At the beginning of the 90s, The Silence of the Lambs changed the serial killer genre and is still one of the best thrillers of all time. Although Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins hardly spoke to each other during filmingit’s the chemistry between the eager FBI candidate and the charismatic cannibal that makes the film so great. Today The Silence of the Lambs is on TV.
The Silence of the Lambs on TV: A feared and charismatic serial killer
The FBI has been looking for the woman murderer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) for a long time, about whom they have almost no clues. In order to find out about him, the young FBI candidate Clarice Starling (Foster) should turn to the imprisoned ex-psychiatrist and cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins). The highly intelligent psychopath understands how to empathize with the perpetrator and could find out his whereabouts. But he also knows how to manipulate Clarice.
Director Jonathan Demme manages to direct the film close to the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris and to show a serial killer who extremely dangerous and at the same time incredibly charming is. Hopkins wins the audience’s sympathy with his multifaceted playing. Despite Lecter’s cold-blooded desire to murder.
The perfect counterpart is Jodie Foster, who, in addition to Clarice’s strength, also repeatedly shows her vulnerability. As a young woman in a completely male-dominated job, she doesn’t just have to contend with murderers. She pushes through without falling into the victim role. And still gives a clear view behind the hard facade. The relationship that develops between her and Lecter is so compelling that it even overshadows the search for Buffalo Bill.
Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins were afraid of each other
Foster and Hopkins’ convincing performances won them both Oscars, but apparently caused fear on set during filming. In an interview with Graham Norton, Foster says that she was terrified of her colleague from the first reading of the script. According to her own statement, she avoided the Brit on set and didn’t speak to him. “On the last day I admitted that I was afraid of him. And he was like, ‘I was scared of you!’“
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Hopkins was also intimidated by his colleague’s talent, as he revealed to her in a conversation with Variety in 2021. “I was afraid to talk to you. I thought, ‘She just won an Oscar!’”
The Silence of the Lambs also inspired two new suspense thrillers
The Silence of the Lambs is an inspiration for two films that share this in the cinema in the summer. The horror hype Longlegs with Nicolas Cage clearly has an analog 90s atmosphere. And in Trap, director M. Night Shyamalan also made no secret of the fact that he had modeled himself on the thriller masterpiece.
When is The Silence of the Lambs on TV?
Cable one shows the serial killer thriller on today, Wednesday, October 23rd at 10:40 p.m. The repeat will be a few hours later on the night of October 24th at 3:00 a.m. If you missed The Silence of the Lambs on TV, you can stream it for free on Prime without a subscription.
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