The
first time I saw THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ($25) was on the old
pan and scan Image Entertainment Laserdisc, and for the life of me, I
couldn’t figure out why everyone made such a big fuss over this film.
Years later, after watching THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in wide screen
on DVD, I suddenly came to appreciate the intensity of this particular
film. All I can say is, what a difference a presentation makes. The proper
aspect ratio, coupled with the 16:9 anamorphic enhancement and a big screen
display has radically altered my perception of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Thanks to MGM’s first-rate presentation, I finally appreciate the complexities
of this Academy Award winning police procedural, whose murky appearance
and clinical detachment had previously left me cold.
Based
on the novel by Thomas Harris, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS tells the
story FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), whose ambition is to
go into behavioral science. An instructor at the FBI Academy gives Clarice
the task of interviewing cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter
(Anthony Hopkins), who is currently institutionalized in a facility for
the criminally insane. Using Clarice’s charm, the FBI hopes to gain Lecter’s
insight into a new serial killer that the press has dubbed "Buffalo
Bill" because of his penchant for skinning his victims. At first,
Lecter isn’t interested in helping the FBI, but he become intrigued by
Clarice, and so he begins a cat and mouse game with the FBI trainee that
will either lead her to "Buffalo Bill" or to a horrible end.
Both Foster and Hopkins shine in their Academy Award winning roles, with
Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter becoming one of scariest screen villains/monsters
of all time. The cast of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS also features
Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Kasi Lemmons, Anthony Heald, Frankie Faison,
Diane Baker, Roger Corman and Charles Napier.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a truly fine looking transfer that
gives THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a consistently sharp and well-defined
image. I remember the film having a murky appearance on both Laserdisc
and broadcast- this is absolutely not the case with MGM’s new DVD. The
picture is brighter and more cleanly render than I have ever seen it look.
Since this is a down conversion of a new high definition transfer, there
is no question that this the absolute finest THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
will look until that master is presented in its native format. Colors
are fairly vivid and the transfer produces very appealing flesh tones.
All of the more intense hues are rendered without any signs of chromatic
distortion or smearing. Blacks appear smooth and accurate, plus there
is a very good amount of shadow detail to be found in this decade old
film. The film element used for the transfer is nearly blemish free, plus
it displays very little apparent grain. Digital compression artifacts
are well disguised by efficient dual layer authoring.
For
this release, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is presented with a Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While not particularly showy, this is
a solid soundtrack that was produced before the advent of the new discrete
formats. There is excellent channel separation across the forward soundstage
and the rear channels effectively produce the film’s edgy sense of atmosphere,
through the use of ambient sounds and musical fill. The film’s dialogue
was very well recorded and is reproduced here with marvelous clarity and
intelligibility. Howard Shore’s intense score is rendered with a transparent
quality that maintains its full musical integrity. The bass channel isn’t
ground shaking, but the lower frequencies sound solid enough for the material
at hand. French Dolby Surround and Spanish monaural soundtracks are also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's suitably creepy interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few supplemental features. Topping things
off is brand new hour-long documentary on the making of THE SILENCE
OF THE LAMBS entitled Inside The Labyrinth. The documentary
features recent interviews with cast members including Anthony Hopkins,
Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith and Diane Baker, as well as members
of the production team. This is a very thorough look at the production
of the movie, and is a must see for any fan of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
The DVD also includes the film’s original featurette from 1991, which
is far less detailed and more PR oriented. About twenty minutes of deleted
scene are also present on the DVD, while they are interesting to see,
they add nothing to the completed film and were cut to create a tighter
paced motion picture. A photo gallery, theatrical trailer, TV spots and
an outtake reel close out the main supplements. An amusing phone message
featuring Anthony Hopkins is also provided on the DVD for those that want
to give answering machines a new twist.
Thanks
to MGM’s wonderful DVD presentation, I have finally come to appreciate
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Those who are already fans are going
to love this DVD and will absolutely want to add this multiple Academy
Award winner to their collections. Very highly recommended.
