25 Years Ago: “The Silence of the Lambs”

Twenty five years ago today, The Silence of the Lambs was released by Orion Pictures. It went on to become one of three movies to win the so-called Big Five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Adapted). The other two are It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).

The movie is a gem and for screenwriters a master class in handling characters, themes, and story structure. In fact, it’s one of my go-to movies when teaching screenwriting theory.

Here is a 5 part GITS analysis series we did on the movie:

General Comments
Structure
Characters
Themes
Dialogue

Here is the original trailer for the movie:

And here is a 90 minute documentary on the making of The Silence of the Lambs:

A Vanity Fair article by Scott Beggs: “The Silence of the Lambs: A Twisted Rom-Com That’s Perfect for Valentine’s Day”.

Interview with screenwriter Ted Tally.

What are your memories and associations with The Silence of the Lambs?