This is the only pic of me I have on my computer - I'm thinking, can you tell? I'm still unemployed ...
This is the only pic of me I have on my computer - I'm thinking, can you tell? I'm still unemployed and still spending too much money! :-)
Member since:20.10.2004
Reviews:25
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As it was Hallowe'en at the weekend it was the perfect excuse for a movie-fest of my favourite horrors/psychological thrillers. First on the list, Silence of the Lambs.
The movie follows a young FBI recruit, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), as she gets drawn into what is fastly becoming a high profile man hunt for a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). Bill is kidnapping and murdering young women throughout the Mid-West and the FBI have no clue as to how to find this Psychopath.
In the hope that they can get some insight into the mind of Buffalo Bill, Agent Starling is sent on her first assignment, to interview the infamous Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins).
Lecter is both a madman and an enigmatic genius who has a love for the finer things in life, nice wines, beautiful cities and finely made clothing. However, he also has one other refined taste, that of human flesh, which is why he earned himself the monicker, 'Hannibal the Cannibal'.
When the daughter of the prestigious Senator
Martin goes missing, the FBI don't have much time to learn all they can about Buffalo Bill before he kills again. Having set the authorities on one wild goose chase, it is up to Clarice Starling to get close enough to Lecter so that he will tell her what she needs to know. With a growing interest in Clarice, Lecter offers her a deal, a simple trade-off of information. Lecter will tell Clarice information about Bill if she tells him details of her past and of her fears.
Confronting her inner demons and making herself vulnerable to a psychotic madman, has Clarice done all she can to catch her man? Taking the bits of information and clues that Lecter has given her, Clarice sets off on the trail of Buffalo Bill.
This is a powerful psycholgical thriller which takes us into a dark and sinister world that doesn't rely on cheap effects or grizzly deaths to shock the viewer. With a captivating look at how the mind of a madman can work we are allowed to feel the true nature of fear, intrigue and suspense.
Clarice is the perfect movie heroine, she is vulnerable and frightened but she is highly intelligent and strong-willed enough to carry on. The audience quickly become sympathetic towards Starling and you get very involved with her as a character.
This, of course, is largely due to the seemless performance of Jodie Foster. Her ability to portray great fear and great ambition in one look makes it one of the stand-out performances in movie history. It also quite rightly won her the best actress Oscar.
Lecter is one of the most brilliant characters ever written in fiction. His taste for the exquisite is beautifully parralelled with his savage-like instinct to kill. One minute he can be drawing the magnificent skyline of Florence, totally from memory, and the next he can be biting the nose off his next victim like a wild animal.
Once again, the actor's portrayal of the character is what really adds to this movie, and Anthony Hopkins adds a helluva-lot! Hopkins brings Lecter to life with his quality of threatening evil while maintaining dignity. Hopkins was also awarded the Oscar for his role in this movie.
Taken from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name, Silence of the Lambs is one of the most successful transitions from page to screen that I know of. It collected all 5 of the highly coveted Oscars, winning Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Movie.
Its success as a movie, as well as the oustanding cast, is down to the fantastic direction by Jonathan Demme based on the screenplay by Ted Tally. The suspense that they are able to create is amazing, and has laid foundations which writers of this genre have tried to emulate and build on since. The tension that is created leading up to the final scenes are out of this world, and will have old and new audiences alike on the edge of their seats.
Demme also directed Oscar movie favourites, Philadelphia and Fargo.
This is truly a movie that all movie lovers should see, especially anyone who likes clever psychological thrillers. It is hard to compare this movie to any other as it truly is in a class of its own, but movies of the same genre that I enjoyed are Copycat and Seven.
DVD Extras: The movie lasts for around 1 hour 53 minutes, and if you have the 2 disc special-edition DVD then this is what comes with it:
'Inside the Labyrinth' - The Making of The Silence of the Lambs Deleted Scenes Anthony Hopkins Phone Message Original Featurette Outtakes Reel Stills Gallery Teaser Trailer Hannibal Trailer Original Theatrical Trailer TV Spots Interactive Menu Scene Access
As far as I know, the one-disc addition only comes with the movie and chapter selection options.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
As Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter Anthony Hopkins is the archetypical antihero--cultured ... more
quick-witted uncontainable--a portrait of the sharpest human faculties gone diabolically wrong. His performance marked him as a major star in America and the m...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster deliver knockout Oscar Winning performances in this ... more
shocking, powerful thriller. This terrifying masterpiece of suspense garnered five Academy Awards including Best Director and the coveted Best Picture.A psychopath kno...
Advantages: chilling, superb performances, all the indgredients of a perfect murder mystery Disadvantages: if you don't like horror, you may be less taken with it, but stil give it a chance
Advantages: Anthony Hopkins is exceptional in his performance a truly thrilling film. Disadvantages: Is not in my opinion as explosive and intense as the 2001 follow up 'Hannibal'.
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