17 Facts about the movie “The Silence of the Lambs” whose success so far no modern movie has managed to repeat

In 2021, “The Silence of the Lambs” turned 30 years old. The film has become a classic and still arouses genuine interest among audiences.

we, from awesome.clubwe want to remind you of the facts about this unique work that won five Oscars and grossed over $270 million worldwide.

“The Silence of the Lambs” set a record that no modern film has yet managed to beat by winning “Big Five” at the Oscars. In other words, it won the five main categories of the award: Best Picture, Screenplay, Director, Actor and Actress. Previously, only two films had managed to do this: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “It Happened That Night.” The film was based, in part, on real-life relationships between criminology professor and criminal investigator Robert Keppel and a famous serial criminal who helped him investigate crimes. Most of the feature film was shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The city’s variety of architectural styles created the illusion that filming took place in multiple locations.

At first, the director saw the iconic Sean Connery as the charismatic Hannibal Lecter. However, the actor read the script, found it disgusting and, of course, refused. Later, he thought about inviting Daniel Day-Lewis or Derek Jacobi, but Anthony Hopkins was the perfect candidate. When Anthony Hopkins’ agent called him in London to say he was submitting a script called “The Silence of the Lambs,” the actor thought that he would audition for a children’s movie. In preparation for the role, the actor studied the files of serial criminals, visited prisons and participated in some court hearings.

Anthony Hopkins decided that his character should be dressed in white. This color increases the fear of spectators because generally people are afraid of doctors. The actor believed that color would affect people’s subconscious. Another characteristic that Hopkins created for his character was the stare that a friend of his had. He rarely blinked, which made people nervous. In addition, he decided that Hannibal should always look at the camera when it was within his field of vision, so that the audience would understand that this person “knew it all”. Michelle Pfeiffer to play Clarice, but, like Sean Connery, she didn’t like the script and agreed to do it for a lot of money, $2 million. The director was not satisfied with this and immediately considered Jodie Foster for this role, who was eager to make the film. Before being invited, the actress even wanted to produce the film and buy the script.

Jodie was happy to get the role, but was terrified of her movie partner. The actor did not “come out” of the character that left her stunned. Also, he criticized her accent on their first date, leaving her confused.
Hopkins said he was also scared of Jodie Foster. But her fear was related to the Oscar she had won just before.

Ted Levine believed he got the role because of his brilliant auditions. He said his performance had scared the project’s management to death, and joked that in the film he wasn’t that brilliant.

Some of the scenes must have shown the ideas of the film’s authors. For example, throughout the film, the men constantly underestimate or objectify Clarice. The elevator scene, where she is in an elevator with much taller men and feels uncomfortable, clearly reflects this. Writer Martha Stewart, who dated Anthony Hopkins, broke off her relationship with him after the film’s release. It is said that this happened because she could not stop associating Hopkins with his sinister character. However, there were other stories. For example, Brooke Smith, who played Katherine, the kidnapped girl, and Ted Levine, who played the role of Buffalo Bill, became friends and supported each other during filming. Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for that role, even though his character appear in the film for a short time, just 16 minutes.

The transparent partition, which created a certain atmosphere allowing to make exceptional scenes, was originally built for convenience. Director Jonathan Demme felt that shooting through the bars would spoil the mood of the scenes.

Have you ever watched this movie? Do you think he really deserves an Oscar “Big Five”?