was not looking forward to a "fratboy" environment. As it turned out everything she had heard about Mr. Demme was wrong. She understood the first day of shooting he knew exactly what he was doing, his vision, the character development, the immense talent of the cast, how he solved problems, etc. She said she felt tremendous relief and was then able to focus on her role. However, she had no idea how well the movie had been made until she saw the premiere. No one else could have made that movie. Here we are 30 years later and we're still blown away by this legendary piece of cinema. We still talk about it, analyze it, repeat it's lines over and over. "A census taker once tried to test me..." Everyone knows the rest of that line.

[kylieminou]

I always loved how Clarice is presented as a regular woman, not a "martial arts expert", or a vixen in high heels and big boobs. She's a normal person, smart, intelligent and hard working, and she ends up defeating the murderer by smarts and skill (she's an accomplished shooter with great reflexes that come from exercising on the shooting range -at least that's what it says in the book), a rarity at the time this movie was made. Thank you! "the more you explain him, the less he is", Hannibal is a monster, you don't explain monsters, that's why those follow up movies of the franchise are so bad, Jodie Foster was smart in not participating, she will always be the original "Clarice" and the best for that

[CJonesApple]

I watched for the first time in years last last year. I'm now older than Foster was, I didn't realise just how young she was. Her character is still just as strong and smart as the first time, but now I see the vulnerability and recklessness as someone her age had and it made me see the movie a little differently. Not for better or worse, just more richly.

[StimParavane]

One of the key aspects to this film is that it was the first using a serial killer in a real and grounded way - not as a cartoonish hack and slash villain. Watching it today you won't realise how genuinely disturbing it was to see it in the cinema when it was released for the first time.

[iamvuqar]

The first meeting scene with Lecter completely destroyed the imagination I had about him from people talking. That was what made me love the movie. I expected very good character to be appear and he was even better.

[CUDA]

I used to clear movies through United States customs. One movie, I don't remember what, came with some of the stars through US customs in the basement of an airport. Apparently they all needed to do some voice dubbing and other work in a local soundstage. (phoenix AZ) After a long British Airways nonstop flight from London to Phoenix Sir Anthony came through U S customs like it was a cast party. He was so jovial and nice to everyone and made sure that he said hi and shook hands with everyone there. He even made sure to ask me how I was doing and how my family was. Absolutely the nicest movie star I ever met and truly a great man.

[defvent]

Very well done. I've seen Silence of the Lambs one time years ago. Now I see it through a whole new lense. I gotta watch it again.

[miah]

Learning that Anthony Hopkins was only on screen for 16 minutes is so shocking to me. It feels like so much LONGER because his presence is so strong but I agree that the movie would be completely unbalanced had they given him anymore screen time. It somehow builds on his character more the less you know and the less you see of him.

[llanznaveraa]

I watched this film with my mum when I was a kid. This film haunted me until I was a teenager but I never remembered the name. Just the way it made me feel. Now in my twenties, I love it as a cinematic masterpiece

[hoopyy]

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter is great and all but his performance is exactly what Hollywood writers think serial killers are like. Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill is way closer to what serial killers are actually like. One of the most underrated performances ever.

[sourdrop]

One of the few movie adaptations that is on the same level of quality as the original book. Seriously, if you haven't read the Silence of the Lambs book series yet, do it! Thomas Harris is truly one of the greatest wordsmiths of our time. I've re-read the SotL series multiple times, because it is one of the few pieces of writing that I can actually get lost in. I don't think my words can accurately describe how incredible the books are, so I once again implore you to read them and experience their greatness for yourself.

[cinemaipswich]

Jody Foster has not appeared in many movies, but she has never starred in a flop. Her skills as a actor shine, no matter what role she plays. Anthony Hopkins is a wonderful villain, and he is a master of this craft.

[newwavepop]

i liked Lecter as much as anyone does, he is well done and charismatic but i never really found him frightening. Ted Levine is WAY underappreciated as Jame Gumb "Buffalo Bill", to me he was absolutely terrifying. possibly the scariest film villain ever, because that guy is REAL he is out there somewhere. you have brushed against him at the store or politely smiled at him as he held a door for you.

[ravimalik]

When I looked at the view count of this video I was sure I’d see something like 809K not 809! It’s that good! Criminally underwatched vid… so good deserves a Mil view at least