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"THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" (1991) (Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Extreme Extreme Heavy Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Mild Heavy Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama/Suspense: A student at the FBI Academy tries to track down a twisted serial killer through consultations with a notorious cannibal. PLOT: In the separate worlds of FBI trainee Clarice Starling (JODIE FOSTER) and psychiatrist/cannibal Hannibal Lecter (ANTHONY HOPKINS), there are vastly different intentions. Clarice must contend with basically working in what looks like a man's world amidst the FBI Academy, evidenced by the looks she gets, those who try to pick up on her, and especially her superior, Jack Crawford (SCOTT GLENN), who sends her out to visit with Lecter on a most urgent quest. That's to glean enough information from him that will help the Bureau track down a notorious serial killer named Buffalo Bill (TED LEVINE), who kidnaps women, keeps them alive for a few days, then kills and skins them. His apparent next victim, Catherine Martin (BROOKE SMITH), is a Tennessee senator's daughter, and thus the situation becomes much more desperate to find this twisted man. Dr. Lecter, on the other hand, has been imprisoned in a solitary cell for the past 8 years, known very well for cooking various friends and serving them to those who joined him for dinners at his home. When Clarice comes calling to his cell, he sees it as an opportunity to play a little, to toy with the mind of this burgeoning FBI agent, who has a lot in her past that she would rather keep locked away, but which Lecter takes pleasure in forcing her to dredge up in exchange for badly needed information. As it's believed that time is running out, deals are hastily made, investigations become more intense, and the search is on for the senator's daughter, to remove her from the clutches of her captor. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Older teens interested in knowing the origin of the modern-day serial killer film will want to see this, as well as fans of anyone in the cast. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R No official reason is given, but it's most likely for language, bloody violence, and sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JODIE FOSTER plays Clarice Starling, a student at the FBI Academy who's dispatched by her superior to visit Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a well-known cannibal, to extract information from him regarding the possible whereabouts of serial killer Buffalo Bill. Strategically cagey at first, Lecter makes her a deal that in exchange for the information she wants, she must reveal to him parts of her past based on the questions he asks. These are parts of the past that she'd rather keep hidden away, but for the sake of finding this serial killer before he makes a senator's daughter his next victim, she agrees to it and so a psychological chess game begins between them. At the same time, she also contends with being in a man's world, so to speak, as sexism is leveled at her, men try to pick up on her, and a fellow prisoner in Lecter's cell block mistreats her maliciously. She tries to ignore and rise above all of that, and do the job she was assigned, working to prove herself. ANTHONY HOPKINS plays Dr. Hannibal Lecter, imprisoned in solitary confinement for the past eight years due to cooking various friends and serving them up at dinners he hosted. FBI trainee Clarice Starling comes to him, seeking information on serial killer Buffalo Bill and he sees an opportunity to have a little fun, toying with her, forcing her to reveal bits of her past in exchange for the information she seeks, and reading her accurately from the get-go by his description of her, to her. Because of the gravity of the search for Buffalo Bill, he also gets what he asks for, in being moved to a different facility, and being afforded many more privileges than before. He also has an adversarial relationship with Dr. Chilton, the warden of the asylum he's in. SCOTT GLENN plays Jack Crawford, Clarice's superior at the FBI Academy, who sends her out to meet Hannibal Lecter and try to extract information from him that the agency deems necessary in its search for serial killer Buffalo Bill. He is impressed by Clarice's skills in the field, but at the same time, it's also left ambiguous about what he wants from her. Dr. Lecter believes that Crawford fantasizes about Clarice in certain ways, and Clarice counters that she wouldn't be interested anyway. However, there is a mutual respect between them. ANTHONY HEALD plays Dr. Frederick Chilton, who tries to pick up on Clarice after she arrives at his asylum, before giving up and leading her to Dr. Lecter. He hates Dr. Lecter and vice-versa, though Lecter is calmer about it, preferring to antagonize Dr. Chilton without making it overt. TED LEVINE plays Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb, a