With five Oscar wins and a permanent slot in the public conscience, The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is cemented as a bona fide classic. Fans over in the United States have enjoyed Criterion and Kino Lorber 4K transfers for years, but now UK audiences can finally watch the psychological horror thriller in a high-resolution, HDR presentation. It isn't quite perfect, but Arrow Video's 4K set is undoubtedly the best way to watch The Silence of the Lambs.
Of course the film itself still holds up as a thought-provoking, entertaining masterpiece. FBI trainee Clarice Starling's (Jodie Foster) and psychiatrist-turned-serial killer Hannibal ‘The Cannibal' Lecter's conversations will forever be riveting, and the descent into Buffalo Bill's (Ted Lavine) hell is still excruciatingly tense. FILMHOUNDS have crowned The Silence of the Lambs as one of the best Best Picture winners, and claimed Foster as the best Best Actress winner of all time. What else is there to say?
Well, this 4K transfer miraculously adds another layer of depth to the narrative. The picture quality is sharp but thankfully doesn't clean up the film grain to a point where the texture is lost. And this version doesn't fall into the trap of other HDR presentations where the colours are distractingly fluorescent—the original colour palette is kept intact, but there's more life in skin tones and a boost to the dark, unnerving reds.
This newfound sharpness is key as Tak Fujimoto's iconic cinematography forces the audience to literally face the characters head-on and up close. There's more to unearth in Starling's face, and Lecter's eyes are even more uncomfortable to look at. Graphic details of each victim, previously rendered muddy and indistinguishable, are now crystal clear—the horror and tragedy (and brilliant effects work) truly upsetting.
Another key feature is the original lossless 2.0 stereo soundtrack. For the most part it's fantastic: clear and crisp, highlighting Howard Shore's score and the underappreciated sound design. There are one or two instances, however, where the dialogue, foley sound and score fire on all cylinders and bleed into a cacophony of muffled sound. But whenever a sonic element takes centre stage, it sounds fantastic.
What might disappoint fans are the special features packaged with this restoration. There's a lot to dive into, but most of it are commentary tracks and BTS footage pulled from previous editions of The Silence of the Lambs. The new additions, few as they are, are worth checking out. In particular, the exclusive audio commentary from trans critics and film historians Elizabeth Purchell and Caden Mark Gardner is genuinely insightful: touching on topics such as the cinematography, the other Lecter films, the relationship between the film and the queer community, and trans cinema.
Arrow Video's fancy box set packaging and goodies will look nice in any physical collection, but even nicer is the spruced-up visual presentation of one of the best films of the 20th century. Be sure to crack open a nice chianti before pressing play.
Special Features
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Newly restored original lossless 2.0 stereo soundtrack
- Optional lossless 5.1 soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Elizabeth Purchell & Caden Mark Gardner
- Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas
- Through Her Eyes – brand new visual essay on the theme of transformation by critic Justine Peres Smith
- Healing Humanity – brand new visual essay exploring point of view and personalization by critic Willow Catelyn Maclay
- Breaking the Silence – archival picture-in-picture interviews and trivia track
- 2002 episode of the Bravo television series Page to Screen focusing on The Silence of the Lambs
- Scoring the Silence – 2004 archival interview with composer Howard Shore
- Jonathan Demme & Jodie Foster – three-part archival 2005 documentary by Laurent Bouzereau
- Understanding the Madness – 2008 archival featurette featuring various FBI alumni discussing the profiling of serial killers
- 1991 “Making Of” Featurette
- 22 deleted scenes
- 7 additional deleted scenes, sourced from a VHS workprint
- Outtakes
- Anthony Hopkins phone message
- Theatrical trailer
- Teaser trailer
- 11 TV spots
- Image gallery
- Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring two original choices of artwork
- Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Alexandra West, Josh Nelson, Sam Moore and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Double-sided fold-out poster, featuring two original choices of artwork
- Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
The Silence of the Lambs Limited Edition 4K UHD is available now courtesy of Arrow Video.
