FAQ for
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Silence of the Lambs can be found here.

Yes. The movie is based on The Silence of the Lambs, a 1988 novel by American writer Thomas Harris. The novel was adapted for the movie by American screenwriter Ted Tally. There have since been two movie sequels, Hannibal (2001) and Hannibal Rising (2007) and one prequel Red Dragon (2002), also based on novels by Thomas Harris. Prior to The Silence of the Lambs, there was another Hannibal Lector movie, Manhunter (1986), which was based on Harris' 1981 novel, Red Dragon.

There are two schools of thought on this. One could certainly argue that The Silence of the Lambs is a sequel to Manhunter, since it features three of the same characters from Manhunter, that is, Hannibal Lector, Jack Crawford, and Dr Frederick Chilton (played respectively by Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, and Benjamin Hendrickson in Manhunter and Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, and Anthony Heald in The Silence of the Lambs). On the other hand, Manhunter was not a successful film, which is why Dino De Laurentiis chose not to produce this film. When The Silence of the Lambs was released, it was not marketed as a sequel to Manhunter. All references from the book that mention Will "the Red Dragon" Graham have been excised from the film. The two returning cast members, Frankie Faison and Dan Butler, play different roles. It's also worth noting that in early drafts, when the producers were not sure if they could use the characters from Manhunter, Ted Tally changed those characters' names to cut all ties with Manhunter. They were eventually changed back. However, given that Tally also wrote the screenplay for Red Dragon, which featured three out of four actors returning to their roles, including Faison playing his Silence role, it is more likely that Manhunter is meant to be part of a separate continuity, while Red Dragon is meant to be a direct prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

A picture of one of Buffalo Bill's victims has the year 1989 on it, so it must be either 1989 or the beginning of 1990.

Contrary to how the movie portrayed it, the building he escapes from is Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial, not a Memphis courthouse. See here for details.

The song is "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus.

The closing scene of the movie, one of the most famous in movie history, has Hannibal saying: "I'm having an old friend for dinner," as he watches Dr. Chilton setting foot on the Bahamas. This strongly suggests that Chilton ended up as one of Hannibal's meals. A small reference was made in the sequel novel Hannibal, where it was mentioned that Chilton disappeared 7 years earlier while on vacation, strongly suggesting Hannibal had gotten his revenge (albeit in the novel, Chilton disappeared in Jamaica, not the Bahamas). However, this is never specifically stated in the sequel movie. The only reference to Dr. Chilton in Hannibal is made by Barney, when he says that Lecter, when possible, preferred to eat "the rude," and Dr. Chilton "was a bad man," which also strongly implies Chilton became Hannibal's victim.