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THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Oh, if only the poor, horrible inmates of the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital knew what they were doing when they chanted that madman's name, deifying him in the process. Little did Miggs and the rest of the psychopaths imprisoned with Dr. Hannibal Lecter realize at the time that they were creating an icon, a pop culture phenomenon on a par with Bart Simpson, Pamela Anderson and SURVIVOR. Or could it be that we're the madmen who've created this sequel-spawning monster?

It started with Thomas Harris' novel RED DRAGON, which was made in to a 1986 film by Michael Mann called MANHUNTER. Brian Cox played Dr. Lecter in that little-noticed picture, but it was Anthony Hopkin's turn in the role that helped make THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS one of the biggest films of 1991. Also based on a Harris novel, the Jonathan Demme-directed film went on to win five Oscars, including Best Picture. Success demanded a sequel, so when Harris finally completed his long-awaited follow-up book, HANNIBAL, last year's film version, again with Hopkins, was soon to follow. And now there's talk of remaking MANHUNTER - with Hopkins starring as Lecter, of course.

But it's SILENCE that will no doubt stand as the greatest of these films. The picture is a psychological terror train that defies established story conventions in favor of a haunting tale of evil. Foster is FBI trainee Clarice Starling, a woman in a man's world who is called upon to interview the incarcerated Lecter with hopes of gaining insight into the personality of Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who is currently on the loose. What begins as a sort of extra-credit assignment for Starling develops in to a unique relationship with Lecter, as the two come to understand each other better than either one might have thought possible.

The film benefits immeasurably from Hopkins' and Foster's performances. The former presents the evil of a refined, hyper-intelligent monster, one who would just as soon discuss art with an acquaintance as eat her, depending on whether he deems the person worth speaking to or not. The latter is a character who reveals her deepest secrets and emotions to Lecter and, despite herself, comes to sort of respect the killer who, after all, helps her track down Buffalo Bill.

Demme knows that the scenes between Clarice and Lecter are the glue that holds the film together. The two play off one another perfectly, with Demme utilizing lengthy close-ups of each, until the characters become sort of unnaturally united. In their last in-person meeting in the film, Lecter's finger gently skims Clarice's hand in what has to be one of the most chilling moments in the movie.

The rest of the film is constructed perfectly, whether it's Clarice's constant bumping of her head against a patriarchal society, the indescribably disgusting and pathetic Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) going about his nasty business, or the suspenseful escape attempt by Hannibal near film's end. Some complain that the movie is too schizophrenic, with the Lecter and Buffalo Bill sections representing two different films entirely. True, this could have been the case in the hands of a less-skilled director, but Demme manages to take the disparate parts of the screenplay and forge them into a cohesive whole. The result is an atmospheric thriller that remains one of the best of its kind a decade since its release.

This new Special Edition DVD from MGM has been timed to coincide with their new HANNIBAL two-disc set. This, however, is not the first time SILENCE has seen released on disc; a features-less version came from Image Entertainment in 1998, while an extensive Criterion Collection disc was also released that year, complete with audio commentary from the cast and crew (among other extras culled from an earlier Laserdisc release).

Unfortunately, this new disc does not have that audio commentary or any, for that matter but it does feature a brand-new, widescreen anamorphic transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Despite the lack of a commentary, extra features are abundant as well on this package. Chief among these are two making-of featurettes. The first, called INSIDE THE LABYRINTH: THE MAKING OF THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, is a brand-new piece that runs over an hour long and contains new interviews with Anthony Hopkins, Ted Levine, screenwriter Ted Tally and many others. The doc is very thorough, detailing the genesis of the project (originally intended for Gene Hackman to direct and possibly star in), the casting of it, the production and lots more. (You even get to see the evolution of Hannibal's famous mask, with Hopkins wearing various prototypes for camera tests.) The second featurette is less informative, but interesting in an archival sort of way; it's an untitled segment, clocking in at nine minutes, that was the original making-of piece from 1991.

20 minutes worth of deleted scenes will thrill SILENCE fans. "Clarice Meets Lecter: Excerpts," "Clarice Reviews Phony Deal," "Lecter's Escape" and about 19 other bits are brief but tantalizing trims. The best of these is an intense, teary Hopkins monologue where he describes the disturbed Buffalo Bill to Clarice.

Other features include a short audio bit by Anthony Hopkins doing his best Hannibal Lecter that can be used on your answering machine as a phone message. The "never-before-seen" outtakes reel only runs about two minutes long, but it's a fun two minutes. The usual hanky-panky goes on, plus you also get to hear Ms. Foster say "fuck" out of character - just like a real person! An extensive photo gallery contains over 100 images and covers areas such as actor profiles, special effects and "FBI." There are also trailers for SILENCE and HANNIBAL, as well as eight TV spots.

The previous DVD versions of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS have proven somewhat difficult to find nowadays; it's a moot point, though, now that MGM's new disc is available. While an audio commentary would have been nice, the terrific new transfer on this DVD is enough to make this the "definitive" edition of one of the great films of the '90s.