Jonathan Demme on The Silence of the Lambs

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Күн бұрын

Jonathan Demme talks about making the Academy Award winning thriller "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).
June 7th, 2006
The full interview is available here : • Jonathan Demme: Good T...

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@NoahSpurrier Жыл бұрын

All the pieces fell together perfectly for this film.

@TheBeatles.. Жыл бұрын

I was working at Radio station RRR in Melbourne just before this was released. And Anthony Hopkins came live to the studio for interview. At that stage he was famous but not a superstar. So when we interviewed him (in our mind)..thought "okay it will be an ok movie" but we had no idea how much. We asked him to lunch in Skiza's cafe in Brunswick St Fitzroy and he said "sure". No one recognized him. After the meal, he said he had no money, so I paid. I got him to sign an IOU saying "I Hannibal Lecter owe Peter $21.80". The movie was 2 months from release & i lost the note . 😭😭😭 He was super polite at the 30 minute interview, came by himself and was sooo funny/nice the whole time.

@tanyachou4474 Жыл бұрын

What a wonderful story and too bad you lost your note 😂

@kzinful 9 ай бұрын

I miss him, what a sad loss.

@jedi1967 Жыл бұрын

I used to work at AMC Theatres when this film premiered. Watched it on a Thursday before the premiere. Couldn’t sleep for three days…

@KennyEvansUK 2 ай бұрын

This film landed into the hands of a genius. Perfect castings and a serendipity of talent.

@27JOHNNEIL 8 ай бұрын

What an excellent interview. Thank you. I miss Jonathan Demme

@elichilton7031 Жыл бұрын

A masterpiece to be sure. It's funny how he describes the production as a wonderful experience so much so that all the accolades to follow was icing on the cake. If you know anything about film productions, you know that the movie gods are not always on your side, and when they smile down on you, that's better than anything else you can receive.

@elichilton7031 Жыл бұрын

@@markwoldin162 True that. Edit complete.

@mreddieau 6 ай бұрын

Demme was massively underrated, he made some amazing movies

@thebadgamer1967 Жыл бұрын

My all time fave movie, fascinating insight of a wonderful film maker

@jekw23 Жыл бұрын

Great film with one of the greatest set pieces I’ve ever seen. I’ve never come across a section of a movie that continually cranks up the tension so well for so long. The whole film is great but the escape set piece is outstanding

@ranlive1 Жыл бұрын

A friend and I stopped at a movie theater to see what was playing & received an invitation to screen a new movie starring Jodie Foster & Anthony Hopkins. We went, were blown away, then asked to stay and fill out a questionnaire about the film. When we left there were several men in suits hanging out in the lobby. A year went by & my friend & I wondered whatever happened to that great movie we saw. When it finally came out I was happy it was so successful & won all the Oscars.

@jamessimon3433 Жыл бұрын

Wow great story

@trevorpowers6032 Жыл бұрын

I wish I got to meet him... RIP

@davidkglevi Жыл бұрын

It still is one of only three films that have ever won the big five Oscars, best picture, director, screenplay and male and female lead. (The other two films are "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" and "It happened one night".)

@phero2 Жыл бұрын

Dude is selling himself short, you don't get to SOTL levels of perfection just by working hard

@rabbit251 Жыл бұрын

His modesty is really adorable. So really this movie was the right people, cast and crew, come together at the right time to make perfection.

@barmouthbridge8772 Жыл бұрын

I was studying in Oxford when this released. Only one small theatre screened it and in order to get a seat you had to queue early in the day for later shows. My friend and I walked to the Empire, queued and bought our advance tickets. Rather than make the forty minute walk back we killed the time by watching a subtitled Japanese film called "In the realm of the senses" about a troubled geisha who ultimately killed her master by castrating him.During the screening we could hear some of the music from the adjacent room. We heard some audience reaction too which certainly helped build tension for the main event. I thought Hopkins was possibly the most mesmerising character I'd ever seen on big screen. The tension in that film was layered up so beautifully.Even today if I hear Springsteen's "American girl" it instantly transports me back to Senator Martin's daughter singing in her car. By the end I wanted Lecter free and didn't mind his escape at the cost of unfortunate Sergeant Pembury. Never remake this or Jaws. Be a crime.

@hasltisl Жыл бұрын

That would be Tom Petty’s “American Girl.”

