In a new video, Marco from Nerdkultur talks about the classic film that is probably the first thing that comes to mind when everyone thinks of Hannibal Lecter. You can find out exactly what good reasons there are for this here.
Who is Marco Risch? Marco Risch has been uploading videos with news, reviews, analyzes and interviews about current films, series and video games to his YouTube channel Nerdkultur since 2015.
In his podcast Nerd & Culture every Sunday he chats with his colleague Yves Arievich about topics like Star Wars, Marvel and DC. Both belong to the Webedia network, of which MeinMMO is also a part.
In a new video, Marco now talks about the classic “The Silence of the Lambs” and explains why hardly any other film could portray Hannibal Lecter so well:
Afterwards you will see The Silence of the Lambs with different eyes…
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What makes The Silence of the Lambs so special? When many people think of this film, they probably think of the great portrayal of Hannibal Lecter by actor Anthony Hopkins. Marco explains in his video why this didn’t just make The Silence of the Lambs unavailable, or why we remember him exactly.
In this film you look directly into the eyes of Hannibal Lecter and through the eyes of Jodie Foster’s Claire Starling. For example, their counterparts always look directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall. However, she always stops by for a bit. As Marco explains, a targeted effect to make you see the story through her eyes.
The book itself tells the story from her perspective, with short snippets of thoughts and inner monologues. But everything is somehow from the narrator’s perspective and therefore quite conventional. Unlike director Jonathan Demme, who, according to Marco, used a very unconventional method.
The film never really leaves the perspective of the young FBI agent. The camera follows her every step of the way and shows you how she perceives this male-dominated world in which she was isolated from the start.
What makes Hannibal Lecter so special here? In his video, Marco primarily makes the point that you don’t even see Hannibal Lecter at first. Instead, you just listen to his stories, look into Sterling’s eyes, and leave the rest to your imagination.
That alone probably built up enough tension, but when the man actually comes into the picture, he is embodied in a special way by Anthony Hopkins. For example, he improvised the remark about Sterling’s southern accent, eliciting an authentic reaction from Jodie Foster.
The power dynamic between the two characters is primarily supported by the production design. There’s a glass wall between the two instead of prison bars, and Hannibal almost towers over Sterling when she’s sitting herself.
In his video, Marco points out that Hopkins only has 16 minutes of screen time in the almost 2 hours. Which isn’t a lot, but it was enough to get burned into your head. Marco cites the fact that he never actually blinks in his scenes as a special reason.
Because with his staring eyes, this Hannibal Lecter always makes you a little nervous and definitely made sure to stay in your memory.
Marco tells you in another video why the sequel to Dune comes close to another classic film: Dune 2 is the new The Empire Strikes Back