The Silence of the Lambs (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

BOTTOM LINE: Gory horror has never done much for me, but it's hard not to admire this brutal, bloody film. Stylish direction from Jonathan Demme and a star-making performance by Anthony Hopkins combine to deliver much more than just a creepy film about a creepy freak. Hopkins simply makes this movie. My wife is a huge fan of the film and this was a B-day gift for her. She loves it and, truthfully, so do I. 5 STARS THOUGHTS: An Oscar-winning motion picture that prominently features an insane doctor who kills & eats his patients(!). Gut-wrenching horror films don't get much classier than this. This film is as close as something like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE will ever get to grabbing an Academy Award. Anthony Hopkins, a long-time workaday actor, suddenly found himself 'discovered' and was rocketed to near superstar status when he walked away with an Oscar for his work as Hannibal Lector. And deservedly so. His Lector is one of the most skin-crawling, unnervingly chilling villains in screen history. It's not a far stretch to suggest that the plethora of roles he nabbed following his work in SotL would never have happened were it not for this film. Director Jonathan Demme, who has a long career of music videos, TV work, mainstream films and a surprising number of documentaries, truly made a name for himself with this piece. It takes a certain flair to turn such grisly stuff into acceptable product for the masses, and not lose the jagged edge in the process. Jodie Foster, in an excellent turn as emotionally damaged FBI agent Clarice Starling, had a brief re-ignition of her acting career thanks to this picture. Everything about the film clicks. It's amazingly well done, and even though the subject matter is understandably off-putting, it's hard not to be drawn in to the grim proceedings. Though you'll never be able to think of Chianti and fava beans the same way again. ;-) THE CRITERION BLU-RAY: As one would normally expect from upper-tier outfit Criterion, this hi-def release is a first class effort. First off, the film itself has received a spectacular 4k restoration & remastering, overseen by the film's DOP, Tak Fujimoto. It also gets a nice 5.1 stereo upgrade for the audio. The picture & sound are excellent, with no video or audio gremlins to spoil the viewing experience. There's a wealth of great bonus content for moviephiles and Lambs fans, including the terrific audio commentary track from 1994 with most of the main cast & crew. There are four documentaries, almost 40 minutes' worth of deleted scenes, storyboards, and more. An impressive effort and all of it good stuff. If you've been holding out for the best possible home video edition of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I'm pretty confident you won't find a better one than Criterion's edition. Recommended.

What a masterpiece. One of only a few movies I watch at least once a year and I notice stuff I never noticed previously. I’ve owned this on VHS, DVD, the previous MGM Blu-Ray Disc and I even own the Arrow limited Edition 4K. But I specifically wanted this Blu-Ray Disc as it comes with a commentary by Jodie Forster and Demmi that doesn’t appear on other boutique label’s releases including Arrow’s 4K. I must say, I was flawed when I saw how good the picture quality of this Blu-Ray Disc was. Arrow’s 4K transfer looks flawless and can not be faulted, however, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Blu-Ray Disc movie that looks this good, with the possible exception of T2 Skynet Edition and a handful of other titles.

MGM's 2009 blu-ray of the 1991 classic "The Silence of the Lambs" featured a woefully subpar transfer that resembled an upconverted DVD most of the time. Thankfully Criterion has come to the rescue with their blu-ray which features a 4K transfer from the original camera negative overseen by the film's director of photography. Simply put this new restored transfer is positively gorgeous! Detail is immaculate, colors are superb and with the film getting its own disc space as the bulk of the copious extras are on disc 2, the bit rate stays in the mid to upper 30's for the bulk of the film. Another huge plus for this release is that it features the original 2 channel stereo audio track in lossless quality. The legendary 1994 laserdisc commentary track is also back on this release which makes me very happy. Add in a 60 page booklet of essays and you have the definitive release of this amazing and highly influential film. Unless we ever get an UHD release with HDR applied to the transfer, the Criterion blu-ray disc will do perfectly. Here are the technical specs from Criterion's site: - New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Tak Fujimoto, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray - Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray - Audio commentary from 1994 featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and former FBI agent John Douglas - New interview with critic Maitland McDonagh - Thirty-eight minutes of deleted scenes - Four documentaries featuring hours of interviews with cast and crew - Behind-the-scenes featurette - Storyboards - Trailer - PLUS: A book featuring an introduction by Foster, an essay by critic Amy Taubin, pieces from 2000 and 2013 by author Thomas Harris on the origins of the character Hannibal Lecter, and a 1991 interview with Demme

