THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

to take all of the top Oscars, Silence is not so much “horror” as a thriller with an awful lot of flaying. It’s ultimately the story of one woman (Jodie Foster) determined to save the life of another woman, who has been kidnapped and awaits a grisly execution. To do that, she must look deep inside herself and face her own demons in order to gain the help she needs from a brilliant psychologist/serial killer (Anthony Hopkins).

Favoring authenticity over modern flash, the 2.0 surround track has been remastered to maintain the film’s eerie sound design. A later 5.1-channel remix is also here. The 16-bit/4k remaster blows away the old lackluster FOX/MGM disc, revealing naturalistic beauty— and ugliness— in the frequent closeups. Dimmer scenes can look noisy, however, and the blacks can be mushy.

New extras include: the Criterion laserdisc commentary; 2001 and 2005 documentaries; a 2002 episode of Page to Screen; a 2004 composer interview; and a 2008 sit-down with the real FBI. There are also 38 minutes of deleted scenes.