ACE Presents The Silence of the Lambs

Director: Jonathan Demme

1991 / 118min / 35mm

Demme’s riveting, skin-crawly adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel of the same name earned a prestige rarely granted to horror movies thanks to, yes, its two undeniable powerhouse central performances—Anthony Hopkins as psychopath psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, the FBI agent trainee who has to win Lecter’s trust and consult his blighted, brilliant mind in order to stop another serial killer at large—but also by virtue of its consummate technical virtuosity. The work of Craig McKay, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Editing, will be studied as long as suspense thrillers are made, his climactic parallel cutting of two FBI “raids” nothing short of masterful.

Distributor: Park Circus

Followed by a panel with Craig McKay, ACE, and several of Craig's collaborators over the years, including picture editors Colleen Sharp, ACE and Naomi Geraghty, re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman, and composer/music editor Joseph Debeasi, moderated by Patrick McMahon, ACE, on Saturday, May 30th.

Part of Filmcraft: American Cinema Editors