The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Against the odds this proved to be only the third film to sweep the five major awards on Oscar night (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture), after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and It Happened One Night. An intriguing and completely successful thriller, this started the Hannabel Lecture franchise. Anthony Hopkins portrail of Lecture is iconicly memorable, and Jodie Foster’s turn as young FBI agent Clarice Starling is beautifully rendered and nuanced. This film drew protest from members of the BGLAD community because the ‘Buffalo Bill’ serial killer (whom Lecture is recruited to help Starling capture) turns out to be a transvestite. The films atmosphere engulfs. Kudos to Jonathan Demmie. Four out of Five.