The Silence of the Lambs is an undeniable classic. A unique mixture of thriller, horror, and detective fiction, the movie remains the most recent movie to win all five Big Academy Awards - those being writing, actor, actress, director, and picture.
Also grossing a successful $272 million at the worldwide box office, The Silence of the Lambs remains one of the most profitable horror movies of all time. Making a movie of this caliber is not easy, and the making of The Silence of the Lambs may prove just as interesting as the movie itself.
The Involvement Of Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman is one of the most esteemed actors in movie history, having been nominated for five Academy Awards throughout his long and illustrious career (he won two, for The French Connection and Unforgiven).
He was almost set to direct The Silence of the Lambs, despite never having directed before. Orion Pictures, the movie's distributor, wanted Hackman to both direct the movie and star as Jack Crawford. This plan obviously fell through, with directing going to Jonathan Demme and the role of Crawford to Scott Glenn.
The Character Rights Of Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter is the linchpin that holds The Silence of the Lambs together. While nearly every aspect of the movie works wonderfully, most people it for Anthony Hopkins's terrifying performance.
Another movie starring Hannibal Lecter had previously been released - 1986's Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann. The movie's producer, Dino De Laurentiis, held the movie rights to the Hannibal Lecter character. As Manhunter bombed, De Laurentiis gave away the rights for free, not realizing just what a massive success The Silence of the Lambs would become.
Ted Tally Personally Knew Thomas Harris
Ted Tally seemed like a weird choice to pen the movie adaptation, as he had only written two films prior to The Silence of the Lambs - The Father Clements Story and White Palace.
However, Tally personally knew author Thomas Harris and was even given an advance copy of the book before its publication in 1988. He was hired to write the movie adaptation in November of 1987 - six months before the novel's publication. The work paid off, as Tally was awarded the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Movie Was Mostly Shot Around Pittsburgh
Despite taking place all over the United States, The Silence of the Lambs was primarily shot in Pennsylvania - ironically, a state not visited in the story.
The Baltimore State Hospital is actually the istration Building of the Western Center in Canonsburg, just south of Pittsburgh. The Memphis Town Hall of Lecter's escape is actually a military museum owned by the University of Pittsburgh. Filming also took place at the Allegheny County Jail, the Greater Pittsburgh National Airport, and an abandoned Westinghouse factory.
The FBI Academy
Part of the movie not shot around Pittsburgh was the FBI Academy scenes in Quantico, Virginia. Active since 1972, the FBI Academy serves as the FBI's primary research center and training facility.
A few scenes take place at the Academy, primarily the opening sequence in which Clarice runs in the nearby woods and receives her mission from Jack Crawford. The FBI was known for being exceedingly secretive and often didn't allow filming at the real facility. However, a rare exception was made for Demme and The Silence of the Lambs.
Jodie Foster Was Far From The First Choice
Jodie Foster earned widespread acclaim for her work as Clarice Starling, and it's still regarded as her finest hour (or at least one of them).
However, she was far from director Jonathan Demme's first choice. He actually wanted Michelle Pfeiffer, but she found the movie's content matter too disturbing. She wasn't the only actress to find the movie too revolting; Meg Ryan also turned it down for being too gruesome. Laura Dern was Demme's third choice, but Orion didn't think she would bring in money. Rather reluctantly, Demme finally agreed to hire Foster.
Scott Glenn Was Played Real Torture Recordings
To prepare for the role of Jack Crawford, actor Scott Glenn met with John E. Douglas, the then unit chief of the FBI. He is widely known for his work in criminal psychology and profiling. Douglas took Glenn on a tour around the FBI Academy and shocked him with a truly gruesome item - audio recordings of a real torture and rape.
Serial killers Lawrence Bittaker and Ray Norris recorded themselves torturing a 16-year-old girl, and this audio recording is often used by the FBI to desensitize its trainees.
The Munich Symphony Orchestra
The score to The Silence of the Lambs was The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Shore recorded the movie's score with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, having worked on the music throughout the summer of 1990. Filming had concluded the previous March.
Buffalo Bill Is Based On Numerous Serial Killers
Buffalo Bill is one of the most horrifying villains in movie history. Most of that stems from him being an amalgamation of numerous real life serial killers and their MOs. In fact, he is modeled after no less than seven serial killers.
These include Jerry Brudos (dressed in women's clothing), Ed Gein (wearing human skin), Ted Bundy (pretended to be injured to lure in women), Gary M. Heidnik (keeping women in a pit), Edmund Kemper (killed his own grandparents), Gary Ridgway (dumped bodies in rivers), and Alfredo Ballí Treviño (killed and decapitated his boyfriend).
Truman Capote & Katharine Hepburn
Anthony Hopkins's performance as Hannibal Lecter is simply outstanding. He completely changes himself to get into character, including an intentional decision to refrain from blinking on screen and changing his own accent.
According to Hopkins himself, he modeled Lecter's voice on "a combination of Truman Capote and Katharine Hepburn." An odd choice, surely, but one that definitely worked out for the best. Those speeches just wouldn't be the same without that unique voice.
