First point - please forgive us. This was one of our earliest comparisons and hence a reliable methodology had not been adopted - meaning that most of the below screen captures are not exact frame matches. Hopefully there are enough to give a fair representation of each DVD.

Tack onto the above statement that I cannot have positive opinions about many issues regarding these DVDs - especially color. I'll still contend that the Criterion has reddish skin tones and, most likely, had black/red levels boosted to improve sharpness. On advanced systems the, long out-of-print, Criterion will fall short as it is not anamorphic (16X9 enhanced). The new CE has a much higher bitrate and the image appears slightly darker. If I am forced to guess (and in this case it is a guess!) I suspect that the new CE is the best (meaning most theatrically accurate) of the three releases. It shares the DVD with nothing - all supplements on the 2nd disc. It doesn't have the greenish haze of the original MGM and skin tones seem fairly true. I find no evidence of manipulation on the progressive/anamorphic transfer.

Almost 6 years ago MGM put out this film, identifying the DVD as a 'Special Edition'. This new product is labeled 'Collector's Edition' and is stacked with a 2nd disc of supplements although the director commentary on the Criterion is conspicuously absent. With all the extras on a second disc it allows for more information on the first for the film and its image has benefited.

Audio appears duplicated from the original MGM 2001 digital release - a 5.1 English and standard French and Spanish DUBs.

The MGM is loaded with, generally, very good extras (although many are repeated on the old SE) - 3 hours worth of documentaries including Inside the Labyrinth: Making of The Silence of the Lambs (1:03:12), The Silence of the Lambs: Page to Screen (2 Part - 40 minutes), Jonathan Demme & Jodie Foster (3 Part - 52:35), Scoring the Silence (15:00) and the Original 1991 Making Of Featurette (8:00). There are also 22 Deleted Scenes, about 2 minutes of Outtakes, an Anthony Hopkins Phone Message, many TV Spots and some photo galleries. Included in the liner notes are some recipe cards with a Hannibal Lector invitation on one side and instructions for cooking such favorites as Fava Beans, Roast Saddle of Lamb and Deviled Lamb's Tongue - kind of cute addition.

This was initially a tough one. At first I would have easily said that the MGM is far superior, but upon closer examination I was unable to make a positive determination regarding the image quality. The MGM has a greenish/yellow tinge to its images (see capture #5) in comparison to the Criterion which has a reddish/pink hue, but the skin tones are more accurate on the MGM (captures #2, 3). The Criterion is darker and video sourced where the MGM is film sourced to the best judgment of my naked eye. As far as I was concerned both discs image quality was acceptable, but viewing on a widescreen television the MGM was the winner being anamorphic and much sharper. On the MGM disc the blacks are pitch black. Neither image has excessive edge enhancement. The MGM has close captioned for the hearing impaired and 5.1 sound, both a bonus over Criterion. The Extras  probably lean toward the Criterion for the commentary, but the MGM has some nice features too with the Foster/Hopkins interviews and short featurettes. Okay, MGM is the winner, but it took them 3 years and 10 days to come up with a better DVD.