The Silence of the Lambs: The Inside Story (2010)

- written September 28th, 2010

Summary: With interviews from cast and crew, including stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and director Jonathan Demme, you'll hear how a film with a young director trained in B-movies and cheesy comedies managed to make one of the most chilling films in decades, and how a studio in the midst of collapse could turn out a film that took the box office and Oscars by storm. We'll also examine how Foster was able to make the transition from child star to silver screen sensation, and how an all-but-retired Hopkins was coerced back into the Hollywood scene to create one of the most indelible villains in film history. And finally, we'll learn that despite the darkness of the subject matter, Demme and the crew managed to withstand a bone-chilling Pittsburgh winter to work at the top of their game and turn out an unforgettable film. So grab some fava beans and a nice Chianti, sit back, and enjoy!           Overall: I found this a very fascinating and enjoyable documentary. With commercials, it ran 2 hours long (maybe 90 minutes without) and frankly even without them it still felt we could got all the relevant points in at prob an hour. But they really covered all angles here…casting issues, director choice issues, screenwriting, budget, etc. It’s fascinating that the final product was such an epic, such a strong powerful film, that if you watch the first choices for the casting, this film could have gone very, very wrong. Michelle Pfeiffer instead of Jodie Foster? Gene Hackman or Robert Duvall instead of Anthony Hopkins? Looking back, I think there’s no question, the acting was just spectacular as it was and frankly couldn’t have been better, only worse. I thought Gene Hackman has done some tremendous roles in the past (French Connection, Unforgiven, etc.) but also some abhorrent roles too…this film would have been an after that in retrospect with him at the helm. I think every decision ended up working out, even if nothing went the way the director wanted it too. Even the pushed-back rel4eases dates worked in their favor as well. Can you believe it was 18 years ago????           A must-see film for any fan of the Thomas Harris films, and this film in particular.

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