The Silence of the Lambs (1991), directed by Jonathan Demme, is a 119 minute film in which FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) questions the jailed Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to help catch the killer known as Buffalo Bill. It is the second film in release order and the fourth in story order, and it grossed $273 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Silence of the Lambs follows Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, as she questions the jailed psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter to help catch a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. Senior agent Jack Crawford pulls her out of her studies to take the case, which centers on a killer who skins his female victims. Crawford sends her to interview Lecter, a brilliant doctor jailed for murder and cannibalism, and the arrangement runs on a simple trade: Lecter offers clues, but only in exchange for personal details about Clarice's own past.
The screenplay is by Ted Tally. The film sits second in hannibal movies in order by release and fourth by story, after hannibal rising, red dragon 2002 and the spin-off manhunter 1986, in which Brian Cox played the character under the spelling Lecktor. You need nothing from those films to follow this one, because the setup above is all the story asks you to bring.
The pairing at the center is what the film is built on. Most of the dread comes from two people talking across a barrier, with a missing woman on the clock somewhere else.
Clarice StarlingJodie Foster
Jack CrawfordScott Glenn
Dr. Frederick ChiltonAnthony Heald
Catherine MartinBrooke Smith
Senator Ruth MartinDiane Baker
Ardelia MappKasi Lemmons
BarneyFrankie Faison
LamarTracey Walter
| Market | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | February 14, 1991reported | boxofficemojo.com |
| UK | May 31, 1991reported | themoviedb.org |
| AU | May 9, 1991reported | themoviedb.org |
| Market | Subscription | Rent or buy |
|---|---|---|
| US | fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus, Kanopy, Hoopla, Fawesome (Free) | Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex |
| UK | MGM Plus Amazon Channel, BBC iPlayer (Free) | Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube |
| AU | Netflix, BINGE, Foxtel Now, Stan, Netflix Standard with Ads, MGM Amazon Channel | Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube |
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.
| Director | Jonathan Demme |
|---|---|
| Writers | Ted Tally |
| Producers | Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon, Ron Bozman |
| Music | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Tak Fujimoto |
| Budget | $19 million |
|---|---|
| Domestic (US and Canada) | $131 million |
| International | $142 million |
| Worldwide | $273 million |
| Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars | $676 million |
Hannibal box office for every film.
Howard Shore composed the score for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and MCA Records released the score album, titled "The Silence of the Lambs", on February 5, 1991, with 13 tracks. The album is a score release, so it collects Shore's orchestral work for the film rather than the songs heard on screen.
Two songs by other artists play in the film, and no source credits either one as written for it:
Where do they play? "Goodbye Horses" accompanies the scene in which Buffalo Bill dances and tucks himself in front of a camera while Catherine is trapped in the pit in his basement. It is one of the most unsettling moments in the film, partly because the song is so at odds with what is happening on screen, and in my opinion that clash is a big reason the scene lingers with viewers.
"Hip Priest" appears as an excerpt in the climactic final stretch of the film, where Clarice Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house.
For how the music changes from film to film across the saga, see the Hannibal Lecter soundtrack page.
Q Lazzarus
Buffalo Bill dances and tucks himself in front of a camera while Catherine is trapped in the pit in his basement.
The Fall
An excerpt plays in the climactic final stretch of the film, where Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house.
Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org, en.wikipedia.org
The plot runs from Clarice's first interview with Lecter to Gumb's death in a dark basement and a phone call from a fugitive Lecter. In that first exchange, Lecter trades hints for stories from her life, and she tells him about a childhood trauma involving lambs on a farm. That conversation gives the film its title and its emotional engine, since the thing that haunts her is the thing Lecter keeps pressing on.
The case then tightens. A new victim, Catherine Martin, turns out to be the daughter of a US senator, which raises the pressure on the investigation. Lecter is moved to a facility in Memphis, and Clarice offers him a deal that depends on him giving up the killer's identity. He gives her a few more clues, then escapes by killing his guards.
Clarice works out on her own that the killer is Jame Gumb, and she goes to question a man at a house, not knowing it is his. She realizes it is Gumb's home when she notices a moth connected to his crimes. Gumb keeps Catherine in a pit in his basement. He cuts the lights and stalks Clarice with night vision goggles, but he gives away his position, and she shoots and kills him. Catherine is rescued.
At the FBI graduation party, Clarice gets a phone call from Lecter, who is free and abroad. He says he is going to have an old friend for dinner and begins following Dr. Chilton.