@ranlive1 Жыл бұрын

They did remake Jaws. They were called Jaws 2, Jaws 3, etc.

@NoahSpurrier Жыл бұрын

@@ranlive1 sequels, not remakes.

@halflifefan1000 Жыл бұрын

What a double feature!

@NoahSpurrier Жыл бұрын

@@halflifefan1000 I was thinking the same thing! Both movies were very intense.

@mulemule Жыл бұрын

Holy-crap. Can you imagine Meg Ryan as Agent Starling?! (Thank God she passed.)

@DarkCyberElf Жыл бұрын

she passed on the role* 😬 She's alive and well.

@mulemule Жыл бұрын

@@DarkCyberElf Self-evident in the context of the clip (but your pedantry's noted).😬

@razbigranicu Жыл бұрын

I could see Meg Ryan. Michelle Pfeiffer seems like a miscast to me, even though she's a better actress than Ryan. Jodie Foster is obviously by far the best choice.

@jasonkh4 Жыл бұрын

@@razbigranicuI think Pfeiffer still would’ve nailed it, but Jodie has certain idiosyncrasies that made the character more believable, as is generally the case with all of her roles

@matthewcloranmusic7745 Жыл бұрын

My thought exactly. Pffeifer - yeah - but very glad it was Foster!

@Wellington-nl7vm Жыл бұрын

It's still is the perfect thriller. Amazing movie

@pressanybutton1880 Жыл бұрын

So glad Connery passed on it.

@noeldown1952 Жыл бұрын

Gone way too soon.

@palacerevolution2000 Жыл бұрын

A masterpiece. I had heard that Michelle Pfeiffer was 1st choice, and think she could have been fantastic. I want to add that the film also had a very good promotional campaign. Nowadays you see the whole plot in the trailer. SOTL was creepy and mysterious - you just HAD to see it.

@df4196 Жыл бұрын

This series is so damn fantastic

@himgod6495 Жыл бұрын

July 8th 1981 is mentioned in that movie......that's my birthday!!!!!

@razbigranicu Жыл бұрын

I strongly believe some things are just meant to be, like Hopkins getting cast as Dr. Lecter, Pacino in the Godfather or Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad. Without those actors, those pieces of art just wouldn't be half as good.

@nadagabri5783 Жыл бұрын

Marlon B in the godfather … as well

@stepha5926 Жыл бұрын

Gandolfini as well... notice how they're all *negative* characters? 🧐

@obiwankenobi9439 11 ай бұрын

Forest Gump. Indiana Jones. Jack Sparrow. Tony Stark. Obi Wan Kenobi. All good guys.

@organicmilk5 Жыл бұрын

An absolute brilliant film

@markwoldin162 Жыл бұрын

Not just a hard worker. An artist. Hearts of the West.

@Dezzasheep Жыл бұрын

Hopkins. Utterly inspired casting.

@petermcgill1315 Жыл бұрын

Everything else is gravy. It’s a wonderful attitude.

@TheJoose01 Жыл бұрын

He lets us understand he had never made a thriller before, but there's Last Embrace from 1979...

@jaroslavfricek7772 Жыл бұрын

Saw it again resently. The story telling the camera work sooo exceptional❗️😎❤️🙋‍♂️

@gilpinsteven Жыл бұрын

Heck yeah Jonathan Demme is awesome. I loved Stop Making Sense, The Talking Heads concert film he directed. Silence of the Lambs is an anomaly in cinema and remains a classic. Also loved Rachel Getting Married. Brilliant filmmaker.

@spinsandneedles Жыл бұрын

Somehow the force of evil that is Lecter, and the force of good that is Clarice, bound together in a chemistry of desperation and ambition. Lecter plotted his escape, gaining opportunities for more murders which he perversely enjoyed. Clarice followed leads, gaining opportunities to rise within the ranks of her profession which would more than compensate for her past. Somehow between them they would each gain the fulfillment of their needs during the course of a psychologically intimate and unorthodox relationship. Jonathan Demme and cast had great material, played it straight, and built in all the suspense of story and the main character's journey into the unknown. (Strangely enough Jodie Foster had a similar arc as a true blue believer again in Contact, bringing fulfillment but not a perfectly happy, unrealistic ending.) When I saw The Silence of the Lambs in the theater I found it completely riveting and fascinating on every level. I can't think of anything it needed.

