The Silence of the Lambs

1991 | 119 min | Crime, Thriller, Drama

Friday Night Flick

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (95%), audiences adore it (8.3/10), it won 5 Oscars and it made about 14 times its budget. Make plans for this one.

Our take: A psychological thriller that swept the top Oscars, rare for the genre, built on two remarkable performances.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Have you seen it?

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

How it earned its rating

CriticsVery strong
95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 86 on Metacritic
AudiencesVery strong
8.3/10 from 19K viewers, plus 1 MMM member rating
AwardsVery strong
22 wins, 2 other nominations — won Academy Award for Best Picture; won Academy Award for Best Director
Box office & staying powerVery strong
$273 million worldwide on a $19 million budget
Buzz & cultural impactVery strong
1.7 million Wikipedia readers in the past year