Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gives FBI serial killer hunter Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) pointers from his maximum security asylum cell. But is he trying to help the investigation, or is this some kind of sinister seduction?
“You don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head,” someone tells Clarice. Good luck with that. Fair to say that Jonathan Demme’s film of the Thomas Harris best seller was the most culturally pervasive psycho killer movie since, well, since Psycho. It’s a genuinely creepy, skin crawling suspense film, despite minimal on screen blood. Hopkins plays Hannibal with stillness and poise. But it’s the novelty of seeing the diminutive Foster in the role of the FBI agent which really makes it stand out. As Foster remarked when she picked up her second Academy Award for Best Actress, Clarice is “a strong and beautiful feminist hero.”
This 1991 classic is part of our monthly Premium Pick series, in which VIFF Premium members nominate a favourite film to share with our audience. This title was suggested by Blake Boyko. Thank you Blake!
Staff Pick: Ruthie
The popularity of Jonathan Demme’s movie is likely to last as long as there is a market for being scared.
Roger Ebert
Media Partner
Jonathan Demme
Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Ted Levine
USA
1991
English
Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Ted Tally
Cinematography
Tak Fujimoto
Editor
Craig McKay
Original Music
Howard Shore
Production Design
Kristi Zea
Art Director
Tim Galvin
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
A bona fide classic and arguably the greatest Canadian film of the 90s, Girard's dazzling deconstruction of the biopic gives us the mercurial pianist Glenn Gould as Picasso might have rendered him, a cubist portrait combining multimedia vignettes.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Short Cuts
Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories, Short Cuts weaves between 8 or 9 overlapping storylines and 22 characters. it's a teeming, caustic and compassionate human comedy; a singularly astringent, often cynical view of America and Americana.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
Schindler's List
One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.
Free event.
Three Colours: Red
Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.
The Lion King
With its beautifully drawn East African setting, its humour, pathos, and engaging characters, as well as its stirring songs, The Lion King stands as the pinnacle of traditional Disney family entertainment.
Image: © Disney, 1994
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.
Casino
Revisiting the wise guy milieu for the third (but not the final) time, Scorsese tells the story of Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro (Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci), two New York hoodlums who become major players in the history of Las Vegas.
Andrea Superstein Sings Burt Bacharach + Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Film Screening
Local hero and Anglophile Mike Myers scored a massive comedy hit with this spot-on spoof of James Bond and his many imitators. Before the yucks, Andrea Superstein treats us to a set of timeless Burt Bacharach tunes.