serial killer who kidnaps women, keeps them alive for a few days, then kills and skins them, which worries the FBI, particularly after he kidnaps a Tennessee senator's daughter and the case makes the national news. He values his dog over anything else, sews things (though what he sews isn't revealed until near the end of the film), and is believed to be possibly a transsexual. He's especially vicious when working to capture his prey. FRANKIE FAISON plays Barney Matthews, a guard at the asylum where Dr. Lecter resides. KASI LEMMONS plays Ardelia Mapp, a fellow student at the FBI Academy and Clarice's friend and supporter. BROOKE SMITH plays Catherine Martin, daughter of a Tennessee senator who's kidnapped by Buffalo Bill and endures the fright and mental torture of being in his grasp, forced to live in a deep hole in Bill's house. STUART RUDIN plays Miggs, a deeply disturbed inmate located in the cell next to Lecter's, who commits a horrific act against Clarice. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated suspense drama. Profanity consists of 14 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. A character performs a self-sexual act, another appears nude, and some sexually-related comments are made. Violence consists characters attacking others, and gunfire in darkness. Some of that has bloody/gory results (and that's also viewed from unseen violence), and those scenes, moments of potential peril, and the thematic elements in play (cannibalism, serial killers, etc.) might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some viewers. Varying degrees of bad attitude are omnipresent, while some actions and fashions may be tempting to imitate. Alcohol is present at a party, and some tense family material is present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion-sickness, there's some point of view camerawork in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Dr. Pilcher, trying to pick up Clarice, asks her "What do you do when you're not detecting, Agent Starling?" She replies, "I try to be a student, Dr. Pilcher." Dr. Pilcher asks her, "You ever go out for cheeseburgers and beer? The amusing house wine?" Lecter puts the questionnaire back in the food slot and slams the door. He then says to Clarice, "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans, and a nice Chianti." He then makes a hissing, sucking sound. At a graduation party, we see a man drink from a wine glass in the background, and another wine glass sits on the same table. Dr. Pilcher holds two wine glasses, one red, and one white. Various people at the party also hold glasses of alcohol. Lecter gets up from a table that has a drink on it. BLOOD/GORE On a corkboard in Crawford's office, we see various photos of a gruesome crime scene, body parts, a face, and close up, a woman's chest with skin torn off and the inside seen, as well as the same woman lying face-down, naked, with the skin from her arm torn off. Miggs moans and lays on his side, naked in his cell, saying, "I bit my wrists, so I could die." We see him masturbating, and he throws the result at Clarice. Clarice accidentally catches herself on the bottom of a self-storage building door, ripping part of her pants, and she spots blood there. Clarice removes a red cloth from inside an old car, revealing an old severed head with dried blood seen on the mouth, and a bit under a nostril. Clarice looks at a photo of a woman lying dead on the ground, her back skinned, and interior parts showing. We see part of a woman's body, dirty, two fingernails broken off on one hand. One of the coroners pulls a bug cocoon from the dead woman's mouth. We see the dead woman naked when turned over, with some skin removed. Dr. Roden cuts open a bug cocoon, releasing some kind of slime, and revealing a "Death's Head moth." We see bloodstains on the walls of Catherine's hole, and then a severed finger. Lecter kicks his cell door closed, trapping Jimmy, the other guard. He takes the man's face in his hands and bites hard. We see blood all over the bottom half of Lecter's face, as he calmly slams the guard's head against the bars. Lecter then sprays mace in Jimmy's face, and we see where Lecter bit him, skin torn off, and rivers of blood seen after the man falls to the floor. Bill, the other guard tries to get free, but Lecter raises the nightstick that guard carried, and brings it down hard on the screaming man, repeatedly. We see blood spatter on Lecter's shirt as he takes perverse pleasure in the act. The camera pans down across the floor afterward, and we see blood on the floor in different places, and blood that pooled from the back of the man's head. We see one of Lecter's guards hung up on the bars of his cell, posed like Jesus, the skin of his stomach ripped open, showing his innards, and blood all around. Lecter's other guard, Pembry, lies dead on the floor with blood seen from the back of his head, his face seen with blood too. A cop looks at him, determines that he's still alive, and we see bubbles of some kind emanate from his