The Silence of the Lambs, which is a 1991 film adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Thomas Harris by director Jonathan Demme, was released in our country as the Silence of the Lambs. Later, sequels called Hannibal in 2001 and Red Dragon in 2002 were made, and the legend of the Silence of the Lambs turned into a series.
When the Silence of the Lambs is mentioned, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. It’s normal because after the movie, the character found a place in many different stories and became one of the indispensable figures of the horror culture. Be sure, what happened behind the camera of The Silence of the Lambs has as interesting details as the story of the movie.
Extraordinary information you will hear for the first time about the movie The Silence of the Lambs:
- It is one of only three films to win the Oscars.
- The Silence of the Lambs made Oscar history.
- Hannibal Lecter’s first movie isn’t actually The Silence of the Lambs.
- The casting was very different.
- Anthony Hopkins’ home was destroyed because of the movie.
- The character of Hannibal Lecter plays with our subconscious.
- Scott Glenn almost went crazy preparing for his role.
- Buffalo Bill bears traces of three different serial killers.
- Brooke Smith had to gain tens of pounds to act in the movie.
It is one of three films to win the Oscars:
The Silence of the Lambs was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning five of them. It Happened One Night in 1935 and One Flew Over in 1976, as one of the three films that won the Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay awards, namely the Oscar’s Big Five. He had it written alongside the Cuckoo’s Nest movies.
The Silence of the Lambs made Oscar history:
Of course, getting the big five Oscars made The Silence of the Lambs history, but there’s more to it. The Silence of the Lambs was also the film where the leading role was the least seen and received an award. The character of Hannibal Lecter, for which Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance, only appears for 16 minutes throughout the movie. This is how master acting happens.
Hannibal Lecter’s first movie isn’t actually The Silence of the Lambs:
The iconic figure of The Silence of the Lambs and later horror culture, Hannibal Lecter was the main character in the four-book series by Thomas Harris. The first book in the series was adapted into a movie by director Michael Mann in 1986 as Manhunter. Yes, there is a Hannibal Lecter movie before The Silence of the Lambs. But Manhunter was such a bad and failed movie that Mann gave all the rights to the character of Hannibal free to the producers of The Silence of the Lambs. Good thing he did.
The casting choices were much different:
Actress Jodie Foster, who plays the character of Clarice Starling in the movie, actually wanted to get the movie rights to the novel, but it was too late. She wanted to play the character of Clarice Starling when it was late, but the producers were considering the name Michelle Pfeiffer for her. Fortunately, Pfeiffer thought the film was too dark, so the role of Clarice Starling fell to Jodie Foster. Even though Foster was afraid of screwing up an FBI agent character, he still did a great job.
More interestingly, for the character of Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins, who seems like he was born for this role, was the last name that came to mind. Daniel Day-Lewis and Derek Jacobi were considered but not discussed. The name Sean Connery was insisted on and the script was sent to the actor. Sean Connery made the mistake of the century, saying that he found the script disgusting and turned down the offer. Finally, Hannibal and Anthony were reunited.
Anthony Hopkins’ home was destroyed because of the movie:
- Martha Stewart
During the filming of The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins and Martha Stewart, one of the famous business people of the time, had a relationship and they were quite happy; until the movie comes out. The duo broke up after the movie was released. This was because of the character Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins. After watching the movie, Martha said that whenever she looked at Anthony, all she saw was a cold-blooded serial killer. It means you don’t have to be such a good player.
Hannibal Lecter character plays with our subconscious:
Let’s remember the scene. Clarice Starling confronts our cannibalistic serial killer and Hannibal Lecter says ‘Hello Clarice’ to him. Really? For some reason, all fans of the movie have such a misconception. Actually, Hannibal says ‘Good evening, Clarice’ in this scene, but for some reason, if you ask anyone, he is sure that the character says hello.
Another point that the character of Hannibal Lecter plays with our subconscious is his outfit. Hannibal, who will actually wear a completely different outfit, is decided to go white with Anthony Hopkins’ idea. Thus, Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist, wears white, triggering many people’s subconscious fear of doctors and dentists. In one small detail, Thomas Harris says that the character of Hannibal was created without inspiration from anyone.
Scott Glenn almost went crazy while preparing for his role:
Jack Crawford, one of the side characters that enriched the story of The Silence of the Lambs, was played by the successful actor Scott Glenn. While preparing for the role, Glenn listened to audio recordings of serial killers found in the FBI archive. He later recounted that when Glenn came out of the archive crying, he nearly lost my mind. He also says that although he was against it until that day, he started to support the death penalty after listening to the recordings.
Buffalo Bill bears traces of three different serial killers:
We keep talking about Hannibal Lecter, but let’s not forget Jame Gumb, nicknamed Buffalo Bill, the other serial killer in the Silence of the Lambs story. Although the character of Buffalo Bill, portrayed with a masterful performance by Ted Levine, draws attention with his unique disturbing features, he was actually inspired by real serial killers Ted Bundy, Gary M. Heidnik and Ed Gein when creating the character of Thomas Harris. The iconic dance scene was entirely Ted Levine’s idea. Rumor has it that he got a little drunk before the dance.
Brooke Smith had to gain tens of pounds to act in the movie:
In The Silence of the Lambs, the character of Catherine Martin, who was kidnapped and tortured by Buffalo Bill, was played admirably by young actress Brooke Smith. Brooke Smith wanted the role so badly that she agreed to the producers’ requirement that you have to gain 25 pounds. Brooke Smith, who started taking lessons from actor Vincent D’Onofrio, who gained 35 kilos for the role of Private Pyle in the movie Full Metal Jacket, later said in an interview, “I ate so much that they exceeded the budget of the movie because of me.” he joked.
We talked about the extraordinary information, some of which you heard for the first time, about the movie The Silence of the Lambs, which is considered one of the masterpieces of horror and psychological thriller cinema. You can share your thoughts about the Silence of the Lambs movie and other movies in the series in the comments.
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