Customer Reviews

The Hannibal Lecter Anthology (Hannibal / The Silence of the Lambs)

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While it is a bit sad that all four Hannibal the Cannibal classics will most likely never be released in a box set, I can understand it because of the different companies who have made the movies. This box set, however, is quite excellent. I myself feel that The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal are both equally brilliant and deserve a place in any person who calls himself a movie buff's collection.

The Silence of the Lambs was director Jonathan Demme's academy award winning 1991 classic. The success of the film, however, should not only be attributed to the director, because it was the work of the cinematographer, editor, writer, set director and, most of all, brilliant actors. Jodie Foster -IS- FBI agent Clarice Starling, brilliant, young, attractive (well, not really) and tough. Foster perfectly displays the emotions that go through her character and her growth throughout the picture. Some of my favorite scenes were where she discovers Buffalo Bill (the way she yells "freeze" is great!) and when she stands up to a crowd of men and orders them out of the room where an autopsy is taking place. Anthony Hopkins completely deserved his academy award as Hannibal. His portrayal of Hannibal and his personality was quite interesting. The way I see it, Hannibal is quite a nice gentlemen, but has a very large problem, that being his love for the taste of human flesh. I think you can tell from his scenes with Clarice Starling what a polite person he is. He might ask some personal questions, but the way he talks is courteous and friendly, if a bit intense. The cinematography of the film is fabulous, too. Clarice's descent into Lecter's holding cell is expertly handled, and the near final sequence with Clarice and Buffalo Bill is almost unbearably intense, thanks also to some wonderful music by Howard Shore. All in all, The Silence of the Lambs is a classic thriller which will live forever and deserves a place in everyone's collection.

The controversial sequel, 2001's Hannibal, is really quite an underappreciated piece of brilliant cinema. Ridley Scott is in top form as director here. The movie is overloaded with style of every type. Slow motion, overhead views, stylish flashbacks, sped up film, intense action and a brilliant use of classical music all add up to create an extremely memorable viewing experience. As for actors, they are all perfect. I was surprised to not think once about how well Julianne Moore was doing in comparison to Jodie Foster, and that was because she was equal to Foster. Rather than copying Foster's performance in The Silence of the Lambs, Moore makes the character her own. The Clarice of this film is meaner, more cynical and has a much smarter mouth than Foster's Clarice. This is because Hannibal takes place ten years after The Silence of the Lambs, so naturally, she wouldn't be such a goody goody, follow-the-rules woman. Anthony Hopkins steals the show as Hannibal. He is just as great as in the previous movies. In this film, Hannibal is free and loose, and from Hopkin's great acting, you can tell how much he treasures his freedom. Just look at how he sips his brandy and his cappachino. I loved that Lecter was free to do what he wanted in this film. Critics like Roger Ebert didn't seem to, and felt it took away from his mystery and creepiness. As much as I love Ebert, I must disagree. Having Hannibal out of the mental home was a work of genius and added a ton of creepiness to the flick. I have read Thomas Harris' novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal and feel that both movies do the books extreme justice, and, unbelievably, outdo them. In the case of The Silence of the Lambs, the movie version very accurately portrays the book version. Hannibal, however, was changed quite a bit. One part of the book I really liked that is nowhere in the film was Mason Verger's lesbian, body building sister, Margot. Also, Mason's love of terrorizing kids wasn't shown much in the film. The ending was suprmemely changed, but believe it or not, I liked the movie ending better. Hopkin's and Moore's performances in the finale are pitch perfect. Nothing removed from the book lowered my love for the film.

This set comes with two fantastic special editions. On The Silence of the Lambs, we find two documentaries, one old and one new, with the latter being quite fabulous. There are twenty minutes worth of deleted material. Some stuff was worthless and some stuff was very good, like one where Clarice is suspended by the FBI (Krendler's hate of her is set up for the sequel). There's also a rather funny phone message Anthony Hopkins left on his answering machine. Finally, posters, TV spots and a trailer are presented. The movie is in excellent 1:85:1 anamorphic ratio and has great 5.1 surround sound. The sequel is a fully laden two disc extravagenza which includes commentary by Ridley Scott, a very long documentary, 38 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, trailers and an "anatomy of a shootout" feature. Also presented in 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen and with really good 5.1 surround sound. If there is any problem with these DVDs, it is the fact that the The Silence of the Lambs disc has almost none of the features found on the Criterion DVD, which included what I hear was an excellent audio commentary. It sounds like Criterion has a real problem with passing over any special features to a different company, so I can't blame MGM.

Overall, both of these films are masterpieces and the set is great. Also pick up Manhunter and Red Dragon on DVD from Anchor Bay and Universal.