mouth, as well as blood on his stretcher later. In an elevator, we see blood drip from the ceiling of the elevator onto Pembry's white sheet on the stretcher. And we see some blood on the ceiling. One of the officers aims a gun into the elevator, blood seen on a hand. We see much blood on Lecter's back as he lies face down on the top of the elevator. One of the men looking into the elevator shaft shoots at Lector's leg and we see the resulting wound after he fires, showing a bit more blood. One of the officers inside the elevator opens the hatch of the elevator roof and Lector falls out, hanging by his feet and we see more blood. However, Lecter, wearing the dead guard's uniform, and the one actually on the stretcher in the ambulance, takes off a towel over his face and an oxygen mask and we see blood all over his face. Lecter comes up behind the doctor in the ambulance with him, takes off the face of the guard, and that's all we see. Jame picks an insect out of a cage, and then pulls it apart slowly, separating its body from its rear, or at least that's what it looks like. We see what looks like a woman's head in a fish tank in a dark room. Clarice finds a gruesome sight in a bathtub, a thick unidentifiable brown soup with possibly a head or a collection of body parts. It's difficult to identify what it might be. A man coughs out blood on his chin and neck as he lies on the floor. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE As Jack Crawford, student Clarice Starling's superior at the FBI Academy, says to her, "You don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head." Inevitably, that's what happens to Clarice, but not the kind of head occupancy that causes nightmares. Clarice desperately needs information Dr. Lecter, a former psychologist and current psychotic cannibal, might have regarding the whereabouts of serial killer Buffalo Bill and his potentially next victim. Having been locked up in the same cell for the past eight years, Lecter wants to have a bit of fun, or his brand of fun anyway. He toys with Clarice right from the start, putting together her past based on how she looks, and in order for her to get the information she wants, making her talk about parts of her past that she prefers to keep locked away. But she does it, and at the same time, we also learn of Lecter's past deeds, mainly involving eating those he seems to have disliked, at first mentioning a census taker, and then revelations through a newspaper headline that he cooked various persons for gourmet meals and served them to friends. Besides the psychological chess game between him and Clarice, Lecter also kills a few people in the course of the film, with bloody results. There's also a scene that some may find offensive, where police officers burst into a large room containing Lecter's cell, finding one of their own dead, bloodied, some skin torn off, and hung up on the bars in a Jesus-like pose. The serial killer Buffalo Bill, a.k.a. Jame Gumb (or Jamie), is the reason for Clarice visiting Hannibal Lecter, with him having killed many women and skinning them afterward. The search for him becomes more urgent when he kidnaps a senator's daughter, and more is learned about him throughout, such as how he psychologically tortures his victims. We see in great detail him frightening that senator's daughter, putting her through a new kind of hell. At the FBI Academy and in many other places she travels to, Clarice has to deal with essentially being in a man's world, at least with how the men in those worlds deem them. In the Academy, Jack Crawford does assign Clarice to interview Hannibal Lecter but at the same time looks like she's brought her on board just to be close to her, and possibly sleep with her, though their working relationship doesn't reach that. Many men stare at Clarice in the course of the film, some leering, such as with police officers in a funeral home, and a prisoner named Miggs, in a cell next to Lecter, gives Clarice his own perverse kind of attention. Her stoicness in the face of all these indignities is the ultimate test of her character, and she weathers them as best she can because she has a job to do, and especially a kidnapped woman's life to save. At the asylum, Dr. Chilton tries to pick up Clarice, saying, "You know, we get a lot of detectives here, but I must say I can't ever remember one as attractive. Will you be in Baltimore overnight? Because this can be quite a fun town if you have the right guide." He also says to her, "Crawford's very clever, isn't he? Using you?" Clarice asks him what he means and Chilton replies, "A pretty, young woman to turn him on. I don't believe Lecter's ever seen a woman in eight years. And, oh, are you ever his taste. So to speak." Clarice replies, "I graduated from UVA, Doctor. It is not a charm school." Dr. Lecter says to Clarice, "You know what you look like to me with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed, pure West Virginia. What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? And, oh, how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out, getting