Skip to main content

#085 Jonathan Demme: The Silence of the Lambs vs. The Truth About Charlie

By

Download MP3 In today's episode Nate and Austin compare Jonathan Demme's best and worst rated films, The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Truth About Charlie (2002), respectively. Nate talks bad about Markie Mark, Austin wishes he were Buffalo Bill, and they both record the podcast with some fava beans and a nice Chianti -- thfthfthfthf. Check back next Sunday at 7pm PST where we will compare John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Tobacco Road (1941), his best and worst rated films.
Also check out this interview with director Jonathan Demme about his work on The Silence of the Lambs: https://vimeo.com/226660031

The Truth About Charlie Notes

Worst Rated

PLOT: A woman returns from holiday to find her husband has been murdered, and several groups of people are pressuring her to unravel the mystery of his true identity and activities during his final days.
  • Ratings: IMDb 4.8 | RT 33% C / 27% A
  • Released: 2002
  • Director: Jonathan Demme
  • Writer(s): Peter Stone (Charade screenplay), Jonathan Demme & Steve Schmidt and Peter Stone and Jessica Bendinger (screenplay)
  • Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto (The Sixth Sense, Star Wars: A New Hope, Signs)
  • Notable actors: Stephen Dillane, Thandie Newton, Sakina Jaffrey, Mark Wahlberg, Christine Boisson, Simon Abkarian, Joong-Hoon Park, LisaGay Hamilton, Ted Levine, Tim Robbins
  • Budget: $60 million
  • Box office: $7.1 million
  • Fun Facts:
    • Mark Wahlberg considers this his worst film.
    • Peter Stone, the writer of Charade (1963) (the basis for the movie) was so against this remake, that in some releases of this movie, his screenwriting credit was changed to Peter Joshua, the name of Cary Grant's character in Charade.
    • The part of Joshua Peters was originally intended for Will Smith, but due to the extended production on Ali (2001), he was unable to make the start of filming on Charlie, so Demme had to move forward with Mark Wahlberg instead, losing the Thandie Newton and Will Smith "double-act" he had imagined watching the original movie Charade (1963).
    • The movie contains numerous connections to French New Wave films. Reference is made to Shoot the Piano Player (1960) and its star, Charles Aznavour, has a singing role at the end of this movie. Anna Karina, featured in several Jean-Luc Godard films, has a bit part.

The Silence of the Lambs Notes

Best Rated

PLOT: A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
  • Ratings: IMDb 8.6 | RT 95% C / 95% A
  • Released: 1991
  • Director: Jonathan Demme
  • Writer(s): Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)
  • Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto (The Sixth Sense, Star Wars: A New Hope, Signs)
  • Notable actors: Jodie Foster, Kasi Lemmons, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Frankie Faison, Don Brockett, Anthony Hopkins, Brooke Smith, Ted Levine
  • Budget: $19 million
  • Box office: $272.7 million
  • Fun Facts:
    • In preparation for his role, Sir Anthony Hopkins studied files of serial killers. Also, he visited prisons, and studied convicted murderers, and was present during some court hearings concerning gruesome murderers and serial killings.
    • Jodie Foster claims that during the first meeting between Lecter and Starling, Sir Anthony Hopkins' mocking of her southern accent was improvised on the spot. Foster's horrified reaction was genuine, she felt personally attacked. She later thanked Hopkins for generating such an honest reaction.
    • Jame Gumb is the combination of three real-life serial killers: Ed Gein, who skinned his victims, Ted Bundy, who used the cast on his hand as bait to convince women to get into his van, and Gary Heidnick, who kept women he kidnapped in a pit in his basement. Gein was only positively linked to two murders, and suspected of two others. He gathered most of his materials through grave robbing, not murder.
    • When Sir Anthony Hopkins found out that he was cast as Hannibal Lecter, based on his performance as Dr. Frederick Treves in The Elephant Man (1980), he questioned Director Jonathan Demme, and said, "But Dr. Treves was a good man." To which Demme replied, "So is Lecter, he is a good man too. Just trapped in an insane mind."
    • When Sir Anthony Hopkins' agent called him in London, to tell him that he was sending him a script called "The Silence of the Lambs", Hopkins immediately thought he might be going up for a children's movie.
    • With twenty-four minutes and fifty-two seconds of screentime, Sir Anthony Hopkins' performance in this movie is the second shortest to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, with David Niven in Separate Tables (1958) beating him, at twenty-three minutes and thirty-nine seconds.
    • Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster only share four scenes throughout the course of the film.
    • After Lecter was moved from Baltimore, the plan was to dress him in a yellow or orange jumpsuit. Sir Anthony Hopkins convinced Jonathan Demme and Costume Designer Colleen Atwood that the character would seem more clinical and unsettling if he was dressed in pure white. Hopkins has since said he got the idea from his fear of dentists.
    • One of the inspirations, from whom Sir Anthony Hopkins borrowed, for his interpretation of Hannibal Lecter, was a friend of his in London who never blinked, which unnerved anyone around him.
    • Jodie Foster spent a great deal of time with F.B.I. Agent Mary Ann Krause prior to filming. Krause gave Foster the idea of Starling standing by her car crying. Krause told Foster that at times, the work just became so overwhelming that it was a good way to get an emotional release.
    • Jame Gumb's dance was not included in the original draft of the screenplay, although it appears in the novel. It was added at the insistence of Ted Levine, who thought the scene was essential in defining the character.
    • The Silence of the Lambs was inspired by the real-life relationship between University of Washington criminology professor and profiler Robert Keppel, and serial killer Ted Bundy. Bundy helped Keppel investigate the Green River Serial Killings in Washington. Bundy was executed January 24, 1989. The Green River Killings were finally solved in 2001, when Gary Ridgway was arrested. On November 5, 2003, in a Seattle courtroom, Ridgway plead guilty to forty-eight counts of aggravated first degree murder.
Intro music by Eric Lynch