@localcrew Жыл бұрын

Great interview. Just subscribed!

@aromaticflower Жыл бұрын

Demme is just so damn likeable

@armandoruiz8963 10 ай бұрын

Greatest movie of our generation 😎

@tanyachou4474 Жыл бұрын

He is one of my favourite director!😊

@viviandarkbloom8847 Жыл бұрын

which means you have great taste.

@dragonfruit89 Жыл бұрын

Maybe the "no great expectations" was one of the essential keys to getting it into a masterpiece. Pressure on movie making is high enough anyways.

@pcoldlight5631 Жыл бұрын

I ate her liver , with a vodka martini .

@rabbit251 Жыл бұрын

Wow! He's so humble??? He won an Oscar and the movie totaled 5 awards! If I had done that I would be running around shouting, "Look what I did!" Humble. Really had to be when all the right elements come together.

@65g4 Жыл бұрын

Still a great movie

@tackysum Жыл бұрын

Trying to imagine Sean Connery as Lecter ... would have been interesting to say the least. But Hopkins is so darn perfect in every choice he made, it's hard to see anyone else in the role. Did anyone see Bryan Cox play him in "Manhunter"?

@spinsandneedles Жыл бұрын

I certainly did.

@THEremiXFACTOR Жыл бұрын

"Claricsshh"

@davidlean1060 Жыл бұрын

Only my opinion, but I think Cox played the genius psycho better than Hopkins, but Hopkins played the role 'bigger'and thus was more memorable. It helped that Demme portrayed Lector's world like a scene from a horror movie too. That enabled Hopkins to ham up Lector and give him 'otherworldy' quanities. Cox played the role 'straight', but Hopkins understood the cartoonishness of the character and played it that way.

@patrickc3419 10 ай бұрын

Yes. A better movie.

@viviandarkbloom8847 Жыл бұрын

"Lecter. Hannibal Lecter."

@joeyxl3456 Жыл бұрын

Amazing thing piece of art he made there

@SCharlesDennicon Жыл бұрын

Meg Ryan XD XD XD Jesus, talk of a close shave.

@jeffvannda1250 Жыл бұрын

The books are all incredible..He did a great job...

@MrsBlaileen1 2 ай бұрын

Wow…can not imagine Michelle Pfeiffer or Meg Ryan playing Starling. Glad it turned out to be Jodie Foster!

@hugh-johnfleming289 Жыл бұрын

The thought of Connery in that role is delicious.

@mulemule Жыл бұрын

Yes but is it fava-beans-with-a-fine-chianti delicious?

@dirtyguava8209 Жыл бұрын

I sadly disagree. Connery plays the same archetype in all his films. He lacks the depth and nuance that Hopkins has as a trained thespian.

@shadowfilm7980 Жыл бұрын

Can’t believe he is gone now. So soon. Too soon. RIP.

@LacoSinfonia Жыл бұрын

In response to the first question: Uh, have you seen “Stop Making Sense”?

@henrygvidonas9573 Жыл бұрын

Connery shure turned down shom intereshting projectsh and franchishesh in hish time, didn't he? Silence Of The Lambs, Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, The Matrix...

@orangewarm1 Жыл бұрын

why would anyone turn down Clarice? Amy Brenerman tuned down Edy in Heat because she said the film was too dark. Michael Mann delved deeper? "Why?" He said. She replied "Because i wouldn't want to be involved with that world of crime." He replied, "That's why you should do the part."

@zmani4379 Жыл бұрын

"Build me a movie worthy of Mordor"

@massi6528 Жыл бұрын

Then they completely ruined it with sequel having made by different director and actor as Clarice!🤦‍♂️

@johnwatson3948 Жыл бұрын

He’s being too modest - no one but Demme could have done the movie with the same undercurrents about personal loneliness and what lies beneath.

@stepha5926 Жыл бұрын

Connery???? Seriously? 🤦That would've been a disaster! He's never been 1/50th the actor Hopkins is. As for Meg Ryan 🤣👎 gimme a break. I think this dude got verrry lucky.

@ghostviggen Жыл бұрын

Connery would work very well. It would have been a different film for sure. But he has a very strong screen presence, that would have worked for that film. And people probably would have been shocked by the violence.