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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm having an old friend for dinner. Ta ta.

1992: "Silence Of The Lambs" struck a chord with audiences, causing them to visit their therapists more often, it was said, and people became fans of Anthony Hopkins' portrayal as the elegant, intellectual, charming but psychotic cannibal ex-therapist Hannibal Lecter. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, the movie won a host of awards, including best picture. Jodie Foster portrayed the novice FBI agent Clarice Starling, whose chemistry with Hopkins was what carried the weight of the film and made it an Oscar winner.

On DVD, the experience is very thrilling and state-of-the art. Silence Of The Lambs still sends chills down our spines, and engages us in a disturbing world of madness, tinged with cynical humor and engrossing conversations between Hopkins and Foster. Anthony Hopkins is Hannibal Lecter, the former therapist turned cannibal and criminal. It's undoubtedly Anthony Hopkins' trademark role and one that he will be remembered by. We are unnerved when Hannibal Lecter first meets Clarice Starling in the dungeon of the prison, where he confesses that he once "ate a man's liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti". To extract information revolving the transvestite skin-collector Buffalo Bill, Clarice must reveal deeply personal and traumatizing events from her childhood. She recalls running away from an abusive home only to witness the slaughter of innocent lambs in a farm house. The memory continues to haunt her and is reawakened by the hypnotic power of Dr. Lecter. The movie ends with the capture of Buffalo Bill and Clarice Starling's promotion. But Dr. Lecter manages to escape his cell and vanishes into Italy. Which brings us to the next film in the collection, the sequel, also based on the book by Thomas Harris. The follow-up "Hannibal".

2002: Ten years after the release of "Silence Of The Lambs", and ten years after the plotline of that particular film, we find Clarice Starling in a precarious situation. She has been demoted during a violent incident and is still haunted by memories of Dr. Lecter. A lonesome woman, she receives letters from Dr. Lecter, who (like old times) wishes to help Clarice get her career going again and capture another notorious psychotic killer. Dr. Lecter has been living a comfortable and reclusive life in Florence, Italy, a city which had always enchanted him. In Florence, Lecter attends operas, plays Bach's "Goldberg Variations", sips champagne and yes, still hungers for human flesh. Clarice and another agent (played by Ray Liotta) attempt to foil Dr. Lecter's machinations, but are captured and imprisoned in the dining room of Starling's home. In a disturbing sequence, Dr. Lecter, Starling and the FBI agent eat a dinner with the main course being the agent's own brain. Dr. Lecter manages to escape once again.

Most recently, the pre-quel to the events in "Silence Of The Lambs" was released, based also upon the successful Thomas Harris novel "Red Dragon". Red Dragon is still to be released on DVD. These films are the perfect "thriller" collection, each with its own striking features, plus interviews with the actors and director. For fans of the Thomas Harris novels and fans of the films, this is a genuinely superb gift.

Considering the first two movies, Silence and Hannibal, were released before DVDs were the mainstream media, selling mostly as VHS tapes, and Red Dragon released later as DVD, it's a good idea to have the first two released again together as a DVD set. Such as in my case, I had them on VHS and then the DVD of Red Dragon; now I can get the other two on DVD for a low price and complete the set!

Just as you would not read only the first third of a good book, you should not see Silence of the Lambs without also watching Hannibal and Red Dragon. They are all essential and powerful parts of the Hannibal Lecter story. One should not cheaply judge these films as regular horror movies for their individual entertainment value because they are all part of the masterpiece Thomas Harris has created. I strongly recommend reading the (now four) novels to anyone who would dare criticize the films without doing so.

In my opinion, Hannibal is the greatest of the films, truly portraying Harris' Lecter for all he is, accompanied by Hans Zimmer's amazing original score and beautiful scenery/culture of Italy. Best of all, the movie focuses on the deranged genius Hannibal himself, not using him as an example as in the two other films. The beast is finally out of his cage and he will not be stopped.

I only hope now that the new film Hannibal Rising, to be released February 2007, will be comparable to the beauty of Hannibal, in its photography and in its musical scoring.

Is there a more powerful combination than Jodie and Tony together, AND in two movies based on novels of such a writer as Thomas Harris?

The Silence Of The Lambs, aside from being one of my most memorable novels ever to be read, is a movie that reframed the word 'Ideal'. For a 1991 release, this movie broke the grounds with breathtaking direction, amazing music and stunning performance by both stars. Foster literally absorbed the character of Clarice Starling, not an easy job to do. Hopkins had the words Psychopatic Psychiatrist written all over his forehead during the movie, aside from giving the character a boost into real life, he managed not to stagger on the ground while he literally transformed into Hannibal Lecter.