The
first time I saw THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ($25) was on the old
pan and scan Image Entertainment Laserdisc, and for the life of me, I
couldn’t figure out why everyone made such a big fuss over this film.
Years later, after watching THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in wide screen
on DVD, I suddenly came to appreciate the intensity of this particular
film. All I can say is, what a difference a presentation makes. The proper
aspect ratio, coupled with the 16:9 anamorphic enhancement and a big screen
display has radically altered my perception of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Thanks to MGM’s first-rate presentation, I finally appreciate the complexities
of this Academy Award winning police procedural, whose murky appearance
and clinical detachment had previously left me cold.
Based
on the novel by Thomas Harris, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS tells the
story FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), whose ambition is to
go into behavioral science. An instructor at the FBI Academy gives Clarice
the task of interviewing cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter
(Anthony Hopkins), who is currently institutionalized in a facility for
the criminally insane. Using Clarice’s charm, the FBI hopes to gain Lecter’s
insight into a new serial killer that the press has dubbed "Buffalo
Bill" because of his penchant for skinning his victims. At first,
Lecter isn’t interested in helping the FBI, but he become intrigued by
Clarice, and so he begins a cat and mouse game with the FBI trainee that
will either lead her to "Buffalo Bill" or to a horrible end.
Both Foster and Hopkins shine in their Academy Award winning roles, with
Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter becoming one of scariest screen villains/monsters
of all time. The cast of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS also features
Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Kasi Lemmons, Anthony Heald, Frankie Faison,
Diane Baker, Roger Corman and Charles Napier.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a truly fine looking transfer that
gives THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a consistently sharp and well-defined
image. I remember the film having a murky appearance on both Laserdisc
and broadcast- this is absolutely not the case with MGM’s new DVD. The
picture is brighter and more cleanly render than I have ever seen it look.
Since this is a down conversion of a new high definition transfer, there
is no question that this the absolute finest THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
will look until that master is presented in its native format. Colors
are fairly vivid and the transfer produces very appealing flesh tones.
All of the more intense hues are rendered without any signs of chromatic
distortion or smearing. Blacks appear smooth and accurate, plus there
is a very good amount of shadow detail to be found in this decade old
film. The film element used for the transfer is nearly blemish free, plus
it displays very little apparent grain. Digital compression artifacts
are well disguised by efficient dual layer authoring.
For
this release, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is presented with a Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While not particularly showy, this is
a solid soundtrack that was produced before the advent of the new discrete
formats. There is excellent channel separation across the forward soundstage
and the rear channels effectively produce the film’s edgy sense of atmosphere,
through the use of ambient sounds and musical fill. The film’s dialogue
was very well recorded and is reproduced here with marvelous clarity and
intelligibility. Howard Shore’s intense score is rendered with a transparent
quality that maintains its full musical integrity. The bass channel isn’t
ground shaking, but the lower frequencies sound solid enough for the material
at hand. French Dolby Surround and Spanish monaural soundtracks are also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's suitably creepy interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few supplemental features. Topping things
off is brand new hour-long documentary on the making of THE SILENCE
OF THE LAMBS entitled Inside The Labyrinth. The documentary
features recent interviews with cast members including Anthony Hopkins,
Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith and Diane Baker, as well as members
of the production team. This is a very thorough look at the production
of the movie, and is a must see for any fan of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
The DVD also includes the film’s original featurette from 1991, which
is far less detailed and more PR oriented. About twenty minutes of deleted
scene are also present on the DVD, while they are interesting to see,
they add nothing to the completed film and were cut to create a tighter
paced motion picture. A photo gallery, theatrical trailer, TV spots and
an outtake reel close out the main supplements. An amusing phone message
featuring Anthony Hopkins is also provided on the DVD for those that want
to give answering machines a new twist.
Thanks
to MGM’s wonderful DVD presentation, I have finally come to appreciate
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Those who are already fans are going
to love this DVD and will absolutely want to add this multiple Academy
Award winner to their collections. Very highly recommended.
