The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs is regularly cited by critics, film directors and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential films. In 2018, Empire ranked it 48th on their list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The American Film Institute ranked it the fifth-greatest and most influential thriller film while the Starling and Lecter were ranked among the greatest film heroines and villains. The film is considered “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. A sequel, Hannibal, was released in 2001, in which Hopkins reprised his role. It was followed by the prequels Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007).
Clarice Starling is pulled from her FBI training at the Quantico, Virginia FBI Academy by Jack Crawford of the Bureau’s Behavioral Science Unit. He assigns her to interview Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist and incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer. Lecter’s insight could prove useful in the pursuit of a serial killer nicknamed “Buffalo Bill”, who kills young women and removes their skin.
