The Silence of the Lambs [Blu-ray]

Mediocre blu-ray for a five-star film... if you have this already on DVD, don't bother
Pulp entertainment of the highest order, "The Silence of The Lambs" is terrific filmmaking. Entertaining, suspenseful and more than a bit hokey (albeit in just the right places), "Silence" at its core is a "B" movie thriller given an "A"-level film treatment. Fine direction, a crackling plot, iconic characterizations, perfect casting and superlative performances all adds up to a five-star film (out of five) that is worth owning for any self-respecting horror/suspense fan. Unfortunately, MGM's "Silence" Blu-Ray debut is sure to disappoint, as it looks strikingly similar to a finely upconverted DVD, albeit one with heavy doses of grain throughout. Yes, sharpness is slightly improved, but it's only really noticeable in a handful of scenes, and the difference is hardly impressive; the same can be said for the Blu-Ray's blacks and slightly-improved colors.

Some are attributing this to the MPEG-2 encoding, but really the problem lies with the film master source, which really...

A great new Collector's Edition
If you really love "The Silence of the Lambs", then this is the best edition you could find (though, nowadays it's also the only one you can find).

I have seen every DVD release of this film, though sadly I wasn't old enough to see it when it first came out. Nevertheless, MGM and 20th Century Fox have really outdone themselves:

1. Criterion

The Criterion Collection has always been a trusted source of films for me, and their initial release of this film was decent but lacking with special features, plus the video quality was somewhat scratchy. Still, couldn't beat that commentary track.

2. 2001 MGM

The MGM Speical Edition was pretty nice to promote the theatrical release of Hannibal, with a slew of documentaries and interviews that gave a lot of information of the Silence. No commentary track, but a nice new 5.1 surround mix and a much needed clean-up of the faded picture made the greens rich and the reds blood red.

3...

Two Very Scarey Killers........One Killer DVD!
This review refers to the Special Edition(Widescreen) 2001 MGM release of Silence of the Lambs.......
Want to be scared out of your wits??This film will do that for you! Want to see it on an outstanding DVD. This one is top quality!
This film was probably the scariest ever to win the Best Picture(1991) Oscar. I don't think it was the most violent though, that honor most certainly goes to Braveheart. But Silence is just not a good scarey story.It's much more than that. It's an excellent film in all respects. Expert Direction by Jonathan Demme(recieving Best Director) and Cinematography by Tak Fujimoto really is what set this film apart from the others. The stars, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster(also both oscar winners for their performances), Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Brook Smith, and Anthony Heald, all were expert in their craft at making these characters either scare us or empathize with them.

For those who by chance have not seen it, here's a little taste of...

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