anywhere, getting all the way to the FBI." Clarice suggests to Lecter that he should point that "high-powered perception" at himself and fill out the questionnaire. Lecter puts the questionnaire back in the food slot and slams the door. He then says to Clarice, "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans, and a nice Chianti." He then makes a hissing, sucking sound. Miggs moans and lays on his side naked in his cell, saying, "I bit my wrists, so I could die." We see him masturbating, and he throws the result at Clarice. Lecter asks Clarice, "Jack Crawford is helping your career, isn't he? Apparently, he likes you, and you like him too." Clarice responds, "I never thought about it," and Lecter continues, "Do you think Jack Crawford wants you sexually? True, he's much older, but do you think he visualizes scenarios, exchanges, fucking you?" Clarice responds, "That doesn't interest me, doctor. Frankly, it's the sort of thing that Miggs would say." Lecter answers, "Not anymore." Crawford says to Sheriff Perkins, "This type of sex crime has certain aspects. I'd just as soon discuss in private. You know what I mean?" referring to Clarice being in the room. Later, Crawford says to Clarice, "When I told the sheriff we shouldn't talk in front of a woman, that really burned you, didn't it? It was just smoke, Starling, I had to get rid of him." Clarice replies, "It matters, Mr. Crawford. Cops look at you to see how you act. It matters. Crawford replies, "Point taken." Sheriff Perkins and his men don't look pleased about being told by Clarice to leave the room. Buffalo Bill says to Catherine in the hole, "It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it's told." After Catherine tells him that her family will pay whatever ransom he's asking, he replies, "It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." Buffalo Bill lowers a basket with a light on it into the hole and says, "Now it places the lotion in the basket." Catherine cries that she wants to go home and Buffalo Bill repeats, "It places the lotion in the basket." Buffalo Bill listens to more of her begging and then exclaims, "Put the f*cking lotion in the basket!" We see bloodstains on the walls of Catherine's hole, and then a severed finger. Catherine screams. Buffalo Bill imitates and mocks Catherine's screams, and holds out his shirt as if he had breasts and screams some more. Lecter asks Senator Ruth Martin if she breast-fed Catherine and after she replies, "Yes, I did," Lecter says, "Toughened your nipples, didn't it?" After Lecter is interrupted, he continues, "Amputate a man's leg and he can still feel it tickling. Tell me, Mom, when your little girl is on the slab, where will it tickle you?" The senator tells those with Lecter, "Take this thing back to Baltimore." We hear Pembry grunting offscreen, and Lecter walks over to the dead guard's body, takes a pocket knife off the floor, checks for the blade, then says, "Ready when you are, Sergeant Pembry," and walks out of his cell. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Blood/Gore" and "Violence" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. In the row of cells, where Lecter's is located at the end, An inmate jumps about as Clarice passes by, and hisses, "I can smell your c*nt." Later, Miggs moans and lays on his side naked in his cell, saying, "I bit my wrists, so I could die." We see him masturbating, and he throws the result at Clarice. This riles the other inmates and there's a lot of screaming. Clarice removes a red cloth from inside an old car, revealing an old severed head with dried blood seen on the mouth, and a bit under a nostril. We see the various rooms of Buffalo Bill's house, including an operating table, cutting tools, butterfly cage, mannequins, and Buffalo Bill, sitting on a chair, sewing naked, seen from behind. We hear Catherine in a deep hole in the house. Buffalo Bill says to Catherine in the hole, "It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it's told." After Catherine tells him that her family will pay whatever ransom he's asking, he replies, "It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." Buffalo Bill lowers a basket with a light on it into the hole and says, "Now it places the lotion in the basket." Catherine cries that she wants to go home and Buffalo Bill repeats, "It places the lotion in the basket." Buffalo Bill listens to more of her begging and then exclaims, "Put the f*cking lotion in the basket!" We see bloodstains on the walls of Catherine's hole, and then a severed finger. Catherine screams. Buffalo Bill imitates and mocks Catherine's screams, and holds out his shirt as if he had breasts, and screams some more. Jame cuts the power in his house and we see his view through night-vision goggles he wears, watching Clarice fumble around and aim her gun. At one point, he reaches for her in the darkness. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Rifles: Carried and/or used to threaten and kill others. See "Violence" for details. Clarice walks through a weapons class, here we see many people cleaning their guns, and guns on the wall. Clarice and other trainees fire guns at a shooting range, and bust into a room with guns out to apprehend a "suspect," and as Clarice gets the handcuffs out, a gun clicks behind Clarice's head and an instructor's voice says, "You're dead, Starling." We hear Pembry grunting, and Lecter walks over to the dead guard's body, takes a pocket knife off the floor, checks for the blade, then says, "Ready when you are, Sergeant Pembry," and walks out of his cell. We hear three shots fired on the fifth floor of the building where Lecter was being held. Cops go up the stairwell of Lecter's building with guns out. Many officers aim their guns into an elevator. FBI agents gather outside of a house in Illinois with guns ready. Various men aim rifles at the house, and Crawford holds a shotgun. Clarice holds her gun at Jame who gradually holds his hands up, then appears to run for his gun on the stove. She keeps her gun held out as she tries to find him in various rooms. Jame cuts the power in his house and we see his view through night-vision goggles he wears, watching Clarice fumble around and aim her gun around. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You stupid f*ck!" "Would you f*ck me?" "I'd f*ck me," "I'd f*ck me hard/so hard," "Damn f*ck," "You little f*ck," "This guy's f*cking crazy," "What is this sh*t?" "Holy sh*t," "I can smell your c*nt," "Co-ol!" "You son of a bitch!" "What the hell?" "Bitch!" and "Big dummy." An inmate jumps about as Clarice passes by. Dr. Lecter clicks his tongue almost silently. He also makes a hissing, sucking sound after explaining to Clarice what he did to a pushy census taker. All the inmates scream in their cells as Clarice leaves. On one hand, Buffalo Bill has the word "Love" printed, and a cross above that. He also wears a ring on his index finger. We see bloodstains on the walls of Catherine's hole, and then a severed finger. Catherine screams. Buffalo Bill imitates and mocks Catherine's screams, and holds out his shirt as if he had breasts and screams some more. Lecter talks in a steady, controlled voice, almost a drawl. Jame videotapes himself and we see his bare chest for at least 25 seconds as he dances in front of the camera JUMP SCENES None MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of dramatic and suspenseful music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY At least 14 "f" words (5 used sexually), 6 "s" words, 1 slang term using female genitalia ("c*nt"), 2 S.O.Bs, 2 damns, 1 hell, 1 ass (used with "hole"), 3 uses of "Jesus," 2 uses of "Oh God," and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Oh Jesus," "Lord Almighty," "By God," "Jesus Christ," and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY On a corkboard in Crawford's office, we see various photos of a gruesome crime scene, body parts, a face, and close up, a woman's chest open and the parts seen, as well as the same woman lying face-down, naked, with the skin from her arm torn off. Dr. Chilton says to Clarice, "Crawford's very clever, isn't he? Using you?" Clarice asks him what he means and Chilton replies, "A pretty, young woman to turn him on. I don't believe Lecter's ever seen a woman in eight years. And, oh, are you ever his taste. So to speak." Clarice replies, "I graduated from UVA, Doctor. It is not a charm school." Dr. Lecter says to Clarice, "You know what you look like to me with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you’ve tried so desperately to shed, pure West Virginia . What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? And, oh, how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out, getting anywhere, getting all the way to the FBI." Miggs, an inmate at the asylum, jumps about as Clarice passes by, and hisses, "I can smell your c*nt." Later, as Clarice walks by his cell, Miggs moans and lays on his side naked in his cell, saying, "I bit my wrists, so I could die." We see him masturbating, and he throws the result at Clarice. Lecter tells Clarice to seek out an old patient of his and says, "I don't think Miggs could manage again quite so soon, even though he is crazy. Go now!" Lecter asks Clarice, "Jack Crawford is helping your career, isn't he? Apparently, he likes you, and you like him too." Clarice responds, "I never thought about it," and Lecter continues, "Do you think Jack Crawford wants you sexually? True, he's much older, but do you think he visualizes scenarios, exchanges, f*cking you?" Clarice responds, "That doesn't interest me, doctor. Frankly, it's the sort of thing that Miggs would say." Lecter answers, "Not anymore." Buffalo Bill asks a woman to push a couch all the way into the back of his van. Bill gets in, thanks the woman, and asks her if she's a size 14, then we hear him punch her viciously. He closes the doors to the back of the van, cuts her shirt open, and we see her back. Crawford says to Sheriff Perkins, "This type of sex crime has certain aspects. I'd just as