Check out this episode!

Popular posts from this blog

Explaining the Ending of MULHOLLAND DRIVE

By
MULHOLLAND DRIVE is a complex and surreal film directed by David Lynch, known for its non-linear narrative and dreamlike sequences. The ending is open to interpretation and has been the subject of much debate among viewers. Here's a breakdown of the ending: Diane's Dream vs. Reality: Throughout the film, there are two main narrative threads: one follows Betty/Diane's dreamlike experiences in Hollywood, and the other delves into Diane's harsh reality. The ending reveals that the majority of the film has been a dream constructed by Diane Selwyn, a failed actress, as a means to escape the guilt and pain of her actions. Betty/Diane's Descent into Madness: Betty, played by Naomi Watts, represents Diane's idealized self—a hopeful and innocent aspiring actress. However, as the film progresses, it becomes clear that Betty's story is unraveling, and her identity begins to merge with Diane's. This culminates in the revelation that Betty is merely a construct of Di...
Read More

Final Destination Bloodlines Set to Bring Fresh Horrors to the Franchise

By
The long-running and fan-favorite horror series Final Destination is set to make its return with Final Destination Bloodlines, bringing a new chapter of supernatural terror to the big screen. Scheduled for a theatrical and IMAX release on May 16, 2025, in the U.S. (and internationally beginning May 14), the film promises to continue the franchise’s tradition of chilling premonitions and inescapable fate. The upcoming installment features a fresh ensemble cast, including Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game, The Flash), Teo Briones (Chucky, Will vs. The Future), Richard Harmon (The 100, The Age of Adaline), Owen Patrick Joyner (Julie and the Phantoms, 100 Things to Do Before High School), and Anna Lore (They/Them, Gotham Knights). Also joining the cast are Brec Bassinger (Stargirl, Bella and the Bulldogs) and horror icon Tony Todd, who reprises his role from the original Final Destination films. Todd, best known for his chilling portrayal of the titular character in the Candyman fra...
Read More

4K Blu-ray Review: Drop (2025) — A Tense, Tech-Driven Thriller That Mostly Sticks the Landing

By
In Drop, director Christopher Landon (Freaky, Happy Death Day) crafts a nerve-wracking thriller centered on a devastating dilemma: would you take a life to save the ones you love? The story follows Violet, a widowed single mom attempting to re-enter the dating world after years of grief and recovery. Played with emotional precision by Meghann Fahy, Violet finds herself on a promising first date with the affable and seemingly genuine Henry (Brandon Sklenar) in an elegant, glass-walled Chicago restaurant. But their evening takes a sinister turn when Violet receives a disturbing message via a sleek, anonymous app called DigiDrop: if she doesn’t kill her date before the check arrives, her son and sister will die. What unfolds is a tightly wound 95-minute thriller that feels both classic and timely. The film builds its suspense through confinement, not action. Most of the story unfolds in real-time at their dinner table, creating a pressure-cooker environment that reflects Violet’s psycholo...
Read More