The Silence of the Lambs (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

BOTTOM LINE: Gory horror has never done much for me, but it's hard not to admire this brutal, bloody film. Stylish direction from Jonathan Demme and a star-making performance by Anthony Hopkins combine to deliver much more than just a creepy film about a creepy freak. Hopkins simply makes this movie. My wife is a huge fan of the film and this was a B-day gift for her. She loves it and, truthfully, so do I. 5 STARSTHOUGHTS: An Oscar-winning motion picture that prominently features an insane doctor who kills & eats his patients(!). Gut-wrenching horror films don't get much classier than this. This film is as close as something like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE will ever get to grabbing an Academy Award. Anthony Hopkins, a long-time workaday actor, suddenly found himself 'discovered' and was rocketed to near superstar status when he walked away with an Oscar for his work as Hannibal Lector. And deservedly so. His Lector is one of the most skin-crawling, unnervingly chilling villains in screen history. It's not a far stretch to suggest that the plethora of roles he nabbed following his work in SotL would never have happened were it not for this film. Director Jonathan Demme, who has a long career of music videos, TV work, mainstream films and a surprising number of documentaries, truly made a name for himself with this piece. It takes a certain flair to turn such grisly stuff into acceptable product for the masses, and not lose the jagged edge in the process. Jodie Foster, in an excellent turn as emotionally damaged FBI agent Clarice Starling, had a brief re-ignition of her acting career thanks to this picture. Everything about the film clicks. It's amazingly well done, and even though the subject matter is understandably off-putting, it's hard not to be drawn in to the grim proceedings. Though you'll never be able to think of Chianti and fava beans the same way again. ;-)THE CRITERION BLU-RAY: As one would normally expect from upper-tier outfit Criterion, this hi-def release is a first class effort. First off, the film itself has received a spectacular 4k restoration & remastering, overseen by the film's DOP, Tak Fujimoto. It also gets a nice 5.1 stereo upgrade for the audio. The picture & sound are excellent, with no video or audio gremlins to spoil the viewing experience. There's a wealth of great bonus content for moviephiles and Lambs fans, including the terrific audio commentary track from 1994 with most of the main cast & crew. There are four documentaries, almost 40 minutes' worth of deleted scenes, storyboards, and more. An impressive effort and all of it good stuff. If you've been holding out for the best possible home video edition of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I'm pretty confident you won't find a better one than Criterion's edition. Recommended.

This is my favorite movie and the Criterion transfer is excellent.

If you want a copy of this masterpiece to own virtually forever, this is not a bad option. Awesome extra content and BTS. I do not regret my purchase.

Great restoration (1080p downscaled from a 4k scan of the original 35mm film negative). One of the only films to win the top 5 Oscars of that year. A suspenseful no holds barred story about an FBI rookie and her pursuit of a mentally complex serial killer. This put anthony Hopkins back on the map as the imprisoned uber intellectual and sneaky psychiatrist who the FBI seek assistance from tl profile the serial killer on the loose. This movie is commercial of course but the late director jonathan demme makes some very artful sequences that are unforgettable and make this film a perfect entry into the hallowed criterion collection (for example, the musical cross dressing dressing up sequence of the killer at his home- classic). Jodie foster as the fbi recruit is mapped out in detail and is quite the character. The interaction between her and Hopkins' creepy game playing make the audience feel vulnerable as well. The usual choice of digital film scanner that criterion's been using as of the past few years is noticeable here....its a medium thickness of brightness with perfect undistracting grain and a soft but not weak contrast scale. Hence balanced and not bad on the eyes; .and this way it yields more detail in terms of sharpness. Tak fujimoto's cinematography makes thing dark when they need to be, at all levels. The hi res surround sound is perfect...enveloping music and not distracting directional audio. The remixed and updated version beats the original mix by far...more drama is intensified. A great psychological art horror film that puts a microscope on vulnerable Americana- from intellects to nerds to white trash to the unbelieveable.

MGM's 2009 blu-ray of the 1991 classic "The Silence of the Lambs" featured a woefully subpar transfer that resembled an upconverted DVD most of the time. Thankfully Criterion has come to the rescue with their blu-ray which features a 4K transfer from the original camera negative overseen by the film's director of photography. Simply put this new restored transfer is positively gorgeous! Detail is immaculate, colors are superb and with the film getting its own disc space as the bulk of the copious extras are on disc 2, the bit rate stays in the mid to upper 30's for the bulk of the film. Another huge plus for this release is that it features the original 2 channel stereo audio track in lossless quality. The legendary 1994 laserdisc commentary track is also back on this release which makes me very happy. Add in a 60 page booklet of essays and you have the definitive release of this amazing and highly influential film. Unless we ever get an UHD release with HDR applied to the transfer, the Criterion blu-ray disc will do perfectly.Here are the technical specs from Criterion's site:- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Tak Fujimoto, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray- Audio commentary from 1994 featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and former FBI agent John Douglas- New interview with critic Maitland McDonagh- Thirty-eight minutes of deleted scenes- Four documentaries featuring hours of interviews with cast and crew- Behind-the-scenes featurette- Storyboards- Trailer- PLUS: A book featuring an introduction by Foster, an essay by critic Amy Taubin, pieces from 2000 and 2013 by author Thomas Harris on the origins of the character Hannibal Lecter, and a 1991 interview with Demme