The Silence of the Lambs reached US theaters on February 14, 1991, with UK and Australian releases following on May 31 and May 9, 1991. The US date comes from Box Office Mojo and the UK and Australian dates from TMDB, and all three are reported rather than studio confirmed.
The film is rated R in the US, 15 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia. Its theatrical run produced $131 million in the US and $142 million internationally, for $273 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. That is more than 14 times its production budget. The full series figures sit on the hannibal box office page.
As of November 3, 2026, TMDB, using JustWatch data, lists the film on subscription services in the US on fuboTV, Philo and MGM+, with free access through Kanopy, Hoopla and Fawesome. In the UK it streams on MGM Plus through Amazon and free on BBC iPlayer. In Australia it is on Netflix, BINGE, Foxtel Now and Stan. Rental and purchase options include Amazon Video, Apple TV and YouTube. Availability changes often, so the where to watch hannibal page is the one to check before you press play.
In the ending, Clarice kills Jame Gumb in his dark basement and saves Catherine Martin, graduates from the FBI Academy, and then takes a phone call from a free Hannibal Lecter, who follows Dr. Chilton through a crowd in a tropical setting. The film closes the case and leaves its most dangerous character at large.
In my opinion, the two halves of that ending pull in different directions on purpose. The basement scene is the payoff for the whole investigation: Gumb cuts the lights and hunts Clarice with night vision goggles, and he loses only because he gives away his position. She wins by listening in the dark, which echoes the way she was forced to listen to Lecter earlier. The graduation call then undercuts the celebration. Lecter makes clear that he will not hunt her, so he is a threat she can live beside, which is arguably more unsettling than a villain who wants her dead.
The Chilton line is a punchline with a sting. Lecter tells Clarice he is going to have an old friend for dinner, and then he follows Dr. Chilton. Perhaps the film wants you to laugh, and then wonder why you did.
The open ending set up the later stories. Hannibal (2001) picks up ten years after the Buffalo Bill case with Julianne Moore as Clarice, and Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising go back to earlier chapters. For how the movies differ from the books, see hannibal lecter books vs movies. Anyone asking about a Silence of the Lambs 2 is looking for Hannibal (2001), and a Silence of the Lambs 3 is not a title in the saga. As of November 2026, no studio has announced a dated new Lecter film, and the new hannibal movie page tracks that.
The Silence of the Lambs was filmed mostly in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from November 15, 1989, to March 1, 1990. Pittsburgh was the main base of production, and several nearby locations stood in for places in the story.
Perryopolis, Pennsylvania supplied the Victorian house used as Buffalo Bill's home. The Western Center near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania stood in for the Baltimore State Hospital where Lecter is held. Scenes at the FBI Academy were shot at Quantico, Virginia, with the FBI's cooperation, and the FBI Director's office scene was shot in a private office in Washington, D.C.
For horror fans, the Perryopolis house is the one to know. In my opinion, a real Victorian house on an ordinary street is a big part of why the basement works.
The Silence of the Lambs has a handful of production details that show how the finished film came together.
The film grossed $273 million worldwide on a $19 million budget. Hannibal (2001) followed ten years later, with Hopkins back as Lecter.
The Silence of the Lambs is rated R in the US, 15 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia. The story involves a killer who skins his female victims, a captive held in a basement pit, a psychiatrist jailed for murder and cannibalism, and an escape in which Lecter kills his guards. Much of the tension comes from interviews and from a chase in the dark rather than from constant onscreen violence.
The film's killer is Buffalo Bill, credited as Jame Gumb and played by Ted Levine. He is the man Clarice Starling is hunting, and Hannibal Lecter is a separate character, a jailed psychiatrist who helps her profile him.
It paired Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in a story built around conversation, and it grossed $273 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. It also introduced Hopkins as Lecter, a role he played again in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).
Its scares come from situation more than spectacle. Clarice must trade personal secrets with a brilliant, imprisoned killer to get clues, and the final confrontation takes place in a dark basement where Gumb can see her through night vision goggles and she cannot see him. The open ending, with Lecter free and following Dr. Chilton, extends the unease past the credits.
The film is based on a novel, with a screenplay by Ted Tally. Gene Hackman originally planned to direct and star but withdrew, and Jonathan Demme came on after reading the novel. Sean Connery was Demme's first choice for Lecter and turned it down, after which Anthony Hopkins took the part. The film opened in the US on February 14, 1991.
The killer the FBI is hunting is Buffalo Bill, whose real name in the film is Jame Gumb, played by Ted Levine. Jack Crawford sends trainee Clarice Starling to consult Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is a separate character: a jailed psychiatrist, not the killer being pursued.