soon discuss in private. You know what I mean?" referring to Clarice being in the room. We see part of a woman's body, dirty, two fingernails broken off on one hand. One of the coroners pulls a bug cocoon from the dead woman's mouth. We see the dead woman naked when turned over, with skin removed. We see the various rooms of Buffalo Bill's perverse house, including an operating table, cutting tools, butterfly cage, mannequins, and Buffalo Bill, sitting on a chair, sewing naked, seen from behind. Clarice says to Lecter, explaining Buffalo Bill, "There's no correlation in literature between transsexuals and violence. Transsexuals are very passive..." In trying to figure out why Clarice ran away from the Montana ranch home of her deceased mother's cousin and her husband, he asks, "Did the rancher make you perform fellatio? Did he sodomize you?" After he gets answers from Clarice, he continues with his analysis of Bill, saying, "Billy is not a real transsexual. But he thinks he is. He tries to be. He's tried to be a lot of things, I expect." Clarice responds, "And you said that I was very close to the way we would catch him; what did you mean, doctor?" Lecter answers, "There are three major centers for transsexual surgery: Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota, and Columbus Medical Center. I wouldn't be surprised if Billy had applied for sex reassignment at one or all of them and been rejected." Buffalo Bill imitates and mocks Catherine's screams, and holds out his shirt as if he had breasts and screams some more. Lecter asks Senator Ruth Martin if she breast-fed Catherine and after she replies, "Yes, I did," Lecter says, "Toughened your nipples, didn't it?" After Lecter is interrupted, he continues, "Amputate a man's leg and he can still feel it tickling. Tell me, Mom, when your little girl is on the slab, where will it tickle you?" The senator answers, "Take this thing back to Baltimore." Lecter asks Clarice what "needs" Buffalo Bill serves "by killing." Clarice replies, "Anger. Social acceptance and, um, sexual frustrations." Lecter says she's wrong about what Buffalo Bill covets. "We begin by coveting what we see everyday. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice?" Jame makes sure that a ring is secure on his nipple, which we see close up. We see Buffalo Bill's bare chest as he puts on a necklace, and a tattoo of some sort below his right nipple. He says to himself, "Would you f*ck me? I'd f*ck me. I'd f*ck me hard. I'd f*ck me so hard." He videotapes himself and we see his bare chest for at least 25 seconds as he dances in front of a camera, and he steps far enough back that we see he's got a vagina. SMOKING None TENSE FAMILY SCENES There's a flashback to Clarice looking over her father's coffin at a funeral home. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The inner workings of the FBI Academy in all its facets, and the work of its trainees. Throughout the film, Clarice contends with sexism and men trying to pick her up, as well as being read perhaps too accurately by Hannibal Lecter. The differences between Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill, if any. The close-up camerawork employed in the film to various effects. The psychological chess game between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice. Hannibal's manipulation of many situations. The disturbing nature of Buffalo Bill, and why he does what he does, and the same for Hannibal Lecter. VIOLENCE Scenes listed under Blood/Gore show the bloody/gory results of unseen violence. Buffalo Bill asks a woman to push the couch all the way into the back of his van. Bill gets in, thanks the woman, and asks her if she's a size 14, then we hear him punch her viciously. He closes the doors to the back of the van, cuts her shirt open, and we see her back. A punching class is seen at the Academy, where Clarice holds up a rubber shield. Lecter kicks his cell door closed, trapping Jimmy, the other guard. He takes the man's face in his hands and bites hard. We see blood all over the bottom half of Lecter's face, as he calmly slams the guard's head against the bars. Lecter then sprays mace in Jimmy's face, and we see where Lecter bit him, skin torn off, and rivers of blood seen after the man falls to the floor. Bill, the other guard tries to get free, but Lecter raises the nightstick that guard carried, and brings it down hard on the screaming man, repeatedly. We see blood spatter on Lecter's shirt as he takes perverse pleasure in the act. The camera pans down across the floor afterward, and we see blood on the floor in different places, and blood that pooled from the back of the man's head. One of the men looking into the elevator shaft shoots at Lector's leg and we see the resulting wound after he fires. Jame points a gun at the back of Clarice's head, and cocks it loud enough that she hears it, spins around and fires at least 6 times, and we see blood on Jame's shirt and he yells out. One of the shots shatters dark glass. Reviewed off DVD / Posted February 23, 2009