| Very few films have ever won all five major Academy Awards. In 1991, this happened. The film was The Silence of the Lambs it won, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, among others. It swept the Oscars that night and made stars out of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. It has since been immoratilzed by both film lovers and critics. The story of young Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is assigned to interview the genius Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to pertain information on a serial killer who skins his victims. The interaction between these two is the soul of the movie. Hopkins is chilling as Lecter, a genius who has an appetite for human flesh. Jodie Foster portrays the naive Starling with surprisng wit and wisdom far beyond her age. For all it's worth, Silence isn't a movie that relies on the serial killer genre and has little gore. It's a shocking surprise when Lecter and Starling have an almost unearthly respect and admiration for each other. It's now remembered for it's juicy bits of dialogue uttered by Hopkins. Such lines as, "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate her liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti," are just as common place in popular culture as anything else. It's characters are richly delved which is why it was no surprise that they made a sequel Hannibal which divided critics and had Foster drop out due to it's extreme nature. I personally thought it was an amazing sequel and continuation of a rich character. Of course there will always be critics, but then again there may never be a film quite like Silence of the Lambs. | |