The Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal
THE SILENCE OF THE
LAMBS (18)
D: Jonathan Demme
Orion/Strong Heart (Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt
& Ron Bozman)
US 1991
118 mins
Horror/Thriller
W: Ted Tally [based on the
novel by Robert Harris]
DP: Tak Fujimoto
Ed: Craig McKay
Mus: Howard Shore
PD: Kristi Zea
Cos: Colleen Atwood
Jodie Foster (Clarice
Starling), Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Hannibal Lecter), Scott Glenn (Jack Crawford), Anthony Heald (Dr. Frederick Chilton), Ted Levine (Jame Gumb),
Brooke Smith (Catherine Martin), Charles Napier (Sergeant Boyle), Diane Baker (Senator Ruth Martin)
One of the greatest horror movies ever made. A
claim reinforced by the fact that, to date, it is the only representative of its genre to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
FBI cadet Clarice Starling (Foster) is
recruited to investigate an incarcerated serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, theorising that by doing so, it would assist in tracking another one who is still at
large.
The film largely follows the golden rules of
horror by not showing all its hand early on, building up the tension and only resorting moments of bloodshed when it's truly necessary, instead it uses creepy innuendo, sinister
dialogue and strong performances in order to imprint itself into the viewer's perception.
Both Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster are
terrific, both winning Oscars for their performances as the film swept the Big Five categories (Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay), becoming only the third film ever to
do so.
9/10
HANNIBAL (18)
D: Ridley Scott
Universal/Scott Free (Dino de Laurentiis, Martha de
Laurentiis & Ridley Scott)
US 2001
131 mins
Horror
W: David Mamet & Steven Zaillian [based on the novel
by Thomas Harris]
DP: John Mathieson
Ed: Pietro Scalia
Mus: Hans Zimmer
Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter), Julianne Moore (Clarice
Starling), Ray Liotta (Paul Krendler), Frankie R. Faison (Barney), Giancarlo Giannini (Pazzi), Francesca Neri (Allegra Pazzi), Zeljko Ivanek (Dr. Cordell Doemling), Gary Oldman (Mason
Verger)
Weak, disappointing sequel to The Silence Of The Lambs
with Anthony Hopkins reprising his role as the titular character, although without the menace which brought his performance an Oscar in the predecessing film. Jodie Foster thought better than
to return as FBI agent Starling, replaced by a miscast Julianne Moore. The story is very much revenge-based, seeing the evil Dr. Lecter outwitting an old adversary for his personal vengeance
following his escape from a high security detention centre, unfortunately the atmospheric threat from the original film is replaced by mindless violence and attempted barbarism.
Some may find some of these scenes make them squeamish,
others will just find it laughable or cheesy. I sided with the latter.
I wouldn't call this film a cash-grab on the popularity of
the previous movie, but the novel certainly was.
4/10
