The Silence of the Lambs 4K UHD - Jodie Foster / Anthony Hopkins

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Jonathan Demme
USA 1991

From Thomas Harris’ novel, director Jonathan Demme explodes and reconstructs a classic genre, laying a foundation of emotional and political commitment beneath a perfectly constructed psychological thriller. Fourteen years after her controversial role in Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster finally makes the transformation from helpless victim to rescuing hero in this dark, gender-bending fairy tale of an American obsession: serial murder. As Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter, Anthony Hopkins is the archetypal antihero—cultured, quick-witted, uncontainable—a portrait of all the sharpest human faculties gone diabolically wrong. Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay Adaptation for Ted Tally.

***

A psychopath nicknamed Buffalo Bill is murdering young women across the Midwest. Believing it takes one to know one, the FBI sends Agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to interview a demented prisoner who may provide clues to the killer's actions. That prisoner is psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant, diabolical cannibal who agrees to help Starling only if she'll feed his morbid curiosity with details about her own complicated life. This twisted relationship forces Starling not only to face her own inner demons, but leads her face– to–face with a demented killer, an incarnation of evil so overwhelming, she may not have the courage or strength to stop him. Horrific, disturbing, spellbinding. This thriller set the standard by which all others are measured.

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Theatrical Release: February 13, 1991

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Review: Kino - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:58:33.523
Video	1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 88,805,249,208 bytes Feature: 88,599,189,696 bytes Video Bitrate: 78.78 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2035 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2035 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 2018 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2018 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.66:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 62,991,116,608 bytes Feature: 44,806,766,592 bytes Video Bitrate: 50.89 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas • Inside the Labyrinth: Documentary (66:28) • Page to Screen: Documentary (41:17) • Understanding the Madness: Featurette (19:35) • Scoring the Silence: Featurette (16:00) • Original 1991 Making-of Featurette (8:07) • Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster Interviews (52:30) • Deleted Scenes (35:47) • Outtakes (1:46) • Anthony Hopkins Phone Message (:35) • TV Spots (5:56) • Theatrical Teaser (1:06) • Theatrical Trailer (1:52) • Hannibal Trailer (2:20) 4K Ultra HD Release Date: October 19th, 2021 Black 4K Ultra HD Case inside O-card slipcase Chapters 16

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Kino 4K UHD (September 2021): Kino are releasing Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs" in glorious 4K UHD. Along with John Carpenter's "The Thing" - recently released in 4K UHD, "The Silence of the Lambs" is another of the most rewatchable films in modern cinema history with quoted dialogue that is imbedded in the culture. If you recall, the 2018 Criterion Blu-ray was from a "New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Tak Fujimoto" and is compared to the MGM Blu-ray and DVDs (including Criterion's 1998 SD transfer) HERE as well as selected captures below. Without overly debating the colors, the Dolby vision, the HDR transfer in 3840 X 2160 resolution really has no competition. After three viewings (twice with the Tim Lucas commentary) my observations are that it is darker, but contrast is so layered it can run from warmer to cooler skin tones - detail and grain support are the hallmark looking tighter and more film-like than I have ever seen before. Any HDR has not been applied demonstratively. This resolution, and HDR do wonders for a home theater viewing. It is like seeing it for the first time as the UHD experience is so immersive.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 60 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc), Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR), Chernobyl (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR), Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR), Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsining (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot (software uniformly simulated HDR),, Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR), 2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Kino offer options for 2.0 channel stereo (stated by some as a downmix of the 5.1) and a 5.1 surround bump (both in 24-bit) in the original English language. No Atmos. The Howard Shore (An Innocent Man, Cronenberg's Crash, Maps to the Stars, Scanners and The Brood, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, Fincher's The Game and Se7en etc.) score has likewise infused in people's memory recalling the film's tension (Jame Gumb's house), iconic scenes and terrifying atmosphere in the prison (Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter). Demme has a connection to music and the film includes songs from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' American Girl to Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations' performed by Jerry Zimmerman. The surround is not as robust as the Criterion Blu-ray but it is still highly impacting in the lossless. Kino add optional English (SDH) subtitles on the Region FREE 4K UHD disc and included Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The only extra on the 4K UHD disc is a new Tim Lucas commentary. He covers extensive detail bringing up other directors like Tobe Hooper, George Romero, David Cronenberg (body horror), Dario Argento, Georges Franju and others - making connections and comparisons. He references details of the previous 1994 commentary featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins etc. Tim makes keen observations into the production, Demme's intentions, the Shore score, the Tak Fujimoto cinematography, Kristi Zea's production design, Hannibal's artwork; 'The Duomo' seen from the Belvedere in Florence Italy - cleverly foreshadowing Jame Gumb as shown to be from Belvedere, Ohio. He talks about Clarice Starling's West Virginia accent and the mocking of it by Dr. Lecter and its relationship to the actors Foster and Hopkins, producer Roger Corman's influence and his small part in the film (as FBI Director Hayden Burke) as well as George Romero' cameo (as the uncredited FBI Agent in Memphis.). He points out details of the cast; ex. Don Brockett as the friendly inmate (who played Chef Brockett on over 20-years of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,) Diane Baker's Senator Ruth Martin and her relationship with her daughter. He mentions the film's 'woman in the workplace' themes, transvestitism, the many retellings of The Silence of the Lambs in cinema, including TV series, the earlier Manhunter film, Thomas Harris' 1981 Red Dragon novel, and much, much, more. The Tim Lucas commentary is thoroughly researched and solid gold for fans of the film. He's one of the very best.

The 4K UHD package includes second disc, new, Blu-ray, that is 49 Gig in size with the film taking up 32 Gig / 30 mbps bitrate. It compares very well to the 2018 Criterion Blu-ray. It also has the brilliant Tim Lucas commentary plus a number of other supplements which include most of the previously seen extras like interviews with Demme and Foster, Inside the Labyrinth - a 1-hour, 6-minutes, 2001 documentary by Jeffrey Schwarz featuring interviews with Foster; Hopkins; screenwriter Ted Tally; production designer Kristi Zea; editor Craig McKay; studio executive Mike Medavoy; producer Ron Bozman; costume designer Colleen Atwood; Demme's mentor Roger Corman, and many others. Page to Screen is a 2002 episode of the Bravo TV show "Page to Screen" featuring key members of the film's cast and crew discussing Thomas Harris's source novel and the production. It runs 41-minutes. Scoring the Silence is a 2004, 16-minute, interview with composer Howard Shore, Understanding the Madness is a 20-minute 2008 program featuring interviews with retired FBI agents Richard L. Ault Jr., Roger L. Depue, James R. Fitzgerald, Robert R. Hazelwood, R. Stephen Mardigian, and Michael R. Napier. There are deleted, scenes, TV spots, Anthony Hopkins Phone Message, teaser and trailer.

Kino's 4K UHD release of Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs" is a must-own for fans of this film (which is a formidable-ly large group.) As we are seeing frequently, it is hard to get the 4K UHD screen captures to do justice to the impeccable image filled with consistent grain and wonderful sharpness. We've done our best - trust me - this is a spectacular package - a brilliant 3840 X 2160 resolution image, Tim Lucas commentary, extensive extras on the second disc Blu-ray (with its own strong image) and impressive poster-related cover and slipcase. It has our highest recommendation. A huge keeper for me. New adopters shouldn't hesitate for a moment. This one and John Carpenter's "The Thing" in 4K UHD are two of my favorite viewing so far this year.