@stepha5926 Жыл бұрын

@@ghostviggen no way! With his distinctive accent, you'd keep thinking of Bond or his character from The Untouchables. Plus, with those intense closeups of his face, he just can't do those *piercing eyes* that Hopkins can. Sorry, I love Connery. His performance in The Hunt for Red October is one of my all-time faves. But playing Hannibal requires a different class of actor.

@ghostviggen Жыл бұрын

@@stepha5926 That’s because Hopkins has established what Hannibal should look and sound. If Connery had been cast you couldn’t imagine how the part have looked with Hopkins.

@stepha5926 Жыл бұрын

@@ghostviggen absolutely wrong. 🤦 You're just repeating the same cliched thing everyone says. Fact: This film would absolutely not have become *iconic* with Connery. Try to focus on that point. Yes, "you couldn't imagine what it'd be like with Hopkins" just like you couldn't imagine The Wolf Of Wall Street with Michael Fassbender - but he would've slayed DiCaprio, & the film would've ranked up there with The Godfather, instead of the overacted cheesy dogshit we received.

@anitabordlemay2260 11 ай бұрын

But hopman

@alexmarshall4331 Жыл бұрын

Funny as a punter I can not imagine anyone else but Hopkins and Foster in them roles 👉🇬🇧👈👉😵👈❗

@JohnSmith-gb5vg Жыл бұрын

You can see how minority actors and actress can be upset by hearing this. Not one mention of a thought of casting any actors of, any color.

@anitabordlemay2260 11 ай бұрын

How many serial killers are in this conments space

@r.i.p.volodya Жыл бұрын

My god! Can you imagine Sean Connery as Dr. Lecter!

@Zomfoo Жыл бұрын

If any of the original cast choices came through the film would have been forgotten by now. Serendipity saved you.

@tinytanks Жыл бұрын

wow, this guy comes off as even more of a genius than anthony hopkins.

@davy_K Жыл бұрын

After watching Silence of the Lambs I always feel dirty and want to wash. It has such a weird effect on me.

@danielesteve8359 Жыл бұрын

'Cause it's only scum.

@splatterfodderinc Жыл бұрын

hannibal is better

@DJ-bj8ku Жыл бұрын

Movie sucked. I don’t know why it gets so much acclaim. If it had been a chess match between two brilliant minds, it would’ve earned its headlines. Instead Jodie Foster, who was set up as some impressive new recruit, is instantly overmatched by Lecter’s charisma like some pup, and the movie devolves into a chase scene. Save your time.

@danielesteve8359 Жыл бұрын

Completely agree. Overrated shit.

@rajo741 Жыл бұрын

A completely over rated film and nowhere as good as Michael Manns Manhunter, the first Lecter film. Hopkins performance struck me as arch then and watching it now it’s an embarrassing caricature performance. I tried watching it a third time and found it unbearably bad.

@ingvarhallstrom2306 Жыл бұрын

And yet here you are thirty years later talking about it?

@rajo741 Жыл бұрын

@@ingvarhallstrom2306 the fecking thing popped up and I didn’t go looking for it. Like any human specimen I felt the urge to see what people were saying. First watch Manhunter then get back to me with any comments.

@ingvarhallstrom2306 Жыл бұрын

@@rajo741 I'm a big Michael Mann fan, I've of course seen Manhunter perhaps twenty times at least? But it doesn't make this film any worse, they are two completely different films made in completely different ways.

@rajo741 Жыл бұрын

@@ingvarhallstrom2306 you’re absolutely right in your assessment. I just found Demme’s choices to be obvious whereas Manns depictions of psychological horror were more brightly lit in blue tones. In contrast Demme chose to shoot Lambs in a darker spectrum which struck me as cliche and had been done a thousand times. There were good things about his film but Hopkins was not one of them. Then again I’ve always felt he was an overrated actor and I’ve followed him since the start of his career . He’s a good actor but not great the way the press has always portrayed him. His finest performance I feel is in Titus.

@ingvarhallstrom2306 Жыл бұрын

@@rajo741 I think the difference between the films is how they depict psychopathy differently. Brian Cox played it for real, showing no emotion but callous manipulation, the way a psychopath would behave in real life, ultimately not likeable. While Hopkins turned it up to eleven and gave the audience what he thought they wanted, the most likeable psychopath they had ever seen. That's of course the difference in direction, ultimately the directors call on what direction the film should have quite literally.