Other Titles • The Silence of the Lambs • Das Schweigen der Lämmer (1991)
Trivia from The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
1
Gene Hackman was first offered the role of Hannibal Lecter, and was set to direct, but he withdrew after watching a clip of himself in Mississippi Burning (1988) at the The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989) (TV), which made him uneasy about taking more violent roles. When Jonathan Demme took over as director, he offered the role of Clarice first to Michelle Pfeiffer and also to Meg Ryan.
(3 votes)
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Louis Gossett Jr. was also considered for the role of Hannibal Lecter.
Robert Duvall was considered for the role of Hannibal Lecter, and Jeremy Irons turned it down.
Jack Nicholson was considered for the part of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Robert De Niro was considered for the part of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
3
The role of Hannibal Lecter was originally offered to Brian Cox (who played the role in Manhunter (1986)).
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Dino De Laurentiis, who had produced Manhunter (1986), passed on Silence of the Lambs because Manhunter had flopped. He gave the rights away free to Orion Pictures.
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The Tobacco horn worm moths used throughout the film were given celebrity treatment by the filmmakers. They were flown first class to the set (in a special carrier), had special living quarters (rooms with controlled humidity and heat) and were dressed in carefully designed costumes (body shields bearing a painted skull & crossbones)
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A large part of the shoot took place in Pittsburgh. The city was chosen for its variety of landscapes and architecture, which was necessary to portray various parts of the country. All the film's interiors were constructed and shot in an abandoned Pittsburgh factory.
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Anthony Hopkins described his voice for Hannibal Lecter as, "a combination of Truman Capote and Katharine Hepburn."
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After the shootout with Gumb, Starling has partially burned gunpowder buried in the skin on the side of her face, the result of a near-miss. One name for this type of injury is "coal miner's tattoo" - a clever reference to the character's background
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Theatrical release: February 13, 1991.
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Filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
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Shooting began on November 15, 1989, and wrapped on March 1, 1990.
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Estimated budget: $19 million.
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THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is number 65 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
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To perfect the voice of Hannibal, Anthony Hopkins based his speech on the dry voice of the Hal 9000 computer from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
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Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar despite being in the film for no more than 30 minutes, the shortest screen appearance for any Best Actor winner.
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THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS actually features the second screen appearance of Hannibal Lecter. Played by Brian Cox, the character first appears in Michael Mann's MANHUNTER, which is based on the Thomas Harris novel RED DRAGON.
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Roger Corman plays FBI Director Hayden Burke in the film.
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Demme regular Charles Napier plays Boyle.
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Chris Isaak appears briefly as a SWAT commander.
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Try to catch how many times Anthony Hopkins blinks in various scenes....
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The sequel, HANNIBAL, opened on February 9, 2001. Ridley Scott took over the direction, and Julianne Moore played Clarice Starling instead of Jodie Foster. Hopkins again played Hannibal, deliciously.DVD Features:
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Region 1 Encoding
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Special Features: Includes deleted scenes, storyboards, and audio commentary by the stars and filmmakers.
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The personality and characteristics of Jack Crawford are based on John Douglas, a detective in real life. Douglas himself helped improve the character of Jack Crawford by coaching Scott Glenn.
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The character Buffalo is based on the actions of 3 real life serial killers. Ed Gein skinned his victims. Gary Heidnick kept the women he kidnapped contained in a pit in his basement. Ted Bundy used his "disability", a broken arm, to get women to help him, and get them into his van.
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The serial killer Albert Fish was the inspiration for the traits of Hannibal Lecter.
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The cocoon of a moth that was found in the mouth of one of Buffalo Bill's victims was actually made out of Tootsie-Rolls and gummy bears. This way, the actor would not be consuming any toxins if he swallowed it.
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Gene Hackman, Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Duvall, Jack Nicholson, and Robert DeNiro were all considered to play the role of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
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Many people misquote the film by saying that Hannibal Lecter said "Hello, Clarice". Instead, he said "Good evening, Clarice".
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