When I saw that Criterion was putting out their special edition to The Silence Of The Lambs, I figured I had to get it. I love how Criterion embraces certain films and give them an almost pristine quality that makes you deeply appreciate them more and I guess Lambs is no exception. Winner of 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay), and based on the novel by Thomas Harris, it’s the story of Clarice Starling, a young, eager FBI trainee who is sent by her superiors to interview the notorious serial killer Hannibal Lector, to get insight into the mind and methodology of another serial killer, Buffalo Bill, who’s on the loose. What follows is a powerful game of psychological cat and mouse between the naive but determined Starling and the highly clever Lector yet there is an amazing sense of deep respect the grisly killer develops for the young would be agent. I admit when I first saw this movie on cable maybe a few years after it’s 1991 release, I was that gung ho about it, although I did admire the performances of Jodie Foster (Clarise) and Anthony Hopkins (chilling as Lector). Personally I always felt 1995’s Se7en was the superior crime thriller; but over time Lambs grew on me and I’ve learned to embrace it for the taut psychological thriller it is. I thought the sequel, 2002’s Hannibal, which brought Hopkins back to his Oscar winning role but this time with Starling now played by Julianne Moore, was very very good IMO.

Great restoration (1080p downscaled from a 4k scan of the original 35mm film negative). One of the only films to win the top 5 Oscars of that year. A suspenseful no holds barred story about an FBI rookie and her pursuit of a mentally complex serial killer. This put anthony Hopkins back on the map as the imprisoned uber intellectual and sneaky psychiatrist who the FBI seek assistance from tl profile the serial killer on the loose. This movie is commercial of course but the late director jonathan demme makes some very artful sequences that are unforgettable and make this film a perfect entry into the hallowed criterion collection (for example, the musical cross dressing dressing up sequence of the killer at his home- classic). Jodie foster as the fbi recruit is mapped out in detail and is quite the character. The interaction between her and Hopkins' creepy game playing make the audience feel vulnerable as well. The usual choice of digital film scanner that criterion's been using as of the past few years is noticeable here....its a medium thickness of brightness with perfect undistracting grain and a soft but not weak contrast scale. Hence balanced and not bad on the eyes; .and this way it yields more detail in terms of sharpness. Tak fujimoto's cinematography makes thing dark when they need to be, at all levels. The hi res surround sound is perfect...enveloping music and not distracting directional audio. The remixed and updated version beats the original mix by far...more drama is intensified. A great psychological art horror film that puts a microscope on vulnerable Americana- from intellects to nerds to white trash to the unbelieveable.

I compared this version to the Kino Lorber 4k and I love this Criterion version better for the packaging and extras not on the kino Lorber and even though the Kino is slightly better due to being a true 4k, this 1080p 4k scan on the original film negative pops with more color in some scenes and is right there with the Kino 4k. I have both, but love this Criterion better from a total packaging stand point ... can't go wrong with either one....

Classic rainy day movie good movie and I love the art work

Really happy to replace my dvd with this remastered Blu-ray. It's like watching the film again for the first time. The picture and sound are wonderful along with great special features. If I could, I'd take off half a star for the packaging, which I found difficult to open and had the discs stacked on each other. There is also a booklet about the film, which I will read once and probably toss.

Thank you so much I havé received my package !

Beautiful transfer of a game-changing film. I haven't even gotten to the special features yet but I'm excited to.

Es la edición especial en Bluray (no 4k)

Edição de Colecionador. Qualidade de som e imagem aprimorados e remasterizados. É nítida a diferença entre esta edição e as anteriores. Livreto repleto de informações. Dois discos bluray com um disco exclusivo somente de materiais extras. Não possue opções em PT BR.

憶えていますでしょうか。 かつてクライテリオン初のＴＨＸ ＬＤとして発売されたのが この「羊たちの沈黙」でした。 3管式のプロジェクターでご堪能された諸氏も多いのではと思います。 今回発売されたブルーレイもまた、その時の感動を与えてくれました。 発色やグラデーションに独自の落ち着きがあり、ああこれが映画なんだなと あらためて実感をしてしまいました。 グレインも楽しみましょうと教えてくれました。 解像度も良くて時おりハッとする遠近感・立体感が堪能できます。 ビットレートも高いです。 特に恐怖すら感じたのが、序盤の地下牢でのハンニバルとクラリスの対面シーン。 その時のふたりの瞳の妖しい輝きかた。 一見の価値があります。 迷っている方は即買いですよ。