In The Sequel, Hannibal, everyone saw a sudden shift in the story. Now the predator was loose from the jail cell, in a calm and spiritual environment such as Florence, Italy. The plot was truly well-planned (thanks to the writer), and the professional way in which the movie was shot totally gave it the italan bliss. As always, the soundtrack added a hidden glow to the movie, and of course, the brilliant performance by Julianne Moore who did not let anyone down picking up the character after Foster, another hard damn job.

Overall, this collection is essential to any horror/thriller fan, priced neatly and worth the time.

Both THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and HANNIBAL are put together in this DVD set with some impressive DVD extras.
Jonathan Demme's psychological thriller remains one of the best, simply because of the excellent talent involved, with Anthony Hopkins in superbly creepy form as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Jodie Foster, along with Hopkins, deservedly won an Academy Award for her brilliant performance as FBI agent Clarice Starling. Based on Thomas Harris's novel, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is one of the few thrillers which relies heavily on psychological terror rather than splatter horror and "boo!" scares.
But there are some extremely effective shocks and twists during the course of the film. And Howard Shore's dark, brooding score adds to the creepy tone. Although the film's plot centres around tracking down the crazed serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), Hopkins is the standout performance. The clever back-and-forth between Clarice and Lecter is well-played and enthralling, and there are some moving moments with Lecter that add to the film's gravitas. Demme's hard-edged direction won him an Oscar, and the film picked up the Best Film Award also. What does this tell you? Well, that SILENCE is the most superbly-constucted thriller ever made.
The DVD extras are very good, with a documentary with interviews with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, the original making-of featurette, 20 minutes of deleted scenes, outtakes and trailers. The only thing missing is a commentary from Demme.

Ridley Scott's sequel to the classic film Silence of the Lambs is a visually impressive but hollow follow up to Silence.
Anthony Hopkins (who won an Academy award for his role as Hannibal Lecter in the original) displays little of his presence that was so Oscar-worthy first time round, and Julianne Moore is no Clarice Starling. But Scott's visual style, which is what makes all his films so eminently watchable (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator), and some expertly done sequences make up for its flaws.
Gary Oldman is great as the cop who's chasing the elusive cannibal and Ray Liotta has some nice scenes throughout the film.
But Hopkins has little to get his teeth into, and comes off as somewhat gauche. Impressive gun fights and some creepy moments with Oldman and Hopkins don't make up for the lack of suspense. A worthy, if sometimes unexciting entry into the franchise.
The DVD extras include a commentary by director Ridley Scott, 35 minutes of deleted scenes, "Breaking the Silence" - 5 unique making-of featurettes, 3 interactive multi-angle featurettes and trailers. Tasty stuff for Lecter fans.

The Silence of the Lambs remains one of the greatest crime thrillers of all time, and any real DVD collector needs this special edition. Hannibal is also a good movie, not in the same ballpark as the first one, but well worth it anyway. Silence: 5 stars. Hannibal: 3 and a half stars. Also be sure to check out the excellent "Red Dragon."

The Silence of the Lambs-Probably the most genuinely disturbing psychological thriller ever made, Silence of the Lambs is a must see, but its dramatic power, dark insight into the human psyche, and ugly violence (most of which is implied) ensures it's unlikely you'll watch this film more than once. But on a first viewing, almost nothing matches this thriller's heart-pounding suspense, from Hannibal Lecter's attempted escape to the literally dark climax. Howard Shore's foreboding score adds nicely to the intense atmosphere.
**** 1/2 out of *****

Hannibal-This underrated sequel looks and feels quite different from its predecessor. It has no intention of excelling as a pyschological thriller, but neither is this a straight through-and-through gorefest. Certainly entertaining but hardly mind-blowing, Hannibal is at least visually stylish and unpredictable, if not also somewhat silly.
*** 1/2 out of *****

Although Hannibal may not have been nearly as good as the first I still thought Ridley Scott did a great job of directing it and The Silence of the Lambs was also very very good and had great acting all around. Be sure to check out Red Dragon it's as good as The Silence of the Lambs!

Please don't buy this set, at least not if you don't already know both movies well.
The sophisticated "Silence Of The Lambs" is one of the greatest thrillers ever made, but the gory, superficial "Hannibal" is not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath. Get "Lambs" and its prequel "Red Dragon", and leave "Hannibal" alone.

The Silence of the Lambs is a great film that makes you scared but makes you think. Hannibal just makes you numb from the onslaught of disgusting and griesome acts, like Passion of the Christ. I guess nothing will ever be rated NC-17 for gruesome violence and depravity. These nasty and un-dramatic sequels should be avoided unless you want to ruin your